Mabel Davis Conservation Area (Newmarket)

This was one of those bone chilling days in late winter, just approaching spring, when we decided to check out another trail to walk off some calories after our AYCE lunches.  We decided to go to Mabel Davis Conservation area as the map showed us it was close.

You can enter the kilometre trail here either from Bayview Parkway or off of Davis Drive.  We started from the Davis drive location where we were able to find some parking off the side of the road.  

The trail is south of the Rogers Reservoir,  which I had blogged before (you can search for it to see some nice pictures of Holland landing).

This 7 hectare area is surrounded by city development, but you can still find a wide range of animals like rabbits, muskrats and raccoons.  Of course this time of year, the geese, ducks and drakes are in full swing totally acclimatized to the winters here in Canada.  

One of the most unique features of this trail however are the trail markers.  They are known as 'doodems' and they all use natural elements and are inspired by the Ojibwe ancestors.  There are 10 'doodems' in total.   I only captured 1 of them.  The OWL (GOOKOOKO'OO(G) - Which means wisdom and foresight.  Keeper of sacred knowledge.  This may largely be due to the fact that the owl is a great foreteller of weather conditions and are creatures of the night.

By the time we got as far as the Newmarket Radial Arch bridge, the sky had washed out creating a sombre feel (at least that's how I viewed it).  The Radial Arch bridge was built in  1909 by the Toronto and York Radial Railway company and is known to be one of the earliest reinforced concrete arches.  Standing on it's own now as a piece of history, it once supported part of a trestle bridge spanning the Holland river and Grand Trunk railway tracks. 

Newmarket is very proud of this parabolic arch which has a clear span of 15 metres and a rise of 7 metres.  The railway was discontinued in the 1930s, but since the arch was one of few of its kind, it was preserved in 1979 by the town of Newmarket.  I am not going to say I was impressed as today's standard architecture and engineering leaves this little archway paling...but considering the tools and technology we have today I will respect what I saw nonetheless. 

My final thoughts are this is a must see trail when the leaves are out and you might be able to catch some wildlife.  Also, I'd like to see all the 'doodems' when I have more time.

Oh, and who was Mabel Davis?  She was a lifetime resident of Newmarket who donated a strip of land to the Conservation Area.   She was the namesake for this trail.