Category: Trail Changes

2023.03.23 Update – Logging Operation Affecting Barrie Trail Completed

Posted on by John Sloan

2023.03.23 Update – Logging has been completed so this section is now open for use. Trail maintenance to clear the trails of any debris from the logging operation is yet to be done, so be careful if hiking through this section in the near future.

2023.02.10 Original Post: There is currently an active logging operation in Simcoe County Forest that affects the Barrie trail east of Gill Road (the Orrock Creek South tract). Please avoid this section of the trail and stay out of the areas indicated by the county signage in the forest. An update to this notice will be posted when logging is completed.

2022.11.29 – Barrie Main Trail Re-route south of Baldwick Lane near Minesing Wetlands

Posted on by John Sloan

A section of the Barrie main trail near the Minesing Wetlands runs across property owned by the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). We have just finished working with NCC representatives to reroute our trail on their property to avoid foot traffic on some ecologically sensitive areas and also to avoid some areas where the invasive garlic mustard has been found. If you are hiking southbound from Baldwick Lane the trail changes when you come to the first stile. Previously you would have gone right (west) across the open field but now you veer slightly left. The new trail is actually quite nice, going through cedar forest, over some small streams, and along a ridge providing great views of the open fields looking towards Minesing Wetlands. The new trail is fully blazed and ready to use. It is very important to stay on the trail through this section as garlic mustard can be found close to the trail and it is important not to spread it by carrying seeds on your boots. Both Ondago and our website downloadable maps will be updated in the near future.

2022.11.29 – New Side-trails on Barrie Section

Posted on by John Sloan

On June 6 of this year we announced changes to the Barrie main trail between the parking lot on Gill Road and the Midhurst Community Centre. Due to a new landowner request we had to move a portion of this trail onto Gill Road. There are now two new side trails to recapture some of the best features of the trail section that had to be moved. From the Gill Road parking lot, the Bear’s Creek side trail provides a 3.6 km loop that goes over a picturesque creek and runs along an interesting (and hilly) ridge beside the creek. In the middle of the forest the Heather Dalton Memorial side trail provides a 1.3 km loop (also with hills) that has multiple tree mounted memorial displays for a local person that loved to hike the trails in the area. Ondago has been updated and our website downloadable maps will be updated soon. Try them out.

2022.09.27 – Logging Operation Affecting Barrie Trail Now Complete & Trail Is Open

Posted on by John Sloan

On 2022.07.23 we made the announcement posted below. As of today the Simcoe County Forestry map does not show any activity logging operation in this area. There will likely need to be some clean-up and re-blazing (to be done asap) but the trail is open – enjoy.

Previous Announcement: We have received notice from the Simcoe County Forestry organization that logging has started in the Orrock Creek South tract. This means that there is an unusable section of the Barrie trail between Old Second South and Gill Road, as shown in the attached map. Hiking in this area from either the Old Second South parking lot or the Gill Road parking lot would still be possible, but it would be necessary to turn back as soon as the logging operation signs are reached (do not hike in the signed area even if the logging operation isn’t active when you get there). The duration of the logging operation isn’t known, but a future posting will announce when the trail is fully open again.

2022.06.05 – Barrie Trail Change Notice

Posted on by John Sloan

Effective immediately, a section of the Barrie trail running south from the Gill Road parking lot (KM 24.9 on the Ondago and Trail Guide maps for the Barrie Club) is no longer available. A private landowner has acquired property that had our trail running through it and has asked that we discontinue hiking on the property. The trail now runs south from the Gill Road parking lot on Gill Road for about 1.5 KM and then re-enters the forest. The new route is 0.3 km shorter than the previous trail (2.3 km versus 2.6 km).

The following map shows the change. Our Trail Guide and Ondago mobile app will be updated in the near future.

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

Attention – Ganaraska Forest Closed Due to Storm

Posted on by Heather Briant

GRCA is requesting that you communicate the following messages out to your members and networks while stressing the seriousness of the situation. 

  • On Saturday May 21, 2022 a massive storm system caused significant damage to the Ganaraska Forest and its entire trail network (West Central and East Forests are all effected).
  • The current situation in the Ganaraska Forest is very serious and extremely dangerous.
  • The GRCA and Police are strictly enforcing the closure of the Ganaraska Forest and NO ACCESS is being granted until furture notice
  • The Ganaraska Forest is extremely dangerous with hazard trees and significant blockages throughout the entire trail network of the Ganaraska Forest (West, Central and East Forests).
  • Please respect any form of barriers and signage that is blocking access and DO NOT cross these barriers. 
  •  
  • All Special Events are cancelled for the foreseeable future. No new applications will be accepted.
  • Updates will be provided through the Ganaraska Conservation Facebook page, www.grca.on.ca and www.ganaraskaforestcentre.ca.
  • Staff are currently assessing the entire Ganaraska Forest trail network and Trail clearing work is underway.
  • As assessment and trail clearing continues, recovery plans are being created.
  • Thank you for your support, and patience during this trying time.

Ed Van Osch 

Forest Recreation Technician, Provincial Offences Officer  

Ganaraska Forest Centre 

RR1 Campbellcroft, Ontario 

L0A 1B0 

905-885-8173 ext. 325 

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

TRAIL ALERT IN THE COPELAND FOREST!

Posted on by Heather Briant

Oro-Medonte Hiking Trail Section in Copeland Forest.

There has been a water surge in Copeland Forest creating a major washout of a small section of the Oro-Medonte Ganaraska Hiking Trail.  Anyone walking the trail will have to make a short detour to connect to the other section.  Hikers will not be able to walk the trail in the destroyed area near the small pond midway between P1 & P2. 

The New and Improved Trail Guide

Posted on by Heather Briant

This is very exciting news! History in the making!

The Ganaraska Hiking Trail Association Inc. is extremely pleased to announce the launch of a new Trail Guide that will complement our Ondago mobile app maps of our beloved Ganaraska Hiking Trail. The last edition of our hard copy trail maps was in 2013 and included only some minor revisions of the original 2006 edition.

Our new maps offer much more detail and are a far cry from what used to be just a “red line on a map”. A lot of effort has gone into the production of these new maps, and we are very pleased with the outcome.

Our new Trail Guide, with downloadable and printable maps and trail descriptions, has now been posted on our www.ganaraska-hiking-trail.org website. You might remember that early in the project (December 2020) a survey was sent out to Ganaraska and other hiking group members asking questions about what they wanted to see in the new ‘Guidebook’. The key points in the feedback that were used to steer the work in this project were:

  1. Maintain the format of providing maps accompanied by a detailed trail description (similar to the 2013 Guidebook). 
  2. Provide hikers with the option of either a printed map or a mobile device map application.
  3. Make sure the maps have sufficient detail to be useable as a navigation tool in the field (sufficient contour detail, road and building detail, compass angle of declination detail, etc.).

Internally we also decided that we no longer wanted to inventory map books and ship them as required, so we opted for FREE downloadable/printable maps. In addition, all the key points of feedback from the survey were implemented, and our new Trail Guide combined with our Ondago mobile device app provides hikers of the Ganaraska Hiking Trail with the information they need, in whichever format they choose, to learn about and enjoy the approximately 500 km long Ganaraska Hiking Trail from end to end.

The new Trail Guide maps consist of a series of 33 maps plus an index map, as well as written Trail Descriptions (with latitude and longitude coordinates) of each of the 9 club sections of the Ganaraska Hiking Trail. All maps and descriptions can be downloaded for free and are printable. Our website also contains information on how to navigate the trail and the maps. See The Trail/Trail Sections with Maps for the maps and descriptions, organized by club.

We were very pleased with the work of our cartographer, Lyle Wood of Barrie (wood_lyle@hotmail.com) and my personal thanks go to Stan Muldoon, John Sloan, Gary Norton, Steve Broomfield, Heather Briant and a number of other people that have been involved in the making of this new Trail Guide.

Happy hiking!

Frieda Baldwin

President, Ganaraska Hiking Trail Association Inc.