Trail Updates December 2018

Over the past week, I've made some trail updates to 4 hikes on TorontoHiking. In some cases these were minor but in two instances it meant redrawing and updating the trail maps as well as the accompanying trail guides.

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all and a Happy New Year to all our members and visitors.

1. Hike L16 Cheltenham Badlands

While the Credit Stone ST is still closed and has been since 2011, the hike has been restructured into a shorter 7 km loop that uses the Caledon Trailway as well as the Bruce Trail through the Badlands. The new Badlands trail is 300 m in length and is managed by Credit Valley Conservation. A new parking lot has also been built by Credit Valley Conservation at the new waypoint (001.) A flat rate parking fee of $10 is charged. A new wheelchair accessible platform has been constructed which offers great views of this significant landmark. A new 230 m roadside walkway leads to this viewing platform from the parking lot.Roadside parking is also available on the east side of Creditview Rd near waypoint (003), but it can only accommodate 3 cars. A new trail map has been drawn to show these changes along with changes to update the trail guide and trail guide pdf for printing. As well hike information has been updated.

2. Hike L46F Rockway Falls to Louth Falls

A trail reconfiguration has taken place with the part of the Bruce Trail that passes near the vinyard now closed. A new section of trail has been opened to the south which joins up with the Louth Side Trail. This new trail configuration removes a very dangerous descent near waypoint (005) so this change improves safety on the hike. The new main trail is 1.0 km while the decommissioned trail was 1.3 km resulting in  a very minor decrease in the length of the hike. The trail map has been redrawn and updated with these changes as has other appropriate areas of the hike.

3. Hike L31 Hockley Heights

Two extended switch-backs have been added in order to eliminate some extremely steep slopes on the original unopened road allowance of this trail. This makes navigating "The Three Sisters" less of a dangerous venture. This has been noted on the hike pages but the change was too minor on the trail map to require a redraw.

4. Hike L42 Nottawasaga Bluffs

Nottawasaga Bluffs Lookout Side Trail has been temporarily closed to hikers due to an unsafe bridge that is marked for repair. Hopefully this repair will be completed before summer in 2019.This is noted on the trail guide but the trail map remains unchanged.