The trail heads west and into the Iroquois Heights Conservation Area following larger, packed hiking trails and smaller paths through the woods on the escarpment and through open meadows. Here are a few pictures of this area.
At approximately the 43km mark on the trail I arrived at Highway 403 or the Chedoke Parkway as it crests the escarpment. There is a large pedestrian walkway over the parkway.
The trail takes a sharp right after the parkway and descends and ascends the escarpment a few times. Here are some shots of this area.
At the 45km mark, the trail meets Wilson Street East. Just west of the Wilson Street crossing, a side trail takes you into the Tiffany Falls Conservation Area. I arrived there mid morning with the sun out and some heat and humidity and no one else around. As I walked the 200m back up the Tiffany Falls trail I couldn't help but feel like I was in some kind of paradise or Jurassic Park setting. The ravine was very steep on either side and narrowed with lots of vegetation. The 21 meter high falls were spectacular. Very hard to imagine that at this point you are in the middle of a bustling city of 600,000! The falls were named after Dr. Oliver Tiffany who was one of the first doctors to settle the area in 1796. He would stable horses at farms throughout the area so he could make his rounds on fresh horses. Dr. Oliver died in 1835. Here are some shots from the Tiffany Falls area.
The trail continues until you cross Old Dundas Road at the 44km mark on the trail. Here the Bruce Trail takes you up to Sherman Falls. The falls were 17 meters high. Sherman Falls is named after Clifton Sherman who settled the area arriving from the US with foundry experience. He started the Dominion Foundry & Steel Company in 1912 which went on to be called DOFASCO. Here are some shots of Sherman Falls.
At about the 47km mark on the trail you arrive at Canterbury Falls at 9.5 meters high.
The Bruce Trail continues through the Dundas Valley Conservation Area. The trails are wide and hard packed with wonderful scenery.
At the 49.4km mark on the trail you arrive at the Hermitage. In 1855 George Leith built a large stone mansion from locally quarried stone on a 100 hectare estate. The Leith's daughter, Alma Lauder, bought the estate and house and lived there until it was destroyed by fire in 1934. She built a small house inside the burned ruins and lived there until she died in 1942. Its a beautiful place but also a bit eerie (I later found out there are ghost tours at night to the mansion)!
The Bruce Trail continues through the Dundas Conservation Area and around the 51/52km mark on the trail I came across these 3 wonderful sights (see photos below). These scenes just seemed to pull you along pushing you to enter and explore the path ahead!
I finished the day's hike at the 51.8km mark where I got a ride from my wife back to my car.
Completed: 131.8km
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