Durham Wetlands

Date: Sunday November 30

Hike Leader: Bill Baird

This is a new hike!

The hike is about twelve kilometers long with no verticals. It is about five hours long. We rate this as easy. This hike is essentially two loop trails around two bodies of water, McLaughlin Bay and Second Marsh. It is entirely within the wetland east of Oshawa. Parts could be wet. The middle third of the hike is walking through the sand along the Lake Ontario shoreline. It is exposed. It could be windy and raw. Dress accordingly.

Directions

From our meeting point at Old York Mills Roads...

  1. Take Highway 401 east to the far end of Oshawa.
  2. Exit at Harmony Bloor, Exit 419.
  3. At the intersection, go straight. You will be going south on Farewell Street.
  4. Three long blocks later turn left onto Colonel Sam Drive. Colonel Sam Drive changes its name at Farewell. The street sign on the right hand side says reads Wentworth St.
  5. Drive to the very end of Colonel Sam Drive, past the GM headquarter's parking lots.
  6. At the sort-of head-end, turn right onto an un-named road. Drive to the end. The dirt parking lot is free.

Google Maps instructions

Remarks

We will start the hike by first walking north a few meters, then turning right (east) into Darlington Provincial Park. We will then hike along the north shore of McLaughlin Bay. We will hike through most of the park till we get to the Lake Ontario shoreline. Then we will turn right and hike westward in the sand for about an hour. Hopefully, the pounding surf will be in our left ear the whole way. We will be forced to turn north at Farewell Creek. We will hiked north almost to Colonel Sam Drive, and then take the Ghost Road Bush trail boardwalk east and then southeast. We will get back to the Lake Ontario shoreline, then turn northeast and go back to the cars. Note: there is a spot on the Ghost Road Bush trail boardwalk where the chickadees hang out. You might want to bring a small amount of seeds.

If there is a strong raw wind from the west, we might reverse the direction of the entire hike. This will allow us to have our backs to the wind on the most exposed part, the Lake Ontario shoreline.

Go back to the schedule page.

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