Caledon:
Situated in Southern Ontario’s Greenbelt, home to the Niagara Escarpment’s cliffs, the Oak Ridges Moraine’s rolling kames and kettles, fine farmland and several of southern Ontario’s most picturesque rivers, Caledon is a rural gem located within Toronto’s urban shadow. In Caledon Hikes: Loops & Lattes, Nicola provides detailed descriptions of 37 hiking loops that are a perfect way to spend an hour, an afternoon or even an entire day.
All of the routes described in this thoughtfully organized guide start and end at the same location. Sprinkled within her instructions is fascinating information about Caledon’s plants and animals, tidbits about its industrial past, and suggestions about where to top off your walk with a frothy café latte or an irresistible ice cream cone.
Halton:
Halton Hikes: Loops & Lattes, expands into new hiking territory. Nicola describes 37 routes that will appeal to casual walkers as well as seasoned hikers. Her loops all begin and conveniently end at the same location. Ranging in length from 3.6 to 24.8 kilometres, each is accompanied by a detailed map, precise directions, loads of colour photos and a smattering of local lore.
Halton Region stretches north from Oakville and Burlington, up the cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment near Campbellville, Milton, Acton, Georgetown and Glen Williams and into the rural areas just across the border near Eden Mills, Rockwood, Erin, Cheltenham and Terra Cotta.
Dufferin:
If you like to hike or walk and don’t yet know about the trails in Dufferin County then Nicola Ross has a surprise for you. Bordering Caledon and Peel Region, the “high” county, as it’s known, is Caledon with a fraction of the traffic, fewer houses, deeper valleys and dirt roads that go nowhere.
As for all guides in the Loops & Lattes series, Dufferin Hikes: Loops & Lattes describes routes that conveniently start and end at the same location. Ranging in length from 2.2 to 21 kilometres, each is accompanied by a detailed map, precise directions, loads of colour photos, a smattering of local lore and suggestions about what to do aprés hiking.
Hamilton and Area:
Known as the “Waterfall Capital of the World,” this guide takes you to more than 20 of them. While there’s something captivating about cascading water, the waterfalls are just the beginning of what makes Hamilton and the County of Brant havens for hikers. Within Hamilton’s urban boundaries, there are stands of regionally rare Carolinian forest, tallgrass prairie, wetlands and savannahs. Cootes Paradise, the marsh encircling the tip of Lake Ontario, has been a nature sanctuary for more than 90 years and is deserving of the name “paradise.” And winding its way right though the city is the ever-present Niagara Escarpment — the “mountain” to Hamiltonians.
The aptly named Grand River courses its way through the County of Brant, where an extensive trail system provides opportunities to explore forest-laden river oxbows and to traverse rolling farmland. Not far away is Paris, which has been called the “prettiest little town in Canada.”
Hamilton and Area Hikes’s 34 routes range in length from 2.5k to 23.5k and mostly start and end at the same location. Each hike is accompanied by a detailed map, precise directions, loads of colour photos, a smattering of local lore and suggestions about what to do après hiking. Lattes anyone?
Waterloo, Wellington and Guelph
Waterloo, Wellington & Guelph Hikes, the fifth in our Loops & Lattes series of hiking guides, takes you to a land where historic cities, towns and villages cozy up to pastoral rivers. Where Octoberfest competes for your attention with horse-drawn buggies, and gracious stone homes vie for your favour with resplendent maple forests.
Where else in Canada can you board a train, transfer to a wagon, get dropped off next to a garage occupied by horses and buggies, wander along streets lined with heritage inns and restaurants, and pick up a latte before your hike has even begun? And then, and then, you follow trails that tunnel through dense forests, climb to panoramic views, weave among enormous farms and pass through carpets of white trilliums.
Collingwood, Blue Mountains & the Beaver Valley
Escaping into nature is more important than ever, and what better way to do it than with a Loops & Lattes hiking guide tucked under your arm?
With 35 loop hikes to choose from, Collingwood, the Blue Mountains & Beaver Valley Hikes: Loops & Lattes is the 6th guide in the series. Full of precise directions, maps and colour photos, it features long hikes and short ones, hilly hikes and flat ones. Some have waterfalls, others have sand dunes. There are forested hikes and meadowed strolls. Many offer vistas, and all of them are complemented by oodles of après-hiking suggestions.
This book will guide you to Metcalfe Rock, Pinnacle Rock, Freedom Rock and Old Baldy. It will introduce you to crevices, caves, canyons, karst topography and a keyhole, as well as hidden crannies where snow lasts into July.
So, I ask you: What’s not to hike?
Written by Nicola Ross.
About the Author:
Nicola Ross is a seasoned non-fiction writer with particular expertise and experience in the environmental, travel and sport sectors. The winner of several writing awards including a National Magazine Award, and author of eight books, Nicola taught freelance writing at Humber College for several years. In a quick, efficient manner, Nicola turns technical facts, figures and details into well-organized and concise prose that captures and holds the reader’s attention.
