This in-and-out hike hike follows the Bruce Trail starting at Kelso, a conservation
area in the west end of Milton, then south-west through the Rattlesnake Point
and Crawford Lake Conservation Areas, ending at Guelph Line. The return trip
follows the same route back with a couple of deviations to keep the hike interesting.
I detoured off the Bruce Trail to take in Crawford Lake's Pine Ridge trail,
a 2.4km trail that rejoins the Bruce Trail to form a loop. The Leech-Porter
side trail offers a short-cut across the Nassagaweya canyon as well as a workout
climbing up the canyon if you take this trail heading east. Finally, when re-entering
Kelso from Appleby Line, following the trail south instead of east across the
farmer's field offers an alternate route back to the beginning of the hike.
While walking in Kelso you need to keep your eyes and ears out for mountain
bikers. They tend to whip through on a moments notice. Once you get out of Kelso
you'll find that the number of people you pass reduces dramatically. The portion
of the hike from Steeles Ave to the Leech-Porter Side Trail can be home to a
lot of soggy trails and accompanying buys, although recent trail re-routings
have bypassed most of the problematic areas.
This is a great hike if you like a variety of trails. It starts with a close
to 100 meter climb up the escarpment from the base of Kelso/Glen Eden. The hike
continues along the easy trails through Kelso, a walk along Appleby Road, stellar
views as the Bruce Trail follows the Nassagaweya Canyon east ridge, a very rocky
trail up the canyon to Crawford Lake, flat family-friendly trails in the Crawford
Lake Conservation Area, and a steep climb back up the canyon along the Leech-Porter
Side trail. Most of the trail is under treecover except for some open areas
in Kelso and the walk along Appleby.
Trailmaps
The best places to park for this hike are at Kelso if you are coming from the
east, or Crawford Lake Conservation Area if you in the west. Access is free
at all Halton conservation areas for Bruce Trail Club members, yet another reason
to join.
The color track lines on this map show the hike segments.
The green line is the section of the Bruce Trail
from Kelso to Guelph Line.
The blue line is the Leech-Porter Side Trail
that cuts across the Nassagaweya Canyon.
The yellow lines are other trails to consider
if you want to lengthen or shorten your hike, Crawford Lake's Pine Ridge Trail
and an alternate trail through Kelso.
Using ExpertGPS or Panterra you can assemble these route segments into the
desired hike.
The gpx file also contains waypoints marking the beginning and ending of trails
as well as major trail features and intersections.
This in-and-out hike hike follows the Bruce Trail starting at Kelso, a conservation area in the west end of Milton, then south-west through the Rattlesnake Point and Crawford Lake Conservation Areas, ending at Guelph Line. The return trip follows the same route back with a couple of deviations to keep the hike interesting. I detoured off the Bruce Trail to take in Crawford Lake's Pine Ridge trail, a 2.4km trail that rejoins the Bruce Trail to form a loop. The Leech-Porter side trail offers a short-cut across the Nassagaweya canyon as well as a workout climbing up the canyon if you take this trail heading east. Finally, when re-entering Kelso from Appleby Line, following the trail south instead of east across the farmer's field offers an alternate route back to the beginning of the hike.
While walking in Kelso you need to keep your eyes and ears out for mountain bikers. They tend to whip through on a moments notice. Once you get out of Kelso you'll find that the number of people you pass reduces dramatically. The portion of the hike from Steeles Ave to the Leech-Porter Side Trail can be home to a lot of soggy trails and accompanying buys, although recent trail re-routings have bypassed most of the problematic areas.
This is a great hike if you like a variety of trails. It starts with a close to 100 meter climb up the escarpment from the base of Kelso/Glen Eden. The hike continues along the easy trails through Kelso, a walk along Appleby Road, stellar views as the Bruce Trail follows the Nassagaweya Canyon east ridge, a very rocky trail up the canyon to Crawford Lake, flat family-friendly trails in the Crawford Lake Conservation Area, and a steep climb back up the canyon along the Leech-Porter Side trail. Most of the trail is under treecover except for some open areas in Kelso and the walk along Appleby.
Trailmaps
The best places to park for this hike are at Kelso if you are coming from the east, or Crawford Lake Conservation Area if you in the west. Access is free at all Halton conservation areas for Bruce Trail Club members, yet another reason to join.
The color track lines on this map show the hike segments.
The green line is the section of the Bruce Trail from Kelso to Guelph Line.
The blue line is the Leech-Porter Side Trail that cuts across the Nassagaweya Canyon.
The yellow lines are other trails to consider if you want to lengthen or shorten your hike, Crawford Lake's Pine Ridge Trail and an alternate trail through Kelso.
Using ExpertGPS or Panterra you can assemble these route segments into the desired hike.
The gpx file also contains waypoints marking the beginning and ending of trails as well as major trail features and intersections.