Did you know that Ontario is an awesome place to explore by bike? From the castling cities to the countryside there’s a route for every cyclist. There’s over 3,000 kilometres along the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail and the Greenbelt combined. It’s incredible.
The Great Lakes Waterfront Trail is a signed route that connects 170 communities and First Nations along the shores of the Great Lake region. It has a Trust, a charity that is committed to protect and celebrate the wolds’ large body of freshwater. This trail is designed to re-connect people to the water and is a catalyst for improvements in many of the communities that are featured alongside it.
You can go both on-road and off- road and the route is primarily paced with section of unpaved paths and gravel roads. It’s a favourite of the locals especially those of us that like to bike. I was talking to some friends about this trail, their avid bikers in Toronto and even have incorporate biking into their business. They are Doulas on Bikes and offer postpartum and birth doula services in Toronto. Vera mentioned that she’s spent some time in the Waterfront trail along the Lake Ontario Waterfront. I mean the pictures you see of this trail online makes me want to give everything up and hop on my bike and just ride.
Alongside Lake Ontario you can cycle from Niagara-on-the-lake to the southern side of Lake Ontario in about 600 kilometers of trail. I would love to do this ride and Vera was mentioning that she loves this ride with her hybrid bike, so she doesn’t have to pedal the whole way. The old school part of me thinks that a bike with a motor is silly. But even my aunt and uncle have recently bought electric bikes and they rave about them. Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to try them out, but I have ridden motorcycles before and theirs is nothing better than a engine on two wheels and the wind in your hair.
Now the one slightly bad thing about the trail from Niagara on the Lake to Toronto is that there are some parts, about 200 kilometres are off-road trails with the majority of the route on the paved roads. But, and this is a strong but… it’s not a protective trail. Meaning that you are not protected from the local traffic as you bike along. So that than into consideration. In my youth I was a lot more confident riding along the road, but as I age it’s something that gives me pause. Mainly because cars hitting bicyclists are terrifying and it can happen to anyone, at any time. So keep that in mind.
There’s so much to talk about biking in Ontario, stayed tuned because you can go all the way up to St. Joseph Island near Michigan on these trails. More to come!
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