Sheppard's Bush Conservation Area

We recently stopped for a visit and a lunch into Aurora, Ontario which is a small suburb north of Richmond Hill.  You can eventually reach it if you continue north on Yonge Street outside of King City.


Aurora is big on its historical buildings - in fact in 2008, the town was awarded the Prince of Wales Prize for Municipal Heritage Leadership.  Again in 2009, the town received the Lieutenant Governor's Ontario Heritage Award for Community Leadership in Heritage Conservation and promotion.



From the moment you step off the train at the old Aurora Train station (which also was built in the 1800s and still remains), you can see old houses with plaques proudly displayed under street numbers giving the dates when they were built.

After a nice lunch, we took advantage of the mild temperatures to check out a nearby conservation area.  Sheppard Bush Conversation Area has a few trail loops covering about 3 km of land that take a little over an hour to complete.  I had my running shoes on, so ended up doing a little cross country skiing instead of walking as the treads were wearing down.  It was above freezing and a great day to get around without mitts and a hat for a change.

The hardwood forest greets you as you enter the mature sugar bush and upland forest, pine plantations along the ravine and East Holland River.

The trails are hard-packed with gravel and limestone for the most part during milder temperatures (April - October) so there's no reason not to use them even in winter if you stick to the course.  It's good to note that once the park reopens, this trail connects to the Nokiidaa trail to go as far as Holland Landing, or the Oak Ridges Trail to reach Palgrave or Rice lake. 

We finished the marked paths of the Sheppard's Bush, Tim Jones and Klaus Wehrenberg trails.  It took slightly under a couple of hours to move through it though most likely much quicker without snow.

There's some spectacular sized sport fields (11 soccer fields in total) which you can gain access to through the parking lot entrance off Industrial Parkways South.

The parking lot has a 3 hr visitor parking in effect so also good to note.

Also another bonus is this trail is bike friendly - what's there not to love?  

Meadow Trail of the Forks of the Credit Provincial Park (Cataract Falls)

One of the prettiest areas near Toronto definitely has to be the Caledon region.  For cyclists it's an astronomical challenge with enormous hills and valleys. Caledon is in the region of the Oak Moraines and the Chedleton Badlands and has gorgeous vistas which makes it a paradise for day trippers.

The Forks of Credit Provincial Park is a part of the Bruce trail and streams the Credit River all the way through it.  It is home to an abundance of nature trails including the Meadow trail which leads you to an old historical mill and a cataract waterfall.

The mill was purchased by John Deagle back in 1820 and features a cascading waterfall.  John converted the mill into an electric generating station which dammed the credit river that created Cataract Lake.

The generating station was later sold and purchased by Ontario Hydro but was shut down in the mid 40s.

There is evidence today of the dam that was destroyed.  Today it is riddled with destruction and graffiti, although the ruins of the mill and the powerhouse are still in the park.  The stairs and bridge leading to the mill have been closed off due to erosion and construction this summer.

We as well as others found a way to venture closer to the waterfall.    It's a shame that people had destroyed the ruins of the Deagle mill with spray paint, as it's a reminder of the history there.  It's far to

o dangerous to try to clean it up now. 

The Meadow trail as a I mentioned earlier is a part of the Bruce trail and is about 4 km long.  There are several entry points, but I refused to pay $6.80 per head just to visit a trail, so we found a paid parking lot which only cost $2.00 by meter for 2 hours.

Provincial parks are becoming increasingly expensive, but in this case I really feel it's the principle of the matter.  For example if you drive your car into the park, you will be charged $6.80/per person in the vehicle, which I think is ridiculous.

We had a great time as I had before seen the Belfountain waterfall but never knew there was another waterfall located in the same park.  If you decide to come, I would suggest either pooling your money to go through the park from the main gates or entering from Meadow trail.  The trail is simple, and very steep at times but it's really good workout and to be honest it was a slow incline coming back out of the park so I never really noticed it.

East Don Parkland Trail

 Although the first of June called for rain later in the afternoon, we never saw a hint of it.  It was moderately warm with sapphire blue skies threaded with white lace.  Preparing to get rained on I wanted us to set out early Saturday morning so I could get a good dose of vitamin D and catch a few shots with my dusty camera.

Speaking about vitamin D, did you know that it’s pretty common for Canadians to develop a deficiency due to our inclement weather and long winters covering our skin up when we go outside.  

A deficiency can cause bone pain, tiredness and even depression.  So a good vitamin D supplement in the cooler months just to get yourself back on track if you develop these symptoms is a good idea (1000mm).

We started our trail at the corner of Don Mills Road and McNichol Avenue and walked northwest through Duncan Creek park until we reached Leslie street.  It was only 1.5 km walk and certainly not enough to feel like it was worth the trip so we crossed Leslie and did the East Don Parkland trail as well before going for lunch.

The East Don Parkland Trail is about a 6 Km hike, through moderately trafficked walk starting from Leslie and Steeles to Leslie and Sheppard.  It is mostly a paved, shared pathway with cyclists, joggers and trail blazers.  It is located in the valley so it will always be parkland as there’s nothing else that can really be done to it since condominiums won’t be built in a valley. 

It’s just wonderful that the City has the vision of keeping this land as it is and there are so many parks and trails in Toronto that feel at times that you’ve traveled a distance outside of the city to get the same natural settings as you experience here.

Edwards Gardens

I remember going to Edwards Gardens a few times as a child with my parents.  Much hasn't changed since then, as far as I can recall.  There are still beautiful garden features like annuals, roses and wildflowers surrounded by rockery here, but for the most part much is as lovely as I remembered.

Edwards Gardens and Toronto Botanical Gardens are both located  on one of several tributaries in the Don River (Wilket Creek) where you can overlook spectacular views of large centenarian willow trees, stair rises, waterfalls and bridge arches.  

The summer is when the gardens come to life, and although rarely preferring summer over fall, this is the only time when everything is in bloom.  Much of the structures on the estate originally entitled to Alexander Milne (a Scottish weaver) who  settled there after 1812 still remain.  Alexander remained only for twenty years and left the property neglected.

Thankfully the land was bought by Rupert E. Edwards in 1944 where he had created a beautiful garden and  restored the wool and sawmills still there today.  Rupert sold the property to the City of Toronto in 1955 and it then became a public park.  

Today, Edwards Gardens and Toronto Botanical Gardens are enjoyed the world over, as well as a city treasure for its hiking and cycling trails, gift shops, floral shows, as well as a photographic goldmine.  With its trimmed lawns, flower beds, rivers and creek, and exotic trees it's a perfect backdrop for a wedding and wedding parties.  

My son and his fiance were scoping out a few venues for their wedding and I can see endless possibilities for perfect photographs here.  Edwards Gardens has won an Award of Excellence for the Regional Citation category from the Canadian Society of Landscaping Architects.  I guess that explains why. 

If you do decide to have a wedding ceremony or have formal wedding pictures taken at a city park, you do need to have a permit.  I didn't know this.  If you need more information, click here.

Bronte Creek Provincial Park

Starting out early on September 4, hours before another summer would be a distant memory, we were determined to bike as far today as possible. Since the weather was agreeable, and the western ride along the waterfront trail is a fairly easy one, I didn’t expect any difficulty with this.

Passing through familiar parks I’ve recorded and blogged before meant more time for traveling and less for stopping to take pictures. Some familiar sites were the Beaches (Ashbridge’s Bay, Tommy Thompson and Cherry Beach), through Old Toronto (Exhibition Place, Humber Bay Parks) to New Toronto (Colonel Samuel Smith and the stinky-in-summer “Marie Curtis Park”). The stink is caused by the Sewage Treatment Plant, which although is necessary, I am sure very much unwelcome by the neighbourhood.

About a half hour west is the Lakefront Promenade Park near Port Credit. I waded into the fresh water at the bay inlet up to my shorts and splashed the cool water on my arms before continuing west to the Rattray Marsh Conservation Area in Clarkson. I didn’t want to stop to take many pictures here, partly because the scenery was familiar and because I had a dislike for the name of the park (I have been known to have pet-peeves with words).

Southdown Road in Mississauga was coming up and I could feel the sweat pouring out from me from the high summer sun. I was getting hungry so we took our first exit north off the trail for some welcomed food. We agreed to go to the Moon Sushi AYCE in Mississauga. I’m not someone who can eat a lot of food at once, but I agree to compromise. Click here if you want to see the review

With a nice cool off and full stomach, I was concerned about the time lost in the day, as the darkness was over shadowing the sky, it would be just another few hours before we would have to stop. Heading south on Southdown Road west along Lakeshore Blvd to Oakville is a really pretty waterfront trail ride. Finally it was time to consider a final stop in Bronte where we went north to the Provincial Park.

Bronte Creek is a Provincial “landlocked park” which means there’s no access to any public streets to get to it. It has a lot of parking, a lot of field space, and that means wide open areas for picnics, family dos and barbeques.

There are a few cute trails like one of which are probably endearing to children like the fairies trail. We saw the Children’s Petting Farm, but no children. Unfortunately at this point late in the day most everything was closing up. My favorite part here was the looking at the horses that were outside and allowed me to pet them. Not a horse-lover myself, I still found them quite beautiful. My fear of them came from being thrown off of one when I was young as the owner wasn’t taking into account that the horse had been straddled over the winter in the stalls, and he allowed people to sit on her in the dawn of spring. This is apparently why I was thrown. I think even then that they were making excuses and that it was very possible the animal sensed my fear.

So that’s about it. It was a challenge getting here, but looking forward to the Go Train ride back from Bronte Go.

 

 

 

 

 

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Victoria Day - came back in May 2021 -  - for a picnic with my hubby

Free Admission today!