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| Blue Mountains (South Side) to East Loree Forest |
This trek transitions between the Blue Mountains section and the Beaver Valley section.
Today we left our car at Len Gertler Memorial Loree Forest where there is roadside parking on Sideroad 21 (10 cars). We then took an Uber to the Blue Mountain Resort parking lot off Swiss Meadows Road (50 cars). This is the same parking lot that services the Summit View BBQ where we ended our hike last time. Note that this hike took place 3 weeks after the March 29-30th ice storm hit the region. As a result, there were still many downed trees obstructing the trail.
The initial section of the trail passes the gondola (lift) next to the Summit View BBQ which was closed at this time. It was a beautiful sunny day. As you can see from the pictures, there was some snow still clinging to the slopes which some skiers were taking advantage off (perhaps for the last time this season).
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| Gate exiting parking lot to the Bruce Trail |
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| Gondola at Summit |
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| View from summit. |
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| Trail heading north from the summit |
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| View of Swiss Meadows Blvd from trail |
The trail continues north along the summit in the woods, paralleling Swiss Meadows Boulevard. It then briefly descends and ascends the side of the escarpment as it nears Maple Lane. Along the way we observed the top of chair lift. This section had several downed trees and debris to navigate.
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| Trail heading north along summit |
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| The trail begins to descend |
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| There were several bridges in this section that spanned small crevices. |
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| Another bridge, and another downed tree. |
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| We call this the gauntlet - several large downed trees across the trail. |
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| Large bridge at marker km 67.2 of the Blue Mountains section where a large ravine crossed the trail. |
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| Taking a much needed breather after trekking over and under downed trees. |
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| Trail climbing back up to the summit |
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| Trail continuing north at the summit towards Maple Lane. |
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| Trail turning left onto Maple Road |
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| View to the east from the end of Maple Lane. Parking for 8 cars. Residential area. |
Maple lane marks the transition between the Blue Mountains section of the trail and the Beaver Valley Section.
The trail continues west along Maple Lane. This is actually a rerouted section of the Bruce trail. The land owner located north of the end of Maple Lane requested the reroute. The trail used to pass north through the land owners back yard. The reroute continues west down Maple Lane, then turns north to pass through a farmer's field to meet up with the original trail within the woods on the summit of the Blue Mountains. |
| View east down Maple Lane towards roadside parking in the distance. |
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| Trail turning north off of Maple Lane to traverse a farmer's field (reroute). |
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| Approach to farmer's field. |
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| View north across farmer's field. |
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| View northeast from trail at summit |
The trail continues along the summit through the woods in a northwesterly direction an eventually comes across the Intercept Side Trail. This short 180m side trail leads to roadside parking at the intersection of 4th Line and 21st Sideroad.
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| View north across Nottawasaga Bay from the summit |
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| Lots of signs for snowshoe trails were visible at the summit. |
From the Intercept Side Trail, the Bruce continues northwest, descending quickly into a river valley populated by firs and cedars, only to crawl back out the other side to a fantastic lookout point with a welcome seating area.
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| Staircase leading to rivers edge (view from bottom). |
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| River at the bottom of the valley. |
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| Steep incline leading out of river valley in a southwesterly direction. |
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| Seating area on ridge overlooking river valley. Nattawasaga Bay in the distance. |
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| View of trail leading to seating area. |
After climbing out of the river valley, the trail heads north again towards Loree Forest. We return to our vehicle by taking the Leri Gertler Connector Side Trail (which forms a T).
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| This southern intersection of the Loree side trail was bypassed in our Trek. |
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| Trail heading north into Loree Forest. |
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| The point where we leave the Bruce to return to our car. |
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| Section of the connector heading west. |
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| Section of the connector heading south towards the roadside parking on 21 Sideroad. |
Hike #63
Time: 3 hours, 18 minutes
Distance: 8.67 kms
Difficulty: Moderate, rolling hills, climbs, some gravel path, road
Trail Use: Hiking Only
Total kms hiked: 455.3 kms
Points of Interest: There are so many points of interest in this section of the Bruce Trail. We decided to stop in for lunch at the Summit View Family BBQ in Blue Mountains. Let them know at the ticketing office that you have a reservation and they'll let you pass for free. Then we took the Gondola to the village. Note: Tickets for the Gondola must be purchased at the base of the ski hill. If you have a dinner reservation the Gondola is free. It wasn't a busy day so they let us ride the Gondola down to where our car was parked (we showed our lunch receipt and begged, so don't count on being able to do so!). The Village at Blue Mountains also offers a variety of activities, such as paddle boats, ropes courses, a mountain coaster, restaurants and shops. After lunch, we also headed over to Wasaga Beach (about a 20 minutes drive) for a quick dip before heading home.
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