Discovering the Hendrie Valley

An area that I am just beginning to discover is the Hendrie Valley Trails of the Royal Botanical Gardens.

A smaller scale version of Cootes Paradise, this area which includes the 100 hectare Grindstone Creek Valley stretches to the end of Carroll’s Bay and contains the finest collection of floodplain wetlands on western Lake Ontario. Transferred to the Royal Botanical Gardens in 1941 for ecological protection, the area features slopes forested with old growth trees, a 60 hectare river mouth marsh complex, and 4 creeks. Major access points are along Plains Road and include the RBG Centre and Cherry Hill Gate.

On a couple of occasions I have parked at the Cherry Hill Gate entrance which is located on Plains Road in Burlington, but more typically I park at Valley Inn Road where it meets York Boulevard in Hamilton. This road which is now closed to car traffic provides a great way into to this rich hiking area.

Walking this way, you cross under the railway bridge and will find yourself in the Grindstone Marsh area. This is a great spot to see birds and assorted waterfowl. You will see in this area that a large project is underway to create new banks along the water’s edge and also provide a system that works as a natural barrier against invasive carp. This has been facilitated through the re-use of over 100,000 discarded Christmas trees.

Following the trail through the Grindstone Creek Delta, you soon arrive at a spectacular boardwalk that borders Grindstone Creek providing an excellent vantage point to watch nesting birds and observe beavers and other wildlife. This is a great place to bird watch and if you bring some seed along you can have some fun feeding the friendly birds by hand.

On recent walks I have seen incredible amounts of red-wing blackbirds, blue jays and cardinals and even watched beaver collecting brush in the bulrushes which surround the boardwalk.

As previously mentioned, I am just starting to explore the Hendrie Valley and look forward to further hikes through the western trails that border Grindstone Creek and the South Pasture Swamp. You can definitely count on further blog articles on this amazing trail system.

If you haven’t already done so, please visit the Dundas Valley and Beyond page on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dundas-Valley-and-beyond/120774278042380

Visit our page for photos as well as current information on trail conditions and events. Help spread the word!!