Bruce Trail Hike #4: Merritt St to Brock University

Merritt St. to Brock University

This leg of the Bruce Trail is predominantly on the road. Sunscreen and hat are definitely required. It doesn't say mountain biking is not allowed on the trail and we definitely encountered a couple of bikers on wooded sections along the way. The trail sections are a bit narrow so bikers watch out for hikers! I liked that the bikers we encountered had a quiet bell that rang constantly to alert us they were coming. 

We parked our car on Hayes street near Valleyview park and took the side trail at the end of Hayes to Merritt St. We decided not to take two cars and arranged to have someone pick us up at Brock University and drive us back to our car. For reference, the daily rate is $12 to park at Brock. Decew Falls, about 3kms from Brock, does have free parking but we were pressed for time and weren't planning on going that far. 

This section of the Bruce Trail was not the most interesting. A good part of this 7km trek was on the road. Once you take the side trail from Hayes Street you will cross Merrit Street and head down Ball Ave West (see the map above). 

Trail continues onto Ball Avenue

At the end of Ball Avenue you will come to the trail head. This section of the trail is in the woods and runs alongside one of the old canals. This was definitely the most interesting part of this leg.

This wooded section of the trail is fairly short and it's not long before you come out onto Bradley Street. You will continue on a gravel path along Bradley street until you reach Glendale Ave. 

Bunny on Bradley Street 

As you approach Glendale you will get a good view of the stack of the historical Cotton Mill Building on Glendale which now houses the Keg Steakhouse. 

View of the Keg from Bradley Street

Once you hit Glendale Ave you are on the road for quite a stretch. You will walk past Sobey's, several restaurants, Tim Hortons, and The Pen Centre. So if shopping instead of hiking is more your thing...

From Glendale, the Bruce Trail will make a left turn onto Tremont Drive where we saw plenty of wildlife. 

Wildlife on Tremont Dr.

After a decent climb we reenter a wooded section of the Bruce Trail. Make sure you note that you should not be hunting the wildlife, especially not the wildlife featured in the above picture.  If you want to skip the road section of the Bruce Trail you could park at the top of Tremont and begin your trek there; however, there is limited street parking and no parking for commercial vehicles. 

This is a beautiful section of the Bruce Trail with stunning views of the valley. Unfortunately, it is not long before the trail leads you onto Glenridge Road where the climb continues up the escarpment on the sidewalk. 

Close to the top of Glenridge the Bruce Trail veers back into the woods before bringing you out onto Brock University Campus behind the Schmon Tower.

Back of Brock University Campus, Schmon Tower

We continued to wind through the back of the campus until we reached the tennis courts. Here the trail goes back into the woods and over to Decew Falls but we will continue on to that section on our next trek. 

The map below shows my fitbit tracker of our trek; however, note that I crossed off the section at the end where we were driving (I forgot to turn off my Fitbit tracker). You can see that we continued onto the trail passed the tennis courts but then turned back because our ride had arrived. 

Hike #4

Date:                         August 6th, 2021

Start:                        Merritt rd (parked on Hayes and took the sidetrail)

Finish:                      Brock University (by the Tennis Courts)

Distance:                Approximately 7kms

Time:                       1 hour 30 minutes

Trail Use:                 Hiking/Biking