In the historic canal town of Hastings, part of the Municipality of Trent Hills in Northumberland County, River’s Edge on Front has built a reputation as the kind of shop where a shopper can walk in looking for one thing and walk out with three others they never knew they needed. Set at 9 Front Street East, just steps from Lock 18 on the Trent Severn Waterway, the store sits in a stretch of downtown that fills with boaters, cottagers, and cyclists every summer as they pass through one of the busiest locks on the historic canal system connecting Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay. That foot traffic, combined with a loyal base of year round Trent Hills residents, has helped the shop grow into a genuine multi category destination rather than a single focus retailer.
Inside, the inventory blends new home decor and giftware with a rotating selection of consignment clothing, jewelry, and collectibles, an approach the owners describe as blending the present with the past. Shoppers browsing for a housewarming gift or a piece of locally made art will find shelves stocked alongside racks of gently used vintage pieces, so a single visit might turn up a hand thrown mug from a nearby artisan next to a mid century brooch or a curated blouse from a previous decade. The shop also houses RE Music Shoppe, an in store music offering that adds another layer to the browsing experience and sets River’s Edge apart from typical gift shops in small Ontario towns, where a single category, whether clothing or decor, usually defines the whole store.
Supporting local makers is part of the shop’s identity. Rather than filling shelves exclusively with imported giftware, River’s Edge features work from regional artisans, giving Trent Hills residents and visiting cottage country tourists a place to find items with a genuine connection to the area rather than mass produced souvenirs. That local first sourcing philosophy, paired with the consignment side of the business, means the inventory changes regularly, rewarding repeat visits from regulars who know that what they see on the shelf this month may be gone by the next.
The shop keeps flexible, small town hours that reward a bit of planning ahead: it is closed Mondays, open roughly 10 am to somewhere between 3 and 5 pm Tuesday through Friday depending on the day and season, open Saturdays from 10 am to 4 pm, and open Sunday afternoons from 11 am to 3 pm, useful for weekend boaters passing through the lock system who want to browse before continuing their trip. Because hours can shift with the season, calling ahead at 705 696 1966 is a reasonable step for anyone making a special trip from outside town.
For anyone exploring the shops of downtown Hastings along the Trent Severn Waterway, River’s Edge on Front offers a distinctive stop: a combination home decor, giftware, consignment clothing, and music shop where locally made goods sit comfortably alongside carefully chosen vintage finds, all within walking distance of Lock 18. River’s Edge on Front is a Hastings, Ontario shop blending home decor, giftware, consignment vintage clothing, and an in house music offering into one browsable, locally rooted destination near the Trent Severn Waterway.
