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 Northern
Grey County is a patchwork quilt landscape.
Ironically, its tame agricultural beauty is often best enjoyed from
the rugged semi-wilderness of the Niagara Escarpment cliff edge.
Surrounded by ancient maple and beech trees, gnarled old-growth
cedars, pitted limestone and rocky crevices, hikers on the Bruce
Trail enjoy long vistas of the cultivated, managed landscape that
surrounds them.
Rolling, glacially sculpted farmlands are interspersed with patches
of deciduous forest, meandering rivers and creek valleys lined in
dark green cedar. The rural countryside is dotted with farming homesteads
not greatly changed in over a century. Sheep and cattle graze on
rich pastureland; fields of golden wheat and green corn ripen in
the long days of summer. Grey County is
known for its extensive deciduous forests, many of which are located
on the rocky slopes of the Escarpment. Cold, clear streams spring
from the cliff face and flow through mature maple-beech woods rich
in rare plant species. Most of the world's population of Hart's-tongue
fern is located in these woods. Look for its flat, blade-like leaves
on shaded talus slopes, in mossy ravines and in moist, rocky Escarpment
forests.
Three rivers and numerous small creeks offer many
opportunities for outdoor recreation in northern Grey.
The Bighead River flows through drumlin-studded farmland and empties
into Georgian Bay at Meaford -- the heart of apple country. The
Bighead is popular with canoeists and anglers.
The Sydenham and Pottawatomi Rivers flow through the city of Owen
Sound. Both rivers cascade over the Escarpment, creating year-round
tourist attractions. In fact, northern Grey County is blessed with
four significant waterfalls -- three of them within a few kilometres
of Owen
Sound.
Visit the "Parks
in North Grey County" web page to learn more about properties
in the area, many of which are owned by the Grey
Sauble Conservation Authority.
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