Bayview Escarpment Nature Reserve
The Bruce Trail is the oldest and longest marked hiking trail in Canada. It is 840 km long, with over 440 km of side trails. Every year more than 400,000 visits are made to the Trail as people walk, snowshoe, watch wildlife, take photographs and admire the glorious scenery of the Escarpment.
The Bruce Trail was instrumental in the Escarpment being named a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations in 1990 - one of only twelve such reserves in all of Canada. The Bruce Trail is a member of the Ontario Trails Council through affiliation with Hike Ontario.
We suggest that you hike this loop in a counter-clockwise direction. Take the old cart track which heads to the northeast, and enter the Nature Reserve by the steel gate. The track passes through a pine plantation and then moves into a more natural upland forest as the trail gradually climbs northeast towards the Escarpment. After about 2 km, watch for Bruce Trail blazes and the left turn sign.
The trail will now take you to the edge of the Escarpment with its crevice caves and some wonderful views across the Meaford Canadian Forces Base to Georgian Bay. The area is noted especially for its ferns; at least 20 species may be found.
Rattlesnake fern is flourishing in abundance, and there are rock outcrops with the globally rare Hart’s Tongue Fern. All the common forest floor ferns are present including the beautiful Maidenhair Fern. Follow the blazes north, then west and eventually south to return to your car. For more information on this and other Bruce trails please purchase the Bruce Trail map and trail guidebook.
Bayview Escarpment Nature Reserve
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