Belfountain Conservation
Area
Belfountain
Conservation Area, managed by the Credit Valley Conservation Authority,
is a 13-hectare park located in a gorge on the east side of the
historic town of Belfountain. The Credit River runs through the
property, creating a steep-sided gorge and exposing the red clay
of the Queenston Formation.
This charming little park was initially developed
by an eccentric inventor, Charles Mack, who invented the rubber
stamp. Mack bought the property in the early 1900s, and developed
several unusual attractions: a miniature Niagara Falls, a man-made
cave with concrete stalagmites and stalagtites, and a suspension
bridge over the Credit River. He also built a fountain of inverted
bells, and dedicated it to the community. Today the fountain, still
running, is covered with a thick coat of mosses.
Adjoining Belfountain Conservation Area is the 38-hectare
Willoughby Property, acquired by CVCA in 1995. Here, Niagara Escarpment
talus slopes provide habitat for ferns such as rock polypody, maiden-hair
spleenwort and daisy-leaved grape fern.
The conservation area is open daily in the summer,
and weekends and holidays in the spring and fall. For current hours
of operation, please call call (905) 670-1615 Ext. 261.
To get to Belfountain Conservation Area, take Mississauga
Road from the 401 and go north to the village of Belfountain. The
Conservation Area is .5 km north and east of the main intersection
of town.
Cheltenham Badlands
Continue south on Mississauga Road to Olde Base Line
Road, and turn left (east). On the south side of the road, watch
for an outcrop of Queenston shale that is badly eroded, creating
a small but impressive "badland" like those of southern Alberta.
The badland may have developed when the land was cleared. The overlying
topsoil washed away, exposing the clay, which then succumbed to
the forces of erosion.
As you view the badlands, please keep in mind that
this land is privately owned, and should be respected as such.
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Cheltenham Brick Yards
Driving south on Mississauga Road from Belfountain,
you pass by a group of tall, abandoned brick buildings with smoke
stacks on the west side of the road. This is the Cheltenham Brick
Yards, which operated from 1914 until 1958. The red clay of the
Escarpment's Queenston shale formation provided the raw material for high quality baked bricks. Today,
the Brampton Brick Company still uses shale from the Cheltenham
area for brick-making. The company is also involved in efforts to
stabilize and preserve these buildings as an important part of Ontario's
industrial heritage.
The first bricks made from Queenston shale were used
to build the home of the mill owner at Terra Cotta in 1850. Before
long, several brick companies were established in the Terra Cotta
area; in fact, the town was named for this local resource. Terra
cotta means "baked earth".
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Forks of the Credit Provincial
Park
The two branches of the Credit River unite at Forks
of the Credit Provincial Park, a 282 hectare day-use park. The Credit
drops over the edge of the Escarpment near the village of Cataract.
A hiking trail takes you to a viewing platform at the waterfall,
with an excellent view down into the gorge and out over the valley.
At the park entrance, an interpretive kiosk explains
the area's geology. From here, you can see the park's largest kettle,
which is a small lake. Kettles are depressions in the ground, created
by blocks of ice abandoned by glaciers. When these blocks melted,
they left pit-shaped depressions in the ground. Look for smaller
kettles as you hike the trails through the park.
You will also notice several Escarpment outcrops around
Forks of the Credit, the biggest being the Devil's Pulpit, which
rises 100 metres above the Credit River Valley. The Credit River
has cut down through the rocks of the Escarpment, and an excellent
contact between the older Ordovician rocks (the red Queenston shale)
and the younger Silurian rocks (Whirlpool sandstone) can be seen
in the river valley.
In the late 19th century, the village of Cataract,
which lies on the western boundary of the park, was a bustling town
with mills, electrical plants, railroads and stone quarries. The
Dominion Road, running along the west bank of the Credit, linked
Cataract with the nearby town of Brimstone. The road was probably
opened by the 1850s, and may have evolved from an Indian trail.
When the railway came into the area in the 1870s, the engineers
decided that the Dominion Road would be best route for the rail
line, so the road was relocated to the east bank of the Credit in
1879. The floods of 1912 wiped out part of the Dominion Road near
Cataract, and it was never re-built.
The Forks area was an important industrial centre
in the 19th century. Three stone quarries employing over 400 men
provided stone for the Ontario legislative building at Queen's Park
in Toronto, the old Toronto City Hall and many University of Toronto
buildings.
To get to Forks of the Credit Provincial Park, turn
west off Highway 10 onto Highway 24 (Charleston Sideroad). Continue
west for 3 km, then turn left on McLaren Road (formerly the 2nd
Line West). The park entrance is about 2.5 km down the road. The
provincial park is not open year-round. For more information, call
(705) 435-2498.
Glen Haffy Conservation Area
Glen Haffy Conservation Area, managed by the Toronto
and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), is located at the junction
of Ontario's two most dominant geological features: the Niagara
Escarpment and the Oak Ridges Moraine. Glen Haffy is a good place
for a picnic, a hike, or to take the kids fishing.
Nature trails traverse the wooded parts of the property.
Watch for the large "Nature Trails"sign that marks the trailhead.
For a spectacular view of the rolling farmland and forest to the
north and east, cross the grass to the right of the trailhead, and
walk the short distance to the lookout point.
At Glen Haffy, cold springs issuing from the Escarpment
form part of the headwaters of the Humber River. They also provide
the water for Glen Haffy's main attraction: fishing. The TRCA operates
a rainbow trout hatchery and several fishing ponds here. Fishing
licenses, bait and equipment are available on site. The fishing
season runs from the last Saturday in April till the end of September.
Glen Haffy is located on the east side of Airport
Road, between Caledon East and Mono Mills.
Ken Whillans Resource Management
Area
This large (88ha/217 acre) floodplain sits in the
shadow of the Niagara Escarpment and provides access to the Caledon
Trailway and the Credit River. It is a popular spot for anglers
who want to fish for largemouth bass, sunfish, rock bass and catfish
in the two warm water ponds. For those who wish to hike a little
further to fish, trout can be found in the Credit River. Other users
have easy access the Caledon Trailway for hiking and cycling
While fishing, you can enjoy the scenery. Ken
Whillans is one place where the Niagara Escarpment outline can be seen, buried
though it is under glacial drift.
The management area is located on the west side of
Highway 10, two miles north of Old Base Line Road. A parking fee
charged at self serve registration station.
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Silver Creek Conservation
Area
With its rich, diverse forests and steep-sided stream
valleys, Silver Creek is a beautiful area for hiking. A 14-kilometre
trail allows hikers to explore the Conservation Area in depth. This
moderately difficult trail
winds up and down steep valley walls, through open
meadows and deep woods, across boardwalks and bridges. Visitors
looking for a much shorter hike could head to the Silver Creek Outdoor
Education Centre, located at the corner of the 27 sideroad and the
9th line. From here, take the Silver Creek Lookout Loop, an easy,
2.5 kilometre trail that winds up the Escarpment and north along
its edge, offering spectacular views of the surrounding countryside.
From this trail, you can also take a ladder down into the Escarpment
rock crevices.
Silver Creek is at the junction of the Carolinian
and Great Lakes-St. Lawrence forest regions, so it is home to both
northern and southern species of plants and animals. Watch for the
shaggy bark of the shagbark hickory, a Carolinian tree species.
Other Carolinian specialties include running strawberry-bush, spicebush,
and yellow water buttercup. Blue-winged and golden-winged warblers
nest here.
The Silver Creek Valley carried meltwaters at the
end of the Ice Age. Its valley separates the Georgetown outlier
from the main Escarpment.
To get to Silver Creek, take Trafalgar Road (Regional
Road 3) north from the 401. Continue north for 14 kilometres, when
Regional Road 3 veers west and merges with Highway 7 for 3 kilometres.
When 7 veers off to the west, stay on Regional Road 3 heading north.
After 1.5 kilometres turn right and enter Scotsdale Farm. Parking
is available near the house.
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Scotsdale Farm
Scotsdale
Farm is a magnificent
example of an old Ontario farm, preserved as it was half a century
ago, and still operating today. The farm, farmhouse and outbuildings
were bequeathed to the Ontario Heritage Foundation in 1982 by Stewart
and Violet Bennett, who had raised award-winning shorthorn cattle
and Arabian horses there for over forty years. Today, the property
is managed by the Credit Valley Conservation Authority. The home
is rented out for conferences and private parties. Just walking
the tranquil grounds of this lovely old homestead generates nostalgic
feelings about Ontario's not-so-distant agricultural past.
To get to Scotsdale Farm, fllow Trafalgar road north
of Hwy 7 one kilometre to the entrance to Scotsdale Farm. Trail
access from the parking lots in Scotsdale. Parking along Trafalgar
road is not recommended. Trail access to the Bruce Trail and Bennett
Heritage Side Trail.
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Terra Cotta Conservation Area
Terra
Cotta Conservation Area consists of 408 acres of rugged terrain on
the Niagara Escarpment. In recent years a naturalized wetland has
been created, replacing a stone swimming pool, and the forests have
been enhanced by planting.
IShallow and deep areas provide habitat for a wide
variety of wetland plants and animals. Here, visitors can learn
the difference between a bulrush and a cattail, see tadpoles in
various stages of transformation into frogs, and watch Canada geese
raise their young. From a boardwalk that crosses the pond, kids
can use dip nets to get a close look at aquatic invertebrates.
Terra Cotta Conservation Area contains numerous trails
and a link to the well-known Bruce Trail, as well as trails suitable
for cross-country skiing. Its trails also connect with those of
Silver Creek Conservation Area and Scotsdale Farm, just to the south.
The entrance to the Conservation Area is on Winston Churchill Boulevard,
just north of the village of Terra Cotta.
For further information contact the conservation area
at (905) 877-9650.
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