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Family-Friendly Cycling Trails

My work colleagues have been asking me for trails in Ontario not too far away from the Greater Toronto Area where they can take their family members, whether they have a mountain bike or a hybrid bike.

Considering that most of the trails below used to be railroads, most of the trails are relatively flat except where noted.

All the trails below feature well-marked road crossings.


Here are a listing of trails that would be perfect for this, divided into 20-30km chunks (10-15 km to one point, and then 10-15km back to their car), so each trail network will require several visits to complete.


Elora Cataract Trailway

Elora Cataract Trailway

Rail Trail

City streets


Rail Trail going from Elora/Fergus all the way to the Forks of the Credit Provincial Park.

The Fergus city streets portion can be avoided entirely.

Brantford to Port Dover Rail Trails

Brantford to Port Dover Rail Trails

Dedicated Paved Path

Rail trail

City streets

Parks


Network of rail trails going from Brantford all the way to Port Dover (Lake Erie). Additional route from Simcoe to Delhi.

Caledon Trailway

Caledon Trailway

Rail trail


Rail trail that goes through the entire width of the Caledon Region.

The trail also continues a bit longer (under another name) to Tottenham.

Hamilton to Cambridge

Hamilton to Cambridge

Dedicated Paved Path

Rail trail

City streets


Going from Hamilton to Brantford to Paris to Cambridge. Some length used by the Paris to Ancaster spring bicycle event.

Kissing Bridge Trailway

Kissing Bridge Trailway

Rail trail

Public Roads


The Kissing Bridge Trailway is a portion of the Guelph to Goderich (G2G) trail. The public road parts are avoidable if you plan accordingly. Slight detour to the only covered bridge in Ontario.

Kelso

Kelso Conservation Area

Mountain Biking


I took my nephews to this conservation area when I taught them mountain biking for the first time using a "beginner loop" I made up from the existing Green (Easy) and Blue (Medium) difficulty trails.

Albion Hills

Albion Hills Conservation Area

Mountain Biking


Self-guided practice course layout for the Chico Racing 24 Hours of Summer Solstice mountain bike relay race events.

Possible Future entries?

Looking for reasonably long (ex: at least 1 stretch more than 10 km), family-friendly, bike-friendly trails away from car traffic and with a focus on Nature.


Some possible future entries (after some test rides):

  • Chippewa Trail
    (Hamilton)(12-15km)
  • Connecting between Hamilton-Brantford Rail Trail & Chedoke Radial Trail & Escarpment Rail Trail (Hamilton)
  • Dofasco 2000 Trail
    (Hamilton)(19km)
  • Uxbridge to Lindsay Rail Trail (64km)
  • Lang Hastings Rail Trail (33km)
    (Peterborough to Hastings)
  • Omemee Rail Trail
    (35km)(Lindsay to Peterborough)
  • Perth Harvest Pathway (PHP) and Lake Huron Route (LHR)
    (Millbank to Goderich part of G2G)