Amanda and Peter's Bruce Trail Trek

Brock to DeCew Falls Todays hike started at Brock University. We parked in Lot P ($7 for 2 hours/$13 for the whole day). You will find the trail head behind the tennis courts. We parked our second car at Morningstar Mill (free parking). Here you will be able to view DeCew Falls. Portable toilets are available at both locations.  Trail Head at Brock University This section of the trail passes by the DeCew Generating Station.  Walking the trail alongside the DeCew Generating Station gave us a Jurassic Park like vibe, minus the tropical vegetation and the Velociraptors of course.  After the generating station, the Bruce Trail loops around the sports fields and back out onto Brock's Campus near the She Wolf Sculpture.  I wouldn't suggest climbing too far into the sculpture as I'm sure you can imagine the types of activities that take place inside her 😉. Brock University If you head over to the She Wolf Sculpture to take a selfie, be careful when returning to the trail. ...

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 tak...

Woodend Conservation Area to Merritt Rd. Entrance to Bruce Trail off Taylor Rd. We started this leg of our jouney at Woodend Conservation Area. We parked our other car at Valleyview Park (parking lot entrance off Willow St.).  We hiked the Bruce Trail to Merritt rd and then backtracked to take an unmarked side trail towards Willow St. With the exception of the section of the trail that follows the Welland Canal Trail, this 6km stretch of the Bruce Trail is for hiking only. Sorry mountain bikers.  Much more sunlight coming through this forest resulting in lush green ground cover.  Much of this section of the Bruce Trail is out in the open. Be sure to apply sunscreen and bring a hat and sunglasses! Also, watch out for flying golf balls...we saw several on the trail. In the distance in the photo below you can see the Glendale Avenue Bridge we will cross to go over the Welland Canal.  Royal Niagara Golf Club The trail brings you alongside one of the older Welland Canals....