My parents live in Eastern Ontario and I’d been for a walk here ages ago (like pre-children, which is basically a lifetime ago), and hadn’t had a chance to revisit.
So on a recent strike day, we headed out to the country, picked up Grandma, and drove over to the Glengarry Trails in the Township of North Glengarry.
Originally developed with the assistance of Provincial and Municipal funding, the 15kms of woodlands and wetlands are now maintained by volunteers with The Friends of Glengarry Trails Association (FGTA).
There are trails, boardwalks, interpretive signs, the utterly relaxing Garry Fen (I had to look up just what IS a fen), and you can visit year round. While there are a few entry points to the trails, including right in the town of Alexandria (only about 45 minutes from Montreal), we chose to do the yellow loop that circles Garry Fen.
We parked in the small parking lot on Lakeshore Road, had a look at the map and set off. The paths are fairly easy to walk, but with tree roots and rocks along the way, so really not stroller-friendly. While the walk to the boardwalk seemed easy, we probably should have retraced our steps back to the car. Instead, we walked the whole way around Garry Fen and the toddler was POOPED. When we got back I saw that we must have walked almost 4km! That’s a long way when you’re only 5 apples tall.
You can see the trail map HERE and read more about the trails on the official website.
Bikes are welcome, though you’re instructed to walk them in some spots, and you can also bring dogs on leash. In the winter there are snowmobiling trails, and cross-country and snowshoeing trails.
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Alexandria, Ontario – Glengarry TrailsSee images (click the first image for full screen) »
I’m not a walker but after seeing this, I might have to take a look – and maybe a walk on these beautiful Glengarry Trails.