Category: Kawartha Club

Blog Posts for Kawartha Club News & Events

2026 Volunteer of the Year Awards

Posted on by Campbell Britton

2025 was a unique year for volunteer activity due to the ice storm. The Ganaraska Hiking Trail Association Inc. executive, therefore decided to recognize three people for their contribution to the re-opening of the Ganaraska Hiking Trail in 2025.

While there are many people to thank for our remarkable recovery from the devastation of the storm in March of 2025, we want to extend a special thank you and present our Volunteer of the Year Award to the following:

George Boyd from the Kawartha Club – George spent considerable time providing information to make our maps of the Kawartha section more accurate while also taking a leadership role with the club’s hiking calendar.

Dale Hannah of the Barrie Club – Dale also led the activity to build three new water crossings on the Barrie section between Old Second South and Gill Road.

Bob Wilson of the Orillia Club – Bob made each trail maintenance outing enjoyable, safe and productive and there were many! He even brought snacks and refreshments along each time.

The above three sections of the Ganaraska Hiking Trail were especially hit hard by the ice storm. Dale, George and Bob’s leadership, their energy and the many long hours they spent on the trail were critical in getting our trails back in great shape.

The contribution of these three individuals shows how a volunteer-based organization such as the Ganaraska Hiking Trail Association Inc. can remain sustainable and keep on thriving.

Thank You!

Ganaraska Hiking Trail Association Inc.
April 2026

2025.09.03 – Kawartha Trail Still Affected by Ice Storm (2025.11.10 update – trail open for use)

Posted on by John Sloan

2025.11.10 Update: Trail Closed signs have been removed and the Kawartha trail between Monck Road (KM 63.6) and Buller Road (KM 74.0) is now available for use.  Note however that there is a 1.5 km section still requiring maintenance starting at the bottom of Corben Lake northwards, and that small detours may be required due to fallen trees/damage. This area is mainly open deciduous forest and ‘walk-arounds’ should be possible. This section will not likely be cleaned up until next year.

2025.09.03 Original Post – Note that the section of the GHTA Kawartha Club hiking trail between Monck Road (KM 63.6) and Buller Road (KM 74.0) remains closed due to damage from the March ice storm. All trail users are asked to avoid this section of trail until further notice. Trail maintenance events are planned for September but the schedule for re-opening the trail is unknown at this time. A future NEWS posting will announce when this section of the trail is once again available for use.

2025.06.27 – GHTA Kawartha Club Trail Status Update

Posted on by John Sloan

Due to the hard work of many volunteers, and multiple trail inspection and maintenance events, the GHTA Kawartha Club trail is now open from Crosswinds Road (KM 0.0 on Trail Guide map #5) through to Monck Road (KM 63.6 on Trail Guide map #12).

The remaining section from Monck Road to Moore’s Falls (KM 79.3 on Trail Guide map #12) will be worked on next. Approximately 5 km of the remaining trail section is on roads. However, the other 10 km is more difficult to access and navigate bush trails with many swamps, beaver dams, etc.

2025.05.24 – Kawartha Club Trail Status Update

Posted on by John Sloan

The Ganaraska Kawartha Club leadership team has advised that their trail is open from the south end (KM 0.0 marker on Map #5 of the Trail Guide map series / Crosswind Road) to KM 54.6 where the trail leaves the Victoria Rail Trail (Trail Guide Map #11). Conditions on the trail going north from this point to Monck Road (the north end of the Kawartha Club trail section) will be verified in the near future.

A caution reminder – All trail users should remember that even though the trails themselves are clear there may still be risks in forested areas due to overhead broken branches or leaning or weakened trees due to the ice storm. Hike with caution and watch for overhead and nearby hazards, especially if there is a strong wind or wind gusts. All trail users must accept personal responsibility for their own safety.

Ice Storm Restoration Update

Posted on by Campbell Britton

 As per our announcement of April 3, 2025, following the ice storm of March 29/30, the entire 500 km long Ganaraska Hiking Trail was officially closed. Meanwhile, our club volunteers have been busy assessing and restoring their sections of the Ganaraska Hiking Trail and as a result of their hard work, we hope to be able to “open” up some sections very soon. Stay tuned for further announcements, hopefully by this coming  weekend. 

Our volunteers have already cleared a lot of the fallen debris, put caution tape around some dangerous hazards and/or created a small reroute, all this in an effort to make the trail “passable”. Trail Closed signs are being installed on those sections of the Ganaraska Hiking Trail, which are still considered impassable, or where we have not been able to even start or complete any restoration.  In the most affected areas, such as many of the Simcoe County Forests in Oro Medonte, salvage efforts are scheduled by the landowner. These logging operations may last well into the summer, but will open up the forest access roads, and make it easier for our volunteers to access the trail for restoration efforts.  

As we cannot enforce physical closure of trail access, we ask that persons traversing the trail be guided by the following principles:

  • As is always the case, even under normal circumstances, HIKE AT YOUR OWN RISK. It remains the individual’s own responsibility to decide what their own risk tolerance is. 
  • There are still a lot of overhead hazards such as tree branches hanging above the trail, or leaning trees near the trail, which we plan to deal with in due time. Several of our volunteers  have taken chainsaw training to help tackle the situation.
  • Consider the wind. Higher wind speeds and gusts can dislodge the overhead hazards or topple leaning trees.
  • Leave a hike plan with someone (i.e. where you plan to hike, when expected back, etc.)
  • Hike with a buddy

Enjoy the hiking season, but stay safe out there!

Frieda Baldwin

President, Ganaraska Hiking Trail Association Inc.

Safe Hiker Course April 26 at Tiffin Centre for Conservation

Posted on by Campbell Britton

On Saturday April 26, 2025 Ganaraska Hiking Trail Association will be offering a Safe Hiker course for members and non-members. The course is built on the Hike Ontario Safe Hiker course, but will include other topics such as information about safe hiking after the ice storm, protecting from ticks, carpool etiquette, planning for a hike, navigation tools, What3Words, what if you get lost/injured, weather, etc.

Following the course, there will be a 1 to 1.5 hour hike on the beautiful Tiffin CA property. Both the course and parking are free on April 26.

Address: Tiffin Centre, 8195 8th Line of Essa, Utopia, Ontario on Saturday April 26 at 12:30.
Park in the large parking lot by the green Administration building and proceed past that building via the covered boardwalk to the Learning Centre.

To sign up for the free course, enter your name and email on the following link. Your email will only be visible to the instructors and will be used in case of a change or cancellation.
Safe Hiker Course Registration

Kawartha Hikes resuming June 8

Posted on by Heather Briant

We are pleased to advise that we will be resuming our Spring 2022 Hike Schedule on Wednesday, June 8th. As clean-up from the May 26th storm continues around the region, we may need to change the occasional venue. In those circumstances an email will be sent to all Kawartha Club members advising of the updated hike details. If you are not a member of the Kawartha Club but would like to join us on a hike, please contact the hike leader as a courtesy and to confirm the hike location.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Kind Regards,
Janice BrownWednesday Hike CoordinatorGHTA – Kawartha Club

Kawartha Club Hikes Suspended Due to Storm Damage

Posted on by Heather Briant

We sincerely regret to let you all know that Kawartha Club hikes are suspended until further notice.

One by one, property owners are closing parks and trails as a result of the storm last Saturday. Those closures include trails that are on our Spring 2022 Hike Schedule. Reopening of those parks and trails are dependent on the completion of a property by property assessment of conditions and completing actions to ensure that the trails are safe. The property owners that have closed parks and trails include the City of Peterborough, Otonabee Conservation and Kawartha Land Trust.

We will continue to monitor the status of the park and trail closures and let you all know when we can begin hiking again. Hopefully that will be soon.

In the meantime, enjoy your hiking and biking in safe locations! We are hoping that this will be a brief suspension and will let you know when we restart our hikes.

Richard Raper, Weekend Hike Coordinator – Kawartha Club