Eramosa River Trail at Turf Grass Institute

(Directions: Go south from York Rd. on Victoria Rd. to immediately across the bridge over the Eramosa. There is a driveway and parking area on the east side. )

Not a very interesting trail, but some nice rock formations. You can take the big road that goes straight away from Victoria Road and follow that all the way to Stone Road (red trail on map). The path starts out going east but curves south to come out at Stone Road beside what used to be the one lane bridge (a Bow Bridge) between Victoria and Watson. The bridge is now two lanes. At some point you will be walking along below some big cliffs and beside a railroad track. You can then retrace your steps or do what I do (below).

I generally leave the road (the red trail)almost immediately after parking the car and climb the hill using the path on the right, then follow along the edge of the plowed field beside the Turf Grass Institute (the yellow trail). This trail runs parallel to the red trail but is higher up, with some cliffs fairly accessible to the dogs. The initial climb is a little steep, so if you prefer an easier climb you can stay on the red trail for some distance and go up the hill using an easier path (the short yellow joining line on the map). Eventually the terrain goes downhill so that both the yellow and red trails are at about the same level some distance from Stone Road. At this point I find a spot to cut across the tracks and come back along the lower path. You can walk along the tracks or look for the red trail closer to the river east of the tracks. You have to find a good place to cross the tracks or go all the way to Stone Road. If you go to Stone Road, you will have to get your dogs on leash and get across the tracks to pick up the return trail. At this point (at Stone Road) the trail is very close to the train tracks, not down by the river.

The parking lot is pretty close to Victoria Road, so you need to keep your dogs on leash when you get out of your car and get your dogs on leash when you approach the road.

You can also go in the reverse direction by starting at Stone Road where Stone Road crosses the Eramosa River. There are parking areas on both sides of Stone Rd: the old Bow Bridge, now accessible off to the right of the new Stone Road bridge and a small area just opposite this driveway on the north side of Stone Road. You can go down and park near the entrance to the Scout camp and walk under the bridge and follow the obvious path up to the rail line and north towards Victoria Road. The parking area on the south side is safer for dogs.