Bayview
Escarpment Provincial Nature Reserve
Hart's-tongue fern grows in profusion in this 740-
hectare hardwood forest which backs against the Canadian Forces
Training Area in Meaford. Other notable plants include Goldie's
fern and green spleenwort. A ten-kilometre trail takes hikers out
to views over the farmlands of Sydenham Township and the vast training
area. To get to the Bayview Provincial Forest, take Highway 26 to
the first road east of Woodford (the Sydenham-St. Vincent town line).
Follow this road north until it veers to the left. Look for the
Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) Provincial Forest sign.
It is also possible to visit this site from the east,
and to explore the unique talus slope ecosystem. Hikers can cross
a field and gain access to the talus slope below the Escarpment.
Large blocks of limestone that have fallen away from the cliff face
are covered with mosses, liverworts and ferns. Eastern white cedars
and yellow birch are predominant species in the forest.
To gain access to the talus slope, take the road that
runs north from Highway 26 at Bayview (11th concession) just west
of Meaford and follow it until it turns into a dirt path. Watch
for a gate on the left. Visitors can open the gate, park in the
field, and walk to the talus slope.
TOP
Bognor
Marsh Management Area
Bognor Marsh is a source area for the Bighead River.
The 632-hectare resource management area includes natural forest,
plantation forest, an extensive marsh and swamp with a boardwalk
and viewing tower, and forested Escarpment uplands. The provincially
rare black tern nests here. The rare pickerel frog was found in
the west end of the marsh during a biological inventory in 1987.
Osprey, great blue heron, and many species of ducks also use the
marsh during migration.
Bognor Marsh is on the Derry Line (County Road 18).
Take Highway 6 &10 south out of Owen Sound to Rockford. Turn
left at the light onto the Derry Line. After about five kilometres,
watch for the Conservation Authority signs marking the Bognor Marsh.
TOP
Bruce
Caves Conservation Area
Surrounded by woodlands of maple, beech and hemlock
these wave-cut caves are dramatic evidence of one of the natural
forces creating the face of the Escarpment we see today. Hiking,
cross-country skiing and picnicking are the most popular uses for
this conservation area. Be sure to look for the ferns that grown
on the rocky slopes below the clips, including the provincially
rare and nationally endangered Hart's Tongue fern.
TOP
Colpoy's
Lookout
From this small roadside park on the south shore of
Colpoy's Bay, a wonderful panorama unfolds. Across the water are
the starkly beautiful clips of Colpoy's Bluff. To the west is the
town of Wiarton -- gateway to the Bruce Peninsula.
TOP
East Rocks
Coming into Owen Sound on Highway 6, stop at this
small look-out and picnic spot for a bird's eye view of the city.
In 1991, the Owen Sound Field Naturalists built a trail linking
the site with Lee Manor and Summit Place -- two nearby seniors'
residences.
TOP
Indian
Falls Conservation Area
A short walk (.8 km) along the trail at the Indian
Creek leads to Indian Falls.
Before European settlement, Nawash Indians called
the falls Drum Falls because of its noise. In historic times a saw
mill and later a grist mill were located on Indian Creek.
To get to Indian Falls, take County Road 1 (see above)
north from Owen Sound. After about four kilometres, watch for the
Conservation Authority signs.
TOP
Inglis
Falls
At Inglis Falls, the Sydenham River plunges over the
Escarpment before making its way through Owen Sound and out to Georgian
Bay. Twenty metres in height, Inglis Falls is the most spectacular
of the three waterfalls in the Owen Sound area. A small stone building
at the falls is the remains of a grist mill that operated here from
1845 to 1932.
The surrounding 215-hectare park is a popular spot
for picnicking, hiking the nature trails, cycling and cross-country
skiing. Groomed, track-set trails are maintained by the Grey Sauble
Conservation Authority. A section of trail follows the west side
of the river southward, and takes hikers to a fascinating old water
filtration plant.
The Sydenham River is the remnant of a mighty pre-glacial
river which, together with the Pottawatomi River to the west, carved
out the deep, broad valley that is now Owen Sound Bay. Downstream
from Inglis Falls, the river is an important spawning ground for
rainbow and brown trout and chinook salmon.
The Administration Centre of the Grey Sauble Conservation
Authority is located just north of Inglis Falls on Inglis Falls
Road.
To get to the Conservation Authority and Inglis Falls,
follow 2nd Avenue East (main street) south out of Owen Sound. After
passing the entrance to Harrison Park and climbing a hill, turn
left at the Conservation Authority sign at the top of the hill.
The entrance to Inglis Falls is about a kilometre past the Conservation
Authority. To reach Inglis Falls from Highway 6 & 10, turn west
at Rockford, south of Owen Sound, and turn right at the first sideroad.
TOP
Kemble Mountain Management
Area
Kemble Mountain offers visitors a diversity of ecosystems
including upland hardwood forest, silver maple swamp, Escarpment
talus slope and open fields.
A network of trails along logging roads winds through
the forest, taking hikers and skiers to the cliff edge for an impressive
view over Georgian Bay farmlands and the village of Kemble below.
The forest at Kemble Mountain is typical of the high
quality sugar bushes found throughout Grey County. In pioneer times,
these forests provided lumber for homes, barns and furniture as
well as maple syrup, wood for heating and cooking, and potash.
Most of Kemble Mountain Management Area has been classified as a
Life Science Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI). The
forest is home to two provincially rare and eight locally rare plant
species.
To get to Kemble Mountain, take County Road 1 (Second
Avenue West) north via the Eddie Sargeant Parkway on the west side
of Owen Sound. At the village of Kemble, continue north (go straight
through) at the stop sign. Park on the roadside at the top of the
hill, and look for the trail signs on the right hand side of the
road.
TOP
Lindenwood
Management Area
Lindenwood is a 240-hectare deciduous woodland composed
of sugar maple, white ash, beech and red oak. The property is rugged
and rocky, with many crevices and large blocks of moss- and fern-covered
dolostone that have broken away from the Escarpment. The Bruce Trail
runs along the Escarpment through the Lindenwood Management Area.
To get to Lindenwood, take County Road 1 (see above)
toward Kemble. Before the village, just after a long curve that
passes a farm on the left, a road veers off to the left. Follow
that road to where it dead-ends at a farm. Park at the end of the
road and look for the white Bruce Trail blazes and a stile over
a fence.
TOP
Pottawatomi
Conservation Area
The Pottawatomi Conservation Area is best known for
its scenic 12-metre waterfall, Jones Falls, which can be glimpsed
from Highway 6 & 21. The Bruce Trail leads to the falls. Along
the trail are good examples of mechanical weathering, a form of
erosion in which groundwater seeps into cracks and crevices in the
rocks then freezes and thaws, making the cracks larger until eventually
blocks of dolostone fall away from the Escarpment face. Watch for
crevices on this section of the trail! The pitting in the limestone
is created by rain water, which is naturally acidic.
Eastern white cedars, hundreds of years old, cling
to the edge of the Escarpment at Pottawatomi Conservation Area.
Plant lovers can watch for some unusual species: plantain-leaved
pussytoes, hairy rock cress, white water buttercup, northern bedstraw
and Hart's-tongue fern.
Jones Falls is named for Samuel Ayres Jones, who bought
the property in 1849 from surveyor Charles Rankin. Jones built a
sawmill just below the falls, on the north side of the river.
To reach the Pottawatomi Conservation Area, follow
Highway 6 & 21 westward out of Owen Sound to Springmount. Turn
right onto Highway 70 and turn again at the tourism centre just
past the corner on the right. The trail begins from the parking
lot, and a ten-minute hike takes you to the falls. For a longer
hike, the trail can also be accessed from the north. Continue past
the tourism centre and take the first right (Sarawak Derby town
line, locally known as the drive-in road). After about 0.5 km, watch
for Bruce Trail blazes and a small parking lot on the right.
TOP
Rocklyn
Creek Management Area
Rocklyn Creek springs from the face of the Escarpment
and runs, cold and clear, year round. The Bruce Trail gives hikers
access to this beautiful woodland creek and to nearby Marshall Woods,
one of the few remaining tracts of virgin old growth forest left
in Grey County.
To get to Rocklyn Creek, take the Derry Line (see
above) to the signs for Bognor and Walter's Falls. Turn right (County
Road 29) and follow it to Walter's Falls. Go through the village
and down a hill. At the bottom of the hill, watch for the white
Bruce Trail blazes on the right.
TOP
Skinner's
Bluff Conservation Area
The bluff is the edge of the headland that separates
Colpoy's Bay from Owen Sound. The views of the Bay, the offshore
islands and the far-off cliffs of Cape Croker are extraordinary.
The conservation area is used for hiking, cross country skiing and
forest management.
TOP
Slough
of Despond
Owned by the Grey Sauble Conservation Authority, this
area contains a wide and wonderful variety of plants, including
many rare and endangered species. Described by biologists as a glacial
lagoon, this botanically significant wetland is accessible by the
Bruce Trail.
TOP
Spey River
Forest East
The Spey River Forest has become a popular cross-country
skiing spot in recent years, with the development of the Massie
ski trails. Maintained by the Owen Sound Cross- country Ski Club,
the Massie trails offer seven kilometres of track-set trails, ranging
from beginner to intermediate skill level. The trails go through
mature deciduous forest, with a spruce and tamarack plantation at
one end and a thick cedar bush at the other.
Take Highway 6 & 10 south of Owen Sound to Rockford,
go left on the Derry Line, and watch for the Massie sign at the
third concession from Highway 6. Turn right. After passing one sideroad
and a long hill look for the trail entrance on the right. There
is a sign with a trail map at the entrance.
TOP
The Glen
Management Area
The Glen is a 660-hectare property used for hiking,
cross-country skiing, hunting, snowmobiling and wildlife management.
The Bruce Trail follows a horseshoe-shaped section of the Escarpment
here. Combined with a short section along a gravel road, the trail
forms a 12-kilometre loop notable for dramatic crevices, springs
gushing from the rock, and views down into a swamp that forms the
headwaters of Mud Creek.
The diversity of vegetation creates ideal wildlife
habitat at the Glen. The swamp is home to beaver, muskrat, herons,
wood ducks, mallards, black ducks, green-winged teal and blue-winged
teal. A deeryard just below the Escarpment makes the Glen an interesting
place to visit in winter. The Glen is also popular with birders
in spring and duck hunters in fall.
Over one hundred years ago, the Glen was the scene
of intense logging activity. Between the 1860s and 1914, six million
board feet of hemlock were removed from the Glen for construction
of the Sault Ste. Marie locks and for pilings at Owen Sound harbour.
Large charred pine and cedar stumps still remain, a testimony to
the wildfires that raged through the area after the loggers left.
The Glen can be reached by taking County Road 1 (see
above) north out of Owen Sound for five kilometres. At County Road
17 (Mountain Lake and Bass Lake signs) turn left and follow it for
about four kilometres past Benallen.
TOP
Walter's
Falls
The village of Walter's Falls is worth a stop for
its old mill site, stone church and historic cemetery. John Walter
built a sawmill here in 1852, and later a grist mill and a woollen
mill. Fire destroyed the historic sawmill in 1984, though the woolen
mill still stands. At the sawmill site, Walter's Creek drops 14
metres over the Niagara Escarpment cliff face.
The beautiful old stone church in Walter's Falls,
St. Philip's Anglican Church, was built in 1885 from Escarpment
limestone, which outcrops in the fields around the church.
To get to Walter's Falls, turn south from Highway
26 at Woodford on County Road 18, which becomes 29, and follow the
signs to Walter's Falls. From Owen Sound, follow the directions
to the Rocklyn Creek Management Area above.
TOP
West Rocks
This wooded Escarpment area in Owen Sound provides
a popular Bruce Trail hike for residents of the city, with excellent
examples of Niagara Escarpment rock formations and a magnificent
view of Owen Sound and Georgian Bay. Naturalists visit the West
Rocks and adjoining Black's Park to enjoy wildflowers, ferns and
mushrooms. Though only a few hectares in area, Black's Park has
29 fern species -- more than all of Algonquin Park!
To get to West Rocks, follow 10th Street to the west
side of Owen Sound. At 6th Avenue turn left and go to 7th Street.
Turn right and go to 8th Avenue. Park on the street near the corner
of 8th Avenue and 7th Street West, and look for the Bruce Trail
signs on the hillside.
TOP
|
