Ontario Travel – Peterborough:
Exploring Peterborough by Bicycle with Pedal and
Paddle
After a fabulous long day with a visit to the Lang
Pioneer Village, a tour through the Elmhirst's
Resort and a great evening of outdoor theatre
at the 4th Line Theatre, my last day in Peterborough
had arrived. Early in the morning I relocated from
the Golden Pathways B&B south of the city to
another B&B right in the heart of town, next
to Little Lake. My home for the night was the Beacon
by the Bay Bed and Breakfast, where I was going
to enjoy one more night in Peterborough in my one-bedroom
suite on the top level of a historic home. I had
a packed schedule today, but I quickly checked out
my suite: it had a nicely equipped kitchen, stocked
with all sorts of goodies, a nice bathroom and a
spacious bedroom with a king-size bed and a balcony
that provided one of the best views of Peterborough,
overlooking Little Lake and the Centennial Fountain.
The Beacon by the Bay B&B, my home for the night
I briefly said hello to the owners, Jeff and Sheila
Roberts, before I embarked on today’s adventures.
The last two days had exposed me to quite a bit
of Peterborough’s culture and heritage, but
today was my outdoor adventure day – it was
time for some pedaling and some paddling, to take
advantage of some of the excellent outddoor opportunities
in this city.
What a phenomenal view from right outside my B&B!
What I personally really like about Peterborough
is that it’s extremely close to Toronto, as
the drive takes less than an hour and a half. But
in addition to that, the city offers a great bicycle
trail network and the opportunity to go canoeing
and kayaking right in the city. And that’s
what I wanted to try out today.
Great views over the Otonabee River from the terrace
of the Silver Bean Café
To start my adventure I drove just a few minutes
north to Millennium Park, a linear park right next
to the Otonabee River that was opened in 2001. This
park is easily accessible from the downtown core
and holds community events such as the DBIA Ribfest
and the Greek Festival. The Silver Bean Café
anchors the park and provides visitors with a great
spot to relax with a cup of java and a gorgeous
view of the river.
Lloyd Graham and his friend Clare, from Pedal and
Paddle
Downstairs in the boathouse I met Lloyd Graham
and his friend Clare, who run a company called Pedal
and Paddle, offering kayak, canoe and bicycle rentals
for active travelers. Lloyd has even added a pedal
boat to his fleet. Now equipped with comfortable
Norco bikes, we started our journey by cycling across
the Otonabee River on an old railway bridge that
is still in active use today. From here Lloyd pointed
out well-known sights such as the modern complex
of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Quaker
Oats factory, an important employer in Peterborough
over the last century.
This old railroad bridge over the Otonabee River
is still in use
After the bridge we turned south and Lloyd explained
that the area east of the Otonabee River originally
was a rather inexpensive neighbourhood because a
major slaughterhouse was operating on the other
side of the river, roughly where today’s Holiday
Inn is located. The unpleasant smells from the abattoir
definitely had a negative impact on the real estate
prices downwind on the other side of the river.
Today, many of these houses have been renovated
and expanded, creating one of Peterborough’s
most popular neighbourhoods.
Nice vistas over Little Lake open up during our
bicycle ride
Further south we stopped to have a look at Little
Lake, Peterborough’s wide body of water right
in the heart of the city. The Peterborough Marina
offers mooring to boaters as well as a restaurant
with a nice open-air patio upstairs with a great
view of the lake. Adjacent to the marina is Del
Crary Park, location of the city’s Little
Lake Musicfest which hosts free concerts every Wednesday
and Saturday during the summer.
Looking at the Peterborough Marina in Del Crary
Park
We also looked across the water at the Little Lake
Cemetery, a historic cemetery that has been the
last resting place for many prominent residents
of Peterborough since 1850. The Centennial Fountain,
located right in the middle of Little Lake, has
become one of Peterborough’s most recognizable
landmarks.
The Centennial Fountain, one of Peterborough's landmarks
Back on our bikes now, we continued our ride through
a pleasant neighbourhood and started to chat about
Lloyd’s background. He said he had worked
in the financial services industry for 32 years,
and on one cold February day, while commuting to
Toronto, he thought to himself “there’s
gotta be something else”. So he decided to
take early retirement, went traveling and this experience
inspired him to set up his own bicycle and canoe
rental company. Through the grapevine he had heard
that the city’s boathouse was available for
rent. He approached them and had found a permanent
home for his new company, Pedal and Paddle. In addition
to rentals he also offers guided tours that combine
the bicycling and kayaking experience.
The historic Quaker Oats factory, still in operation
North of Hunter Street we stopped to look across
the river at one of Peterborough’s oldest
factories: the Quaker Oats Plant, now owned by Pepsico,
produces a variety of cereal products and energy
drinks. The current building is the second factory
since the original building burned down on December
11, 1916, causing 23 deaths. Just on the other side
of the factory are several tennis courts that are
owned by the factory that are fully accessible to
the public.
Peterborough has many gorgeous cycling trails
We continued our tour northwards along the Rotary
Greenway Trail, and Lloyd filled me in that the
Peterborough Rotary Club has built over 40 km of
trail in the city. As the former president of the
Rotary Club, Lloyd put in place several important
fundraising initiatives for the trail network, including
the sale of blue spruces and the installation of
sponsored benches with donor nameplates, one of
which was sponsored by Lloyd himself.
Ecology Park is located on Peterborough's bicycle
trail network
Due to these successful fundraising endeavours,
bicycle trails now go across the northern and eastern
part of the city as well as to the nearby villages
of Omemee, Bridgenorth and Lakefield. Lloyd welcomes
many European travelers from Holland, Scotland and
Germany in Peterborough, and they love the extensive
bicycling trail network as well as the water sports
opportunities that are available in Peterborough.
Pansies say hello along the beautiful bicycle trail
network in Peterborough
Several historical sights accompanied our ride
along the Rotary Greenway Trail. We stopped at the
Peterborough Mattress Company where a historical
marker indicates that this factory was built in
1927. It had stood empty for a long time, but is
currently in the process of being converted into
apartments.
The historic Peterborough Mattress Factory is being
revitalized
A bit farther north we stopped at Trent University,
one of Canada’s best small universities. Established
in 1964 it is a liberal arts and science university
with more than 7000 undergraduate and about 300
postgraduate students. Lloyd explained the various
parts of the campus which is located scenically
on the east and west banks of the Otonabee River.
Given its location right on the river, the university
has a successful rowing club that hosts the annual
Head of the Trent rowing regatta.
The waterfront campus of Trent University - how
does anyone get any studying done here?
Farther along the path we stopped at the Promise
Rock Nature Area, so named after a bizarre rock
formation inside a forest that was used as an old
Boy Scout Camp. Lloyd mentioned that in the 1950s
and 1960s children would be brought out here blindfolded
to keep the location of the camp a secret. The rock
formation inside the dark forest definitely had
a somewhat mysterious feel to it.
The mysterious Promise Rock area
Then we continued along a bucolic trail for the
remainder of the way to Lakefield,
a pretty village that has been a popular tourist
destination since the late 1800s when railways and
steamships took wealthy urban dwellers out into
the beautiful nature areas of the Kawartha Lakes.
