When I first started thinking about long distance walks, I immediately gravitated to the trails in the UK due to the walking culture there. I then focused on the trails in Scotland as I thought to combine my desire to visit Scotland again with walking a long distance trail. And that’s why my first long distance trail (the West Highland Way in 2019) was in Scotland, not closer to home.
But recently, especially after walking part of the Island Walk in PEI last fall, I started to wonder if there were any long distance trails close to my hometown. Ideally, I was thinking about doing a week long fall walk to see all the autumn colours. Of course, I know about the Bruce Trail but it’s not really close to home for all that it’s in the same province. And of course there are other trails in Ontario but it’s a big province and I wondered if there was anything close to where I grew up other than the short trails (most under 10km) I walked when I still lived there.
For those of you who don’t know me, while I was born in Toronto and have spent most of my adult life here, it’s not what I think of as my hometown. That’s the village I grew up in from age 11 to 18 (and returned to for most summers in my 20s to work while I was in university and then college) and where my mom still lives, which is about 2 hours northeast of Toronto in the Kawathas (beautiful cottage country for anyone not familiar with Ontario or Canada).
It turns out that while there are no long trails that actually go through my hometown, although there are rumours that some might be in development in a nearby provincial park, I did find several shorter ones nearby that connect so I could walk from Haliburton to Peterborough via Kinmount, Fenelon Falls, Lindsay, and Omemee. The total walking distance would be about 125km (I think). I say “about” as the trail distance mentioned from Haliburton to Kinmount and from Kinmount to Lindsay (via Fenelon Falls) is consistent in every source I’ve looked at, but the distance from Lindsay to Peterborough (via Omemee) varies from source to source so I’m going with the longer distance that way I can be pleasantly surprised if it’s actually shorter.
I was originally going to extend my walk to Lakefield, another approximate 10km, but decided to walk the trail from Peterborough to Lakefield as a day hike another time. That trail is also the only one of the bunch I’ve previously walked (and biked) before as I worked on the Trent-Severn Waterway in my 20s and used to bike from Peterborough to work when I worked at a lock on the river. It’s a lovely trail or at least it was and I’m looking forward to walking it again this summer.
Plus ending my walk in Peterborough means I can simply hop on the Go bus back to Toronto which makes things easier when traveling without a car.
Another benefit to this route, other than the fun of exploring an area I’m fairly familiar with in a slower manner, is that I can stay with my mom some of the nights. This means I can visit with her and save money (win-win, lol). But I will stay in a B&B a few nights to save her some driving. I’m excited to plan a walking trip in an area I know, especially during the fall when the colours will be spectacular.
Which trails am I planning on walking?
The trails I’m planning on walking are the Haliburton County Rail Trail, which runs from Haliburton to Kinmount; the Victoria Rail Trail, from Kinmount to Lindsay; and part of the Kawartha Trans Canada Trail, from Lindsay to Peterborough. All are former railways so I don’t expect the walking to be too challenging. But it should be pretty in the fall.
Final thoughts
While I’ve literally just started the planning, the initial Goggle searches highlight three issues that originally made me look further afield for my other walks. First, we don’t really have a walking culture here. Hiking and the outdoors, sure. But I randomly stumbled across the Victoria Rail Trail and from that found the others. There’s also not a lot of info online from others that may have walked the trails before. Other than the Bruce Trail, which people do thru-hike and section hike, it seems like most other trails aren’t really thought of as long distance trails but rather nice day hikes. Which leads me to my second point…
Second, the lack of accommodations on the trails, or rather lack of info on what’s available. The Victoria Rail Trail has a nice PDF with basic info but other than one mention of a campground, there are no other accommodations mentioned. But lots of mention of access points hence the day hike comment above. I’m less worried about where to stay between Lindsay and Peterborough but there seems to be nothing at the midway point of the Haliburton County Rail Trail and little on the Victoria Rail Trail. Further research is definitely needed.
Finally, solo walking has the additional challenge, regardless of the trail, of transportation to and from the start and end point unless one is able to find accommodation at both. This is doubly problematic in rural Ontario as there is very limited public transportation. For example, on the walk I’m planning, only the final end point of Peterborough has regular public transportation.
Note: with the exception of the Bruce Trail (which is more established) and backcountry hiking trails (where one can camp more easily), I suspect that my three issues can be applied to many other trails across Ontario.
Have you walked any of these three trails? Any recommendations?
Rambles and Walks 