Harold Town Conservation Area

I couldn't wait to get a chance to make a trip back out to Peterborough this weekend.  We checked out another All You Can Eat restaurant in town and planned on hiking another trail afterwards.

We found the Harold Town Conservation area which was located off of Old Norwood Rd in Otonobee – about 15 minutes from our location, so it worked out perfectly. 

The parking lot didn't have any fee stations, and there are portable washrooms so you can plan to spend the day trying out different routes. 

The one feature you'll notice when you first arrive is this ginormous hill front and centre of the parking lot as you come in.  Your first thought would be no way would anyone ever dare to go down that hill on a bike, let alone hike it!  Unbelievably though, cyclists do this all the time I was told.

This would definitely be a must see for mountain bikers as it offers a network of trails available for off-road cyclists.  Even if you're a beginner, there are over 10 km of trails designed to challenge you with funny names such as Porcupine Pie and Screaming Trees. 

The trails are also well maintained and constructed in accordance with the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) guidelines and standards. 

Yup, they have standards.  You can see trail features like switch-back climbs, small rock drops, and tight turns with some log hops and berms if you’re into that.  

We are just happy to go for some safe-on-the-ground hiking trail called Kessel Run.   It ran through some pretty impressive forestland with lots of wildlife and wildflowers and open meadows.  There's a scenic view from the Meade Creek Drumlin which is part of the Peterborough Drumlin Field as part of the Otonabee Conservation watershed.

I wondered who the

Harold Town Conservation Area was named after and discovered he was a Canadian Painter who made a name for himself after he started a group of 11 artists known as the "Painters Eleven" which dates from 1953 when a group of young artists banded together with the purpose of exhibiting abstract art in Toronto.  

Although I didn't particularly understand his paintings (a lot like Picasso or Jackson Pollack) he made enough money to purchase this land and enjoyed it as his personal retreat until he passed away in 1990.  On April 11, 1994, the property was donated to Otonabee Conservation by Harold Town’s estate. The property was then named in his memory and was dedicated as a park for public purposes, as requested by the estate.

 

Happy Trails