Taste of Essex

This 2-day trip from the Lake Ontario waterfront to Georgetown and Etobicoke Creek is filled with beautiful views of Lake Ontario and peaceful roads and trails with an optional spur to Acton with its historic downtown and nearby Fairy Lake. The route primarily follows paved roads and both paved and unpaved trails. You'll overnight in Georgetown before following both the Caledon Trailway and the Etobicoke Creek valley on a mostly off-road forested corridor, cutting back to Lake Ontario where you'll rejoin the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail at the mouth of Etobicoke Creek. From there it's more waterfront views and pathways before ending your ride back in Mississauga.

This is one of 9 cycling itineraries showcasing Ontario’s best trails and two signature cycling routes–the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail and The Greenbelt Route. Celebrate the Lake Ontario watershed and cycling while supporting rural communities and local businesses.

Share your trips with the #greenbeltroute and #waterfronttrail hashtags. We'd love to hear more about your experience! (less)

Cruise the Burlington and Oakville waterfronts mixed with kilometers of open-road rural riding on this fully signed 113km route following the Greenbelt Route, Great Lakes Waterfront Trail, and their signed connectors. Take it on as a 1-day shake-up ride or a 2-day leisurely ride with an added stop in Georgetown. You decide.

Near the 54 km mark you can make the choice to follow the Greenbelt Route through to Georgetown for an overnight to make for a more leisurely ride.

Note: This route is recommended for experienced road cyclists due to the length of the ride and the amount of on-road cycling. This route uses some high-traffic roads. Additionally, this route includes long remote stretches. Make sure you are well stocked with water and snacks.

This is one of 9 cycling itineraries showcasing Ontario’s best trails and two signature cycling routes–the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail and The Greenbelt Route. Celebrate the Lake Ontario watershed and cycling while supporting rural communities and local businesses.

For more information on the Greenbelt Route and Ontario's Greenbelt including more recommended itineraries, visit greenbelt.ca/cycling

For more information on the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail including free downloadable maps and itineraries visit waterfronttrail.org

Share your trips with the #greenbeltroute and #waterfronttrail hashtags. We'd love to hear more about your experience!
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30km. 2 Beaches. Patios, ice cream and waterfront trails. This is a perfect urban ride for a summer afternoon!

Get ready to experience some of the beauty that earned the nickname "the Garden City" on this fully-signed 30km taste of St. Catharines using the Welland Canal Trail, Greenbelt Route, Merritt Trail and Great Lakes Waterfront Trail.

Starting at the famous beachfront at Lakeside Park in Port Dalhousie you'll follow the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail with nearby Lake Ontario at your side. Striking out from the lake, you'll, meander along the banks of Twelve Mile Creek on the Merritt Trail into the heart of St Catharines near the unique, single-arched Burgoyne Bridge. Stop in downtown St. Catharines for a well-deserved snack before rolling out along Queenston St past the Carillon Bell Tower in Victoria Lawn Cemetery to the Welland Canal, where you'll join the Welland Canal Trail and follow the Welland Canal for a 5k downhill cruise where you'll rediscover the shores of Lake Ontario at Sunset beach. After a quick dip you'll follow the bird-leaf-fish along or near the lake before wrapping up your ride back in Port Dalhousie, where you can gnosh at at a local patio, grab an ice cream, or head back into the lake for an afternoon swim.

Note that some sections of the Merritt Trail have a crushed gravel surface. All other sections of the route make use of paved roads and multi-use paths.

Parking at Lakeside Park or Sunset Beach requires an hourly fee for non-residents.

This is one of 9 cycling itineraries showcasing Ontario’s best trails and two signature cycling routes–the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail and The Greenbelt Route. Celebrate the Lake Ontario watershed and cycling while supporting rural communities and local businesses.

For more information on the Greenbelt Route and Ontario's Greenbelt including more recommended itineraries, visit greenbelt.ca/cycling

For more information on the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail including free downloadable maps and itineraries visit waterfronttrail.org

Share your trips with the #greenbeltroute and #waterfronttrail hashtags. We'd love to hear more about your experience!
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Experience the flip-side of Hamilton and Burlington. Far from the industry of Hamilton's harbourfront, you'll cruise a fully signed 65km course of (mostly) quiet country roads, screened limestone rail trail greenways and scenic waterfront paths.

You'll cruise out of Bayfront Park with kilometres of paved paths right along the water, run a gauntlet of culinary temptations through Westdale Village and roll out into the Dundas Valley Conservation Area, to the heart of Hamilton's trail network. You'll enjoy a quiet ride through the country to a popular orchard and bakery and work off those pie-cals heading back into Hamilton, with a stop at lovely Albion Falls, and enjoy a roughly 5km glide down the Escarpment Rail Trail back into the heart of Hamilton, where coffee, food, ice cream, and a craft brewery awaits.

This is one of 9 cycling itineraries showcasing Ontario’s best trails and two signature cycling routes–the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail and The Greenbelt Route. Celebrate the Lake Ontario watershed and cycling while supporting rural communities and local businesses.

For more information on the Greenbelt Route and Ontario's Greenbelt including more recommended itineraries, visit greenbelt.ca/cycling

For more information on the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail including free downloadable maps and itineraries visit waterfronttrail.org

Share your trips with the #greenbeltroute and #waterfronttrail hashtags. We'd love to hear more about your experience!
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Beginning and ending at Chronicle Brewing, this 64km tour of Clarington's beautiful countryside including visits to 5 communities, an 1800s mill, popular ice cream, bakery, and a famous local dairy. The tour includes a range of experiences including off-road and on-road, hills and shoreline. While it can be ridden in a few hours we recommend completing the ride over the course of a day, enjoying the food and taking in the scenery and local history.

Note that this route does include some challenging hills. Travelling counter-clockwise you'll get your climbs out of the way first, for a cruise back towards the waterfront.

This route follows signed cycling connectors to and from the Greenbelt Route as well as portions of the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail. See below for images of the signs you’ll follow.

For more information on the Greenbelt Route and Ontario's Greenbelt including more recommended itineraries, visit www.greenbelt.ca/cycling

For more information on the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail including free downloadable maps and itineraries visit www.waterfronttrail.org

Share your trips with the #greenbeltroute and #waterfronttrail hashtags. We'd love to hear more about your experience! (less)

It's bakeries or bust on this fully-signed 169-194km tour where you'll experience some of the best highs and lows of the Greenbelt Route and the Lake Ontario Waterfront Trail.

This recommended 2 day tour takes you through the pastoral green hills of Durham and Northumberland and along the bright water of the north shore of Lake Ontario. You'll visit 4 locally famous (read: "don't-miss") farmer's markets and bakeries, scenic overlooks, beaches and historic locales, including a still-operating historic mill and blacksmith. The tour includes an optional spur to Cobourg with its incredible beach. On the way you'll pass Betty's an award-winning bakery famous for its many tarts.

This is one of 9 cycling itineraries showcasing Ontario’s best trails and two signature cycling routes–the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail and The Greenbelt Route. Celebrate the Lake Ontario watershed and cycling while supporting rural communities and local businesses,

Share your trips with the #greenbeltroute and #waterfronttrail hashtags. We'd love to hear more about your experience!

For more information on the Greenbelt Route and Ontario's Greenbelt including more recommended itineraries, visit greenbelt.ca/cycling

For more information on the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail including free downloadable maps and itineraries visit waterfronttrail.org (less)

Enjoy a 50km tour of the lower Niagara through one of the country's finest wine regions along the Greenbelt and waterfront, including history, views, and a stellar beach for a midway cool-off.

Begin your trip on historic Queenston Heights, with great views of the Niagara River gorge, parks and facilities and enjoy almost 20km of relative downhill to--and alongside--the Welland Canal. Stop for ice cream and a swim in Port Weller, and cruise near the shores of Lake Ontario to scenic and historic Niagara-on-the-Lake, where you'll find a ton of gnosh-worthy eateries and the Fort George National Historic Site, ensuring you'll have more than 1812 ways to enjoy your tour. End your ride with a cruise along the Niagara River Recreation Trail, with great views of the River, but be warned! Those great views on Queenston Heights come at a price, as you'll have to climb the heights to get back to your start. If you're done in time, grab some food at the Queenston Heights restaurant. You've earned it.

Tip: If you want to avoid the heights, there is a small parking lot at the Greenbelt Route Trailhead location on York Road, noted on this map.

This is one of 9 cycling itineraries showcasing Ontario’s best trails and two signature cycling routes–the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail and The Greenbelt Route. Celebrate the Lake Ontario watershed and cycling while supporting rural communities and local businesses.

For more information on the Greenbelt Route and Ontario's Greenbelt including more recommended itineraries, visit greenbelt.ca/cycling

For more information on the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail including free downloadable maps and itineraries visit waterfronttrail.org

Share your trips with the #greenbeltroute and #waterfronttrail hashtags. We'd love to hear more about your experience!
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Enjoy a seasonal shake-up with a sublime mix of the outdoors: rural roads and wooded riverside trails, popular patios and a stellar beach! You can start or end your trip with a hike in Short Hills Provincial Park (we're easy), and cycle the Participark Trail along Twelve Mile Creek into St. Catharines for a quick break. Follow St. Paul Street out of town where you'll tackle Third Street Louth the right way--downhill!--and stop for a bite, a swim, and even a historic carousel ride in Port Dalhousie! Once back on in the saddle you'll follow Twelve Mile Creek back into St. Catharines where you'll pick up and backtrack the Participark Trail to the start.

This route follows signed connector routes to and from the Greenbelt Cycle Route as well as portions of the Greenbelt Route and the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail. See below for images of the signs you'll follow.
This is one of 9 cycling itineraries showcasing Ontario’s best trails and two signature cycling routes–the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail and The Greenbelt Route. Celebrate the Lake Ontario watershed and cycling while supporting rural communities and local businesses.

For more information on the Greenbelt Route and Ontario's Greenbelt including more recommended itineraries, visit greenbelt.ca/cycling

For more information on the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail including free downloadable maps and itineraries visit waterfronttrail.org

Share your trips with the #greenbeltroute and #waterfronttrail hashtags. We'd love to hear more about your experience!
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A fully-signed 54km loop around and through the Dundas Valley. Great as a morning ride or an expanded day trip, you'll visit any of several scenic conservation areas such as Tews Falls, Crooks Hollow, Christie Lake and the Dundas Valley Conservation Area, and two country markets.

The route follows the Greenbelt Route, Great Lakes Waterfront Trail and two signed connector routes.

While there are a handful of busy roads, this route mostly follows quiet scenic roads and trails. Great for a scenic day ride with a lunch or dinner stop.

This is one of 9 cycling itineraries showcasing Ontario’s best trails and two signature cycling routes–the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail and The Greenbelt Route. Celebrate the Lake Ontario watershed and cycling while supporting rural communities and local businesses.

Share your trips with the #greenbeltroute and #waterfronttrail hashtags. We'd love to hear more about your experience!

For more information on the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail including free downloadable maps and itineraries visit https://waterfronttrail.org/

For more information on the Greenbelt Route and Ontario's Greenbelt including more recommended itineraries, visit https://www.greenbelt.ca/cycling
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This tour includes three B’s—bakeries, breweries and beaches—and then some! Enjoy this 63 km ride from the Lake Ontario waterfront in Port Hope to Peterborough, the largest community on the historic and scenic Trent-Severn Waterway, with a stop in Millbrook along the way. A unique brewery and cycle-friendly cafe's provide perfect opportunities to get out of the saddle for a while and cool off or enjoy a perfect cup of coffee.

The tour can be completed in one day point-to-point tour, or as a two-day out-and-back with an overnight in Peterborough, with options to extend your trip. The Passage is a perfect gateway ride for a taste of the Kawarthas or of the Lake Ontario waterfront.

Looking to add a day for a long weekend ride? Consider adding another loop:
• Stay the night in Peterborough and cycle the local 45km Shimano Route 1A
https://thekawarthas.ca/route-1a-lakes-rivers-and-cafes-45/
• Reverse the ride and spend some time on the waterfront or in the Greenbelt with a ride on the Highland Hustle East or Bowmanville Boogie loops
https://waterfronttrail.org/trip-ideas/great-lakes-to-greenbelt/highland-hustle/
https://waterfronttrail.org/trip-ideas/great-lakes-to-greenbelt/bowmanville-boogie/

Route Highlights:
• Three scenic and historic communities.
• Two heritage rivers (Otonabee and The Ganaraska)
• Exceptional bike-friendly breweries and cafe's and two beaches.
• Up to 3 Trent-Severn Waterway Locks (historic sites)
Route with plenty of options. Whether you start in Port Hope, or start in Peterborough you'll find a ton to explore, visit and experience, with numerous options to extend your stay for a longer cycle holiday. (less)