Day 3: 22.8km, Fenelon Falls to Lindsay
This morning’s breakfast was a lovely apple caramel waffle, which was delicious and perfect for fall. After packing up my stuff as I was checking out this morning, Phil dropped me off in Fenelon Falls by the old train station where I picked up the Victoria Rail Trail for the last of the three stages. But before I talk about today’s walk, I’d like to say again, that I recommend Sweet Dreams B&B, which is just outside of Fenelon Falls, if you are looking for a place to stay in the area or walking the trail. Phil & Barb are wonderful hosts.
This was the longest day of this walk, 22 km of trail and then a bit extra to the motel I stayed at. It was another nice day – mostly t-shirt weather! – with a variety of scenery. One of the highlights of this section was the Ken Reid Conservation Area, which the trail cuts through around the halfway point of the section. If you’re looking for a day hike near Lindsay or Fenelon Falls, I’d recommend checking it out. I actually wanted to explore it more as I’d never visited it before. Although I was curious about all the police cars I saw going in and out of it…
The area just south of Fenelon there was a little rock cut and on the lefthand side, there were lots of little figurines in/on it which was neat. I also saw a rabbit there which was nice. A bit further south there are some nice views over famer’s fields – don’t forget to look up as there’s probably a hawk or two gliding on the wind currents. I saw a couple but they’re hard to take a photo of with my phone (I know, I tried…). Actually, this was my best day for wildlife spotting as in addition to the grouse I was seeing everywhere (and which I saw another couple during this section), and the rabbit and hawks I just mentioned, I also saw a garter snake and several ducks (all in different locations).
A bit further down is the village of Cameron but I didn’t go into it, just continued on the trail. And then you’ll come to a hill (going down) which gives you a lovely view of the countryside and Sturgeon Lake. This was a great place for autumn colour, although I was looking into the sun so the photos aren’t the best.
Just before you get to the Ken Reid Conservation Area, you’ll see the open wetlands of Sturgeon Lake which you cross via a long causeway. This is a nice place to stop to see if you can find any wildlife (this is where I saw the ducks, a few different kinds). The bridge (part of the causeway) gave a perfect panorama of the march.
Then you’ll reach Ken Reid Conservation Area, which you walk through. I saw several people exploring/walking and the parking lot looked reasonably full for a weekday. As you continue south, it starts to get slowly more populated. The last few kilometers are paved and there was a bench not long after the paved path started which was a good place for a snack break.
At the end of the trail, there’s a small parkette with a section of the original track and several signs that talk about the trail and the history of the railway. I spent a bit of time here reading the signs before I headed into the town of Lindsay to the motel, Kent Inn, I was staying at that night. It’s a nice, inexpensive, and surprisingly quiet place.
Unfortunately, my allergies had started to act up so I didn’t go out for dinner as I planned but rather just grabbed some takeout to eat in my room but otherwise, it was another nice day of walking. My comfort limit for walking with a full pack is 25km (I can do more but prefer to keep my days between 15-20km whenever possible) so today’s almost 23km was pushing it. So it was another quiet night before I changed direction tomorrow, walking a section of the Trans Canada Trail.
Rambles and Walks 