This route passest three popular waterways: the Rideau Canal, The Trent-Sewvern Waterway, and Georgian Bay. Highway 7 west of Ottawa passes by the richly historic Rideau Lakes and then just south of the Halliburton Highlands and Kawartha Lakes. The Trent-Severn has stunningly engineered locks as it drops to the rugged glacier-scoured Georgian Bay coastline.
This Southern Route takes the Trans-Canada close to Toronto (but NOT to or through Toronto). It starts at Ottawa, takes the #7 west through the Rideau Lakes and Rideau Canal around Perth. Continue west along the Kawartha Lakes around Peterborough and Lindsay. The route then heads northwest on Highway 15 to Beaverton, and on Highway 12 along the Lake Simcoe portion of the Trent-Severn Canal route to Orillia.
From there, head along Highway 12 (which continues connecting to Highway 400 north from Coldwater past the Muskoka Lakes tourist area to the highway’s east and the Island Country of Georgian Bay to the highway’s west. Highway 400 passes Parry Sound, crosses the French River (the unofficial boundary between norhtern and southern Ontario) before reaching Sudbury. This Southern Route of the Trans-Canada is 676 kilometres long.
NOTE:
As much as Google Maps says “it can be driven in 8 hours”, in reality for a vacationer, this detour can be a week of sightseeing. Start in Ottawa
Day 1: Perth and Rideau Canal
Day 2: Kawartha Lakes and Trent-Severn Canal
Day 3: Peterborough and Lindsay and the lift locks
Day 4: Orillia, Midland and Penetanguishene
Day 5: Honey Harbour, and the Muskoka Lakes
Day 6: Parry Sound and French River
Day 7: Sudbury area (there is a Group of Seven Tour to see the area’s most-painted scenery)
From there, you can loop back along the Main Trans-Canada Route along Highway #17 (Sudbury-Mattawa and Mattawa-Ottawa) back to Ottawa, where a visitor can spend from 2 to 5 days just taking in the city’s history, culture, national museums, local museums, waterways, and recreation paths.
If you are set on visiting Toronto, then follow our To-From Toronto itineraries, which use the east-west Highway 401 and north-south Highway 400
