Hike #60: Nottawasaga Lookout to Pretty River Valey

 

Nottawasaga Lookout Provincial Nature Reserve to Pretty River Valley Provincial Park

Today we left a bike (in case we couldn't get an Uber) at the head of the Pretty River Access Trail on Pretty River Road (roadside parking for 5 cars). There was no signal to call for an Uber so we traveled another kilometre east down the road to park our car at Snowdrifters Parking Area (20 cars).  At Snowdrifters Parking Area we had enough of a signal to request an Uber which took us to 26/27 Sideroad Nottawasaga where the Bruce Trail enters the southern boundary of the Nottawasaga Lookout PNR (roadside parking for 5 cars).  Note that 26/27 Sideroad is only accessible by car from the west.  Most of the road from Concession 10 North towards Clearview Townline road requires a serious off road vehicle (e.g., ATV or monster truck). 

From 26/27 Sideroad the trail heads north through the Notawasaga Lookout PNR, curving westwards towards the intersection of Clearview Towline road and Eagle Crescent where there is roadside parking for 8 cars.  The forest in this section of the trail was populated with trilliums.   

Llamas on 26/27 Sideroaed

Use at own risk!  Much of 26/27 Sideroad is impassible by car.

View southward.  This is where we stopped last time.

View northward from 26/27 Sideroad, where we start our journey today.

Note the abundant trilliums dotting the forest floor.

Even more trilliums!

This trail also forms a shortcut, bypassing the parking on Eagle Crescent.

Section of pine trees.

Sign viewed from roadside parking on Eagle Crescent and Osprey-Clearview Townline road.

From the roadside parking on Osprey-Clearview Townline road the trail continues north through the woods.  We decided to take the Standing Rock and Caves Side Trail which parallels the main trail to the north, heading in an easterly direction.  This side trail descends steeply through a labyrinth of deep crevices.  The floor of the crevices still contained ice and snow despite it being the first day of June!  After exiting the caves, the trail continues its descent through the woods which were strewn with large boulders.  After joining the Bruce again, the trail continues northwest to approach a road allowance south of Blue Mountain-Clearview Townline road.  It heads north through the woods, paralleling Blue Mountain-Clearview Townline road to exit the woods at 30/31 Sideroad.

View from top of crevice at head of Standing Rock & Caves Side Trail.

The initial descent into the Standing Rock side trail.

A labyrinth of twists and turns.

Note the scale of the walls of this labyrinth.

Another twist in this maze of crevices.

Trail descending through boulder strewn forest.

Trail continuing east to eventually meet up with the main trail.

Rejoining with the main trail.

The trail continues north after exiting the Nottawasaga Lookout PNR.

Trail exiting woods at the intersection of 30/31 Sideroad at Blue Mountain-Clearview Townline.

Roadside parking on Blue Mountain-Clearview townline at 30/31 Sideroad (not marked on BTC map)

The trail heads north on Blue Mountain-Clearview Townline road only to enter the woods again along a road allowance.  The road allowance descends into a marshy area then becomes a gravel road again (i.e., the northern section of Blue-Mountain-Clearview Towline road).  The trail turns sharply west to follow the Pretty River.  The woods here were dominated by cedars.  The trail then crosses Pretty River road to head north into the Pretty River Valley Provincial Park.

View northward.

Some more trilliums!

Trail heading north along muddy track.

Trail exiting woods to exit on northern section of Blue Mountain-Clearview Townline road.

Roadside parking at the entrance of Pretty River Access Trail (not on BTC map).  View northward

Trail heading west along the banks of Pretty River.

Some rather large vines grow it the Pretty River Valley.

Fence as trail approaches Pretty River road.

Pretty River road (view northward)

After crossing Pretty River Valley Road, the trail quickly turns west to ascend through forests of maples, firs and beech.  At the Pretty River Side Trail, the main trail turns sharply south to descend towards the Pretty River valley which was dominated by cedars.  We ended our journey today where the main trail make a U-turn just north of Pretty River road.  The side trail that leads to the roadside parking on Pretty River road located at the west end of the Pretty River Access Trail was not marked and is easily missed.  In fact, we missed the turn off and continued along the Bruce northward, following the Pretty River valley.  This added several unintended km's to our journey...

Where the trail re-enters the woods north of Pretty River road.

Note the black dashed line - this trail leads to where we parked our car.

A short cut that bypasses a good portion of the trail including a section along the banks of the Pretty River.

Peter cannot resist climbing a tree on a 45 degree angle!

What goes up, must come down!

Still climbing!

Fir trees.

Now the descent.

Long boardwalk through a wet section.

Cedar forest near the river.  Note the channels worn out by water run off.  Still descending.

Back to the banks of the Pretty River.

Where the unmarked side trail put us out onto Pretty River road near the roadside parking where I left my bicycle (in the distance).

Some flora and fauna we observed today.

Note the U-turn near the finish of our hike.  This is where we unintentionally added some extra kilometres.

Hike #60

Date:        June 1st, 2025
Start         26/27 Sideroad Nottawasaga

Finish:      Pretty River Road (roadside parking)

Time:                          4 hours
Distance:                   10.86 kms (includes extra unintended km's)
Difficulty:                  Easy to moderate, steep ascent/descents (difficult side trail - caves)
Trail Use:                    Hiking Only               
Total kms hiked:       431.6 kms

Kms remaining:        480.3 kms

Points of Interest: Once again, we decided to pop into Mylar and Loreta's Restaurant on Highway 124 in Singhampton. We had a great meal inside the eclectically decorated restaurant.