Palgrave Trail

As the last glacier moved over Ontario, scouring the landscape with its icy tongue, it gathered the material it removed — sand, gravel and other debris. These piles of rubble were either deposited by meltwater or stacked into mounds that remained after the ice melted.

This is the Oak Ridges Moraine, a 200 kilometre (124 mile) narrow ridge of glacial debris that formed the rolling Caledon landscape as much as the surrounding sandy plains, kettle lakes and wetlands. You'll get a sense of this varying terrain in Palgrave Conservation Area.



The trail winds its way over hills and through valleys, among woodlands dominated with eastern white cedar, sugar maple and white ash. If you take some of the sidetrails you'll also see a kettle lake, meadows and wetland areas.

Follow the laneway that leads away from the highway. Before you enter a former parking lot which is now a large open area, take the first trail to your left. This will connect with the Bruce Trail. Best known for its ski trails, winter is a good time to try this trail. There are 16 kilometres (10 miles) of groomed trails that wind throughout the forest and link through loops to the Bruce Trail.

With file information from the Bruce Trail, for more information on this and other Bruce trails please purchase the Bruce Trail map and trail guidebook. 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.

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