The McCormack Trail

Minus 14 degrees Celsius and sunny, a perfect morning for exploring. Under an impossibly blue January sky, Rosie and I headed up the trail from Governors road on the farm laneway that makes up the first section of the trail. Passing the meadows of Valley Farms, a few horses were grazing and seemed oblivious to our passing.

Within a few minutes we arrived at the pond. This is a spot that I frequently hike to in the summer as it is common to see wood ducks, mallards and the occasional blue heron here. On this day, with the pond frozen over, all was silent. This pond is particularly beautiful in the fall. The following is a photo my brother Marc Goede took there this past October. Leaving the pond, we continued north. There are a couple of trails branching off to the right that will take you through the meadow and uphill. I have hiked there many times and the view from the top is pretty neat with views clear to Cootes Paradise and the city of Hamilton. We continued down the trail, hitting a steep downhill section and reaching a tee. On this day we chose to turn left, for no other reason than my dog Rosie, on the scent of something, decided she wanted to go that way. Heading west the trail wound through a forest of maple and oak and then turned back to meadow as the trail circled back towards the direction from where we had come. This is essentially a large loop taking you back through grazing pasture towards Valley Farm.

As this trail winds through active pasture please be respectful of the gates, ensuring that they remain closed. There are frequently horses in this area so it is also important to ensure that if you bring your dog, they remain on the leash.

Connecting back to the main trail, we paused at the fence overlooking the farm and a few of the horses come over to greet us.
Picturesque and well worth hiking, this trail remains relatively unknown and always seems to be very quiet. It certainly gets my recommendation if you are looking for an easy short hike with great views.