Hilton Falls Conservation Area

My new favorite escarpment.  It's half the distance to Hamilton; like Hamilton it is surrounded by some of the best natural beauty areas I have ever seen.  There are also quite a few other Conservation areas in the area as well like Kelso, Rattlesnake, Crawford Lake, Esquesing, Robert Edmondson and Mountsberg.  All of them are responsible for that gorgeous piece of glacier rock, known as the Escarpment.

Hilton Falls Conservation Area located in Campbellville, Ontario is a conservation area known for its ten-metre waterfall and hiking trails.

It constitutes 645 hectares and also offers mountain biking, cross-country skiing.

Some one else took the time to create an amazing site, I don't want to undermine their efforts.  Here's the link!

http://www.conservationhalton.ca/hilton-falls

Kelso Conservation

Kelso Conservation Area is located near Milton, Ontario and is owned and operated by Conservation Halton. This park has an area of 3.97 square kilometres and contains Lake Kelso which was built for flood control of Sixteen Mile Creek and has a sandy beach for swimmers in the summer and is also open to non-motorized watercraft.

Glen Eden Ski & Snowboard Centre is located in the park and offers downhill skiing and snowboarding during winter months. In addition, the Halton Region Museum is also located on the Kelso grounds. The park also features marked mountain biking and hiking trails.

Some of these pictures here were taken of the Halton Museum, but was closed when we were there.

Also there is a beach onsite called Lake Kelso.  It's actually a man-made reservoir which was created to control the flooding of Sixteen Mile Creek. It is found within Kelso Conservation Area and is maintained by Conservation Halton.

One of the founders of Conservation Halton, Allan Day, recalls that before the reservoir was built, "Milton used to get flooded every spring thaw. Milton's main street would get flooded." It was Day who convinced the previous landowner to sell his property to the Sixteen-Mile Creek Authority in 1961. The authority purchased the land for $40 000 before erecting a $325 000 water control dam a few years later.

The strange thing about it is the wires that are directly above the lake.  I had to find out what they were there for, and surprisingly a lot of people didn't know, except for one wizened older man who said it was for the birds? The picture is pretty washed out, but at least you can see the wires.  Have you ever seen anything like it before?

Humber Arboretum and West Humber Trail

A must-see through the West Humber Trail is the Humber Arboretum. It's a really beautiful trek in Toronto’s west end. It covers over 250 acres of botanical gardens and natural, wilder areas that surround the West Humber River.

The Arboretum is located just behind the Humber College North Campus at the intersection of Humberline Drive and Humber College Blvd., so there's lots of parking available.  If you'd rather take a bus or go on foot, it might be of interest to note that there is an express bus from Kipling station to the college.  Terrific way to get there and save on gas.

Once you arrive, you can choose either to take in the beautiful surroundings of the manicured lawns and flourishing flora at the Botanical Gardens in the Arboretum first, or take a walk through many of the marked nature trails through the Arboretum.  I liked the "Meadow Walk" which had 3 separate gates.  Others include the "Survival Path", "Boardwalk", "Beech Vista", "Woodland", "Pondview" and "Garden Circle".  All these nature trails are encompass the Arboretum and excellent tools for educational purposes as well.

The areas surrounding these paths are filled with meadow flowers and forested areas of over 1700 different species of plants and old and new native trees.   The trail paths following out of the Arboretum will take you northwest from this point towards Humberwoods Park in the direction of the Indian Line Campground where you will come across the Claireville Dam & Reservoir, constructed in the aftermath of Hurricane Hazel.

Further northwest still is the Claireville Conservation Area, which is an 848-acre natural and forested area located on the border of Toronto and Brampton. It is one of the largest tracts of land owned by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA). Not all trails in here are accessible on bike, which is why it is sometimes a good idea to leave your bike at home.

Claireville is an unsupervised conservation area and supposedly has coyotes and deer (I've only seen a few bird species, though). Although Claireville is a passive conservation area, so it's popular with ‘birders’.  So, if your photographic interest is birds, then this is a good find.   I will be returning soon before summer's end to take a look at Claireville Conservation Area.  Unfortunately I have little patience unless I am alone to take any wildlife photos.  If I happen to see something, I will do my best to capture it.  Maybe you will have better luck!

For now, I am just content to take pictures of scenic landscapes. If you enjoy looking at the scenes, the photos will take care of themselves.

Happy Trails!

Mount Pleasant Cemetery

After dinner, we decided to go for a walk through the Mount Pleasant Cemetery (been here before see blog), located in the heart of Toronto.

I was elated to find something at least a little different.  I saw an Eastern Grey Squirrel, which is less common than the typical black squirrel I have seen around.  This one looked as though it was praying.  Fitting for a cemetery, I suppose.  There were lots of vibrant colours around from lilacs to Maple trees, which was a nice change from the more common greens found in the late spring and summer time.
   

Some interesting finds tonight were the interesting "FREE MASONS" which had some masonry work toppled over?  A very small grave stone etched, "MOTHER FATHER" which I found very very sad.  In keeping with Father's Day coming up this weekend, I am hoping to be able to take my own father out to a trail which I think he'll enjoy that is close to him, and easy for him to walk through.

I also saw a tombstone marked, "King Stark" which can only be appreciated by die-hard Game of Thrones fans!!

Just for a point of interest, there are several guided tours than can be personalized to suit your schedule.  This goes on all year long.  In the guided tours you will hear about some of the nations leading citizens and families.  Some of whom went on to achieve wealth and fame in Canadian and Toronto history such as the Massey and the Eaton families.   Others are William Lyon Mackenzie King (Canada's longest serving Prime Minister, Mary Pickford (world's first movie star), while still others will be names are unknown to almost everyone today. 

Whether you are part of a guiding tour on going for a stroll on your own, there is over 83 hectares of land space dating back over 130 years ago, full of mature trees and shrubs inhabiting all kinds of species of birds and squirrels. All in all there are several picturesque and dramatic views as the geology contains several plateaus, ravines and valleys that you will enjoy.