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06-25-2017, 07:31 AM
(This post was last modified: 06-25-2017, 07:32 AM by Canard.)
Yesterday turned out to be a great weather day, and after doing my regular ride I decided to just keep riding, and explore a bunch of new areas I've never been before.
One of those areas was the Forfar Park, at the North end of the Stanley Park Conservation Area:
https://goo.gl/maps/BeQaieZGwoK2
There's a little pond here with a new viewing area, and lots of very happy ducks.
The paved trail on the right is a (what looks to be a very) new trail that I've drawn here in red, connecting to Rothway Ave:
Nice new little steel bridge:
When you get to Rothsay Ave, there is a MUT on the North side of the road that looks like it goes all the way out to the Grand River. I'll have to check that out next time!
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06-25-2017, 07:42 AM
(This post was last modified: 06-25-2017, 07:43 AM by Canard.)
One of my favourite trails in the Region is the Forwell Trail.
https://goo.gl/hxRCQY
At the North end, the trail goes by the huge Manulife building.
The trail is heavily wooded and offers nice scenery.
I first started riding there last fall and winter, and on most days the trail was nice and clear.
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06-25-2017, 07:51 AM
(This post was last modified: 06-25-2017, 07:59 AM by Canard.)
Here's another fun run I explored yesterday.
https://goo.gl/iHf19e
This branches off of the Iron Horse Trail just behind Victoria Park and heads out to the West side of Kitchener, following some very large hydro lines!
It's a neat run. Very open, and I like looking at the towers (the big junction/Y here is really interesting), but the surface is a very loose gravel so my wheels were skating around a lot.
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(06-25-2017, 07:51 AM)Canard Wrote: Here's another fun run I explored yesterday.
https://goo.gl/iHf19e
If you want a cardio workout, take the left past the school south of McGarry. The trail follows the inside of the sound barrier along the expressway while doing about 3-4 hills in that time. You can then go down the street and re-join the hydro trails at Yellow Birch.
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I believe there's a proposal to put a trail bridge over the Expressway near the hydro corridor, to connect Sunrise Centre and the Activa neighbourhood to this area. Not sure how far along it is, or how much support it has.
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06-25-2017, 05:43 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-25-2017, 05:46 PM by Canard.)
Found this oddity in the "Kolb Greenway".
https://goo.gl/EW41tu
The trail in the middle...
...leads here:
Also: What the heck is going on here?
https://goo.gl/7C8TU4
When I couldn't proceed down this one trail any further I saw on Google that there was a trail on "Otterbien Road" I could go on instead. But it ended up being someone's driveway and there's this weird house that seems to be in the middle of this huge area with scary signs all outside of it. Does this person own this entire parcel of land or something?
I really enjoyed these trails, too:
https://goo.gl/V5aGz9
Some really, really nice houses along there as well.
(06-25-2017, 09:40 AM)timio Wrote: If you want a cardio workout, take the left past the school south of McGarry. The trail follows the inside of the sound barrier along the expressway while doing about 3-4 hills in that time. You can then go down the street and re-join the hydro trails at Yellow Birch.
I will for sure. I realized once I got home I could have made a big "bulb" loop there and done that. Next time!
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(06-25-2017, 05:43 PM)Canard Wrote: Also: What the heck is going on here?
https://goo.gl/7C8TU4
When I couldn't proceed down this one trail any further I saw on Google that there was a trail on "Otterbien Road" I could go on instead. But it ended up being someone's driveway and there's this weird house that seems to be in the middle of this huge area with scary signs all outside of it. Does this person own this entire parcel of land or something?
Haven't been there in a long time, but years ago on family walks we'd take the path down the hill from Ebydale, and then along the river. Never had issues with that property, but it's possible things have changed with the times...
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I have run there before and there is a trail at the end of Otterbein as marked on the map. It follows a hydro line most of the way and connects with a bunch of single-track mountain-biking trails in the Natchez Woods. As I recall, it's little more than a single-track trail itself, and it goes up a very steep hill (~20% grade) that is not for the faint of heart.
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That steep hill in Natchez woods has been on my radar for a while, never been in the neighbourhood with my mountain bike though, gonna have to take a rip there sometime.
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06-25-2017, 09:15 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-25-2017, 09:16 PM by timc.)
I run through those trails fairly often. I usually run the one that goes from the end of Ottawa Street, and it goes around the top of the hill and then goes down to meet up with the Walter Bean Trail. It's usually pretty peaceful in there, and I see more dog walkers than bikes. I can't remember ever seeing any other runners; most probably stick to the Walter Bean Trail. I've seen deer on a couple of occasions. It is marked with white blazes, although there is an alternate way around the hill with blue marks. I don't think either actually goes up to the top of the hill, but you could find your way up easily enough if you wanted.
Once or twice I took the branch up to Ebydale, and there was no problem getting there. But I haven't been to the part that is at the very end of Otterbein Road.
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(06-25-2017, 07:51 AM)Canard Wrote: It's a neat run. Very open, and I like looking at the towers (the big junction/Y here is really interesting), but the surface is a very loose gravel so my wheels were skating around a lot.
Typical of many of the gravel trails in the area. I don't feel comfortable with my hybrid at speed on some of them.
I wish there was a better option for cyclists between Lawrence and Westmount along the Henry Sturm Greenway. Hill with loose gravel / sharp turns, or single track sand ruts. Regardless it's a slow slog through there.
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(06-25-2017, 10:18 PM)timio Wrote: (06-25-2017, 07:51 AM)Canard Wrote: It's a neat run. Very open, and I like looking at the towers (the big junction/Y here is really interesting), but the surface is a very loose gravel so my wheels were skating around a lot.
Typical of many of the gravel trails in the area. I don't feel comfortable with my hybrid at speed on some of them.
I wish there was a better option for cyclists between Lawrence and Westmount along the Henry Sturm Greenway. Hill with loose gravel / sharp turns, or single track sand ruts. Regardless it's a slow slog through there.
Mountain bike is a great option
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I'm trying to figure out where you're talking about - I searched for Henry Sturm Greenway, but google says it's here...
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It extends west to Monarch Wood. He's talking about this area here: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Henry+...6?hl=en-CA
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