Winter Hiking

Writing this post seems a little silly considering it’s 5C and raining outside, but I swear it was winter here in recent history! Throughout the month of January, Mac and I committed to hiking more in 2018, and with Canadian weather, that means winter hiking! We had some great hikes in January and I thought it’d be fun to share them. The trails might not be as mountain-studded as my hikes in Jasper National Park were, but I thoroughly enjoyed them all the same!

Winter Hiking | Burlington and Area

Tews Falls // Dundas Peak

Mac and I started the New Year off right, with a hike with friends! On New Year’s Day we drove to our friends’ house which is conveniently located just down the road from Tews Falls. This popular Hamilton waterfall has several surrounding well-groomed trails on which we took to exploring.

One of the trails leads right out to Dundas Peak – a famed local landmark with stunning views of the city below.

From there we decided to take a different route back – this trail led us down the escarpment and alongside the train tracks. The snow was abundant, the temperature was COLD, but the company was top notch.

Distance: 7.4km

Short Hills Provincial Park

On one of our days off together, Mac & I headed out towards St. Catharines for a quaint little day trip. Short Hills Provincial Park is just south of St. Catharines and has a whole network of trails.

We had a picture-perfect day for hiking. The temperature was great and the sun was shining. Our route took us by frozen Terrace Creek Waterfall where a lovely fellow hiker offered to take our picture (her furry – and adorable – companion even joined us) as we explored the frozen falls.

Our hike led us up to the Morning Star Mill – home to several heritage buildings, another waterfall, and a mill.

From here we hiked down to the creek bed where the fall floods had erased any sign of a trail. We knew roughly which direction we needed to go, and after a stressful half hour or so we finally came upon the elusive bridge we had been scouting.

The hike back to the car was slow going as we had eaten through our snack cache and the clouds had moved in on the clear blue skies. A trip to Rise Above and Beechwood’s Doughnuts afterwards put us in happy spirits soon enough!

Distance: 9.1km

Hilton Falls

I’m lucky to work with an amazing group of like-minded people. One of these girls is also incredibly into hiking like me, so I’m amazed it took us this long to get out on the trail together! You know she’s hard core when the weather forecast called for flash freezing and pouring rain and she didn’t even think of postponing our hiking date! We set out in full rain/snow gear and met at Hilton Falls. (Because of the non-stop rain, I didn’t dare bring along my nice camera, so please excuse the poor quality of my sub-par phone camera).

I absolutely loved this hike and am super keen to go back in nicer weather. The trails were wide and gorgeous, and there was even a waterfall! We got slightly mixed up on our route (NOT lost!!) and ended up doing a figure-eight of sorts instead of a big loop. But the company was great and with appropriate clothing we were toasty and dry despite the constant rain and slush-covered trails.

Distance: 5.1km

Dundas Valley Conservation Area

Mac and I hosted a Couchsurfer from Germany in January and she agreed to join us in our winter hiking escapades through Dundas Valley Conservation Area. It was hard to choose a trail to hike because the park is so abundant with them, but we opted to follow the Bruce Trail/Main Loop which led us around to the Heritage House – with a waterfall en route, of course (Cantebury Falls)!

Even though the trail was snow-covered, the ice was minimal (with only one fall down a slippery slope, by yours truly), and we were nice and toasty from all the hiking.

We took a slight detour back to the car park which brought us to another waterfall (Sherman Falls). You can never see too many waterfalls!!

Distance: 8.3km

After all this winter hiking around Burlington, I can’t wait to see what the spring will hold. Getting out as often as we did makes me want to keep exploring! Though Ontario might not have the mountains like out west, there are still so many parks I have yet to discover and trails that need hiking!!