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Lots to explore in NOTL’s urban environment

A springtime confluence of streams in an area of the Niagara Escarpment close to St. Davids is a good place to explore.
A springtime confluence of streams in an area of the Niagara Escarpment close to St. Davids is a good place to explore. (Photos by Owen Bjorgan)

Did the tease of decent spring weather cause a pulling sensation to get outdoors this weekend?

 Given the endless list of wondrous and diverse natural areas in Niagara Region, I took the time to hone in on the ones closest to our homes. Particularly, with a focus on places located within or adjacent to our urban boundaries that you can get to within minutes.

We’re talking about a short stroll from your suburban doorstep for the next time mother nature calls “get outside!”.

For the sake of this conversation, these described areas meet the following criteria: close to or surrounded by developed spaces, within walking distance of residential areas, and they are the types of places where you can still get the sense of feeling encompassed by greenery. 

There is something psychologically significant about feeling deep in nature, without being in a wilderness setting.

In the summer months, green foliage occludes the long views and closes you into a more immediate area, demanding you feel present with the sights, sounds, and smells immediately around you.

When standing in the bottom of a valley, we forget the noise and concrete that may reside up above the rim on either side. Suddenly, we feel like we’ve achieved some sort of healthy escape. 

Let’s begin in downtown Niagara-on-the-Lake, and hey, who wouldn’t?

Two Mile Creek Conservation Area features a snaking creek nearing its final journey to Lake Ontario. A walkable distance for most of Old Town, the trails are wheelchair accessible and get you close to significant wildlife within minutes. Beavers snoop around for lumber while rainbow trout follow their ancestral routes upstream every spring. Blue herons and green herons take a stab at tasty frogs, while mink skirt the muddy shorelines secured by giant willow trees, elms, and ash. 

Out past The Commons lies a series of agreeable hiking trails in Paradise Grove forest. There are paved trails leading to both sides of this impressive forest, the largest left of its kind close to downtown. This woodlot has been sampled by local nature clubs and has been declared a forest of significance, largely due to the presence of ancient oaks that push towards the 250-year-old age boundary.

The odds of seeing white-tailed deer graciously grazing in this area are high, and it is an important refuge for returning migratory birds every spring. 

A foggy forest is common in winter to spring transition season. This woodlot is a short walk from one of NOTL’s most urbanized areas.

Heading out of Old Town, Virgil sits at a nice centralized location as NOTL’s second most populated area. Hence, Virgil Conservation Area. I would wager that anyone in Virgil could walk to this site without groaning about it being too far.

Four Mile Creek weaves its muddy course through a valley, after exiting a double set of manmade dams. The valley section, in summer, provides some of the most excellent viewing opportunities for basking snapping and painted turtles that I’m aware of. Although no old-growth trees seem to exist in the area, there is a variety of regenerating habitats to be seen including swamps, deciduous forests, a marsh, meadows, and for a little taste of up north while down south, a substantial area of pines, whose needles carpet the forest floor and create an odour more often enjoyed north of Barrie. Continuing to check off the list of small but booming villages within NOTL’s municipal borders, St. Davids is arguably the best area for Bruce Trail access. You can hit up Canada’s longest and oldest marked hiking trail, and within minutes, be in awe of enormous trees, veiny valleys, and classic rock cliffs of the UNESCO-protected Niagara Escarpment. Head east on the Bruce for dramatic escarpment features and excellent fox habitat.  Head west for rolling hills marked with cherry and tulip trees backing onto wine country. 

     Lastly, but certainly not the least, let’s talk about Queenston. I dare say this now sleepy and remarkably quaint and historic village is the reason why I am writing this article today. Queenston is truly surrounded by nature, essentially nestled into a pit at the base of the Niagara Escarpment where Niagara Falls once plummeted down over 12,000 years ago. 

     Queenston not only has access to the Bruce Trail within walking distance, but also two Bruce Trail side trails (marked in blue, instead of the classic white).

A series of unnamed trails work their way up the Niagara Escarpment through various vegetation zones, featuring a moment in a rare stand of cedar forest. Someone from Queenston could find themselves standing in wonderment in said forest, and minutes later, gazing off a cliff down to the turquoise swirls of the Niagara River below. The river is also approachable on foot and provides some of the best fishing opportunities in the country.

     I hope we all know we are so lucky to live in NOTL. We are fortunate to have some of the nicest restaurants, shops, gardens, country roads, and historic sites right at our fingertips. Luckily, even in the ever-growing suburbs, we still have nature right outside the door.