Waterdown East

Date: Sunday June 12

Hike Leader: Bill Baird

This is a brand new hike, never seen by high-parkers before! The hike is rated moderately-difficult. It is 11.3 km long, with an optional best-there-is add-on at the end of the hike.

Tihis is a car-shuttle hike. We will rendezvous in the parking lot next to Grindstone Falls. This is south of the main intersection of town. Then we will place all of the hikers in half of the cars (hopefully) and drive to the start of the hike, to the east. Then we will hike back to the falls. Keep in mind we will need lots of cars.

Directions to meeting point

  1. Take Highway 401 to Highway 403.
  2. Take Highway 403 to its (temporary) end at the QEW.
  3. Go west on the QEW.
  4. As you approach Hamilton and the highway splits, stay to the right, Highway 403. The left lanes are for the QEW to Niagara.
  5. Drive past the partial Waterdown exit. You have no choice.
  6. Take the next exit, north on Highway 6.
  7. Travel up Highway 6 three kilometers and turn right onto Highway 5, Dundas Street.
  8. Travel east three kilometers to Mill Street. Dundas Street will narrow when it gets into the older part of town.
  9. Turn right, south, on Mill Street. Just past the overhead railway bridge the parking lot is on the right.

Directions to start-of-hike

  1. Travel north, left, on Mill Street. Turn right, east, on Dundas Street.
  2. About seven kilometers later turn left, north, on Guelph line. You will have driven past Evans Road, Kerns Road and Cedar Springs Road.
  3. A few kilometers later, you will be at the Niagara escarpment. On your left you can see the Bruce Trail markings and stile.
  4. Make a U-turn and park on the west side near the Bruce Trail entry point. You can make the U-turn just north at No. 1 Sideroad Millar Crescent).

Hike

We will be hiking on the Bruce Trail. We travel west back to Waterdown. At the end of the hike, if we have time and ambition, we can add more distance. We can hike down and back up the Grindstone Creek gorge. This is the fabulous end to the Waterdown-west hike. This is one of the most scenic bits of hiking the Bruce Trail has to offer.