I had a wonderful walk in this conservation area - the trails were well maintained. Seeing the…read morerock formations and crevices was a good experience. No entrance or parking fees.

Fantastic trail no matter what the season. Most of the trail is in the shadow of trees and that…read moregives a good respite from hot days. Don't forget to go to all the three kilns and also the "hole in the wall". Gives a good adrenaline rush for a short time. The walk amongst the rocks is calling as well and when you reach up you see all the crevices that you can jump. Be careful there as we saw some hats, sun glasses etc at the bottom that once fallen there is no way getting them back. Some hidden spots that are just amazing for camping, but alas there is no camping allowed. (Video uploaded). One last plus for this location you don't pay any parking fees.

Just wanted to add that the town has a 40km/h speed trap, so drive slow when passing through!read more

I visited the Rockwood Conservation with the Toyota funded GRCA annual pass made available and free…read moreat the library. This conservation is roughly $7 at admission, but free for a vehicle full if you have the annual pass. The hiking trail features trees and trekked paths near the water over the glacial deposits. You can even walk by the water. The access for boat is very easy to get to, there is a parking lot nearby. The boating looks fun as there are mini lagoon like areas and even caves to explore, reminds me of a lagoon theme park. By the way for the non hikers there is a putting green at the entrance, price is for adult and child but there are leaves and debris and it's full sun. Definitely worth checking out. The GRCA charges for admission because it is not funded by tax payers.

Amazing place. Brings peace to the soul. Trails are…read moreamazing, just simply another world. Can't wait to be back next summer.

Wanted to visit Mono Cliff but it was packed so we detoured to this provincial park. The parking…read morewas quite full there is a main parking and additional parking. There is a place to pay for your admission. I was visiting with an annual pass courtesy of the local library. The trails have marking, it can be muddy on wet days. It's not kid friendly the terrain cannot handle strollers and may be difficult for individuals with physical limitations. So please plan accordingly.

I had been to the Thornton Bales Conservation Area before and couldn't quite make it to Joker's…read moreHill due to rainfall in the area. However, today I found out that there's a parking lot for the Joker's Hill hiking trail. The parking lot is fairly large, but inconspicuous. There are no signs, so you just have to slow down as you near the entrance heading south on Bathurst because it's easy to miss. I recommend wearing bug spray and long sleeve shirts and pants because there are signs indicating that there are ticks in the area. I also recommend wearing proper hiking shoes because there are areas that get muddy, depending on how far you hike. Don't forget to bring water. The trail starts off on the right and is shaded. Another trail head starts heading straight from the parking lot. I took the one that went straight. That trail starts off very narrow and passes by residential houses until you eventually reach a wider trail. The trail markers are dark blue. It's important that you know how to follow a trail and know how to read the trail markers because I'd say 95% of the trail is marked well and it's easy to go off the trail if you're not paying attention. I used my phone's GPS and Google Maps to figure out where I was located, though Google Maps doesn't show the trail that I was on. The trail merges with other trails. The blue trail markers turned into red and white. I believe the red trail markers are for the loop that starts off to the right of the Joker's Hill trail parking lot. I followed the white trail markers to the end of the Joker's Hill hiking trail, where I entered the Thornton Bales Conservation Area. The trail markers turn light blue. At the end of that trail are the 99 Steps. In total, it's a little over 5,000 steps and about 50 minutes to hike from the Joker's Hill parking lot to the 99 Steps parking lot. Overall, a pretty decent hike.

There's two options for this Bruce Trail. The first, take the one along the escarpment which takes…read moreyou into the forest and other side of the 403, this is more challenging and a bit more scenic. The second, is the paved path down the mountain to the stairs. It's easy going down and there's even a water fountain to drink from at the bottom near the stairs. Going up is a little more challenging, it takes about 20 minutes each way. I really like both paths, but if you are worried about getting muddy shoes, then just take the paved path.

A bit more of a hike compared to Sherman Falls but still quite easy and definitely not handicapped…read moreaccessible. There is a parking area out front and it is paid parking. I don't know how well enforced it is, but feel free to give your parking receipt to someone else when you leave. $8 seems a lot for a waterfall! I was here in July so nothing frozen and no fall colors but still magnificent. a 21 meter (64 foot) cascade roars away. The path through the woods is very well marked and easy to follow up it's clear that some folks think it's okay to wander off the path. I stuck to the route and the observation platform. Partly because I'm a rule follow and partly because I'm the clumsy sort that would fall and hurt myself. Leave only footprints, take only photos. And if you can pick up some of the litter that others have left behind, you're a rockstar! [Review 1460 of 2024 - 138 in Ontario - 22483 overall]

I was in the area with family in August a couple of years back…read more The trail was really short from the parking lot. The Falls was pretty though a little crowded and busy. There will be people walking in the water. Be careful if you are walking through the water. Also, there are giant rocks and logs to sit on. I feel like Tiffany Falls is somewhere you go in the autumn. You would see the leaves being colors. There's a small fee enter (around $11/vehicle). It's done through a park kisok. You can use the same parking ticket at Sherman Falls within around 2 hours or so. The price not too bad for vehicle with at least 3 people. The parking area is really small. If you visit in the afternoon, you are going to wait a bit or park at Sherman Falls and walk (around 20 min) to Tiffany Falls. There isn't really a closer relatively larger parking lot.

Spent a wonderful morning here yesterday. Hiking was never my thing but given that our vacations…read moreare now "staycations", this has become a new way of relaxing and enjoying time off from work. This is a very easy trail. Or at least I think it is since this is only my second time hiking. We only hiked half the trail so it's hard to give it a fair review. For what we saw, the scenery wasn't exactly picturesque but was peaceful since there wasn't too many people around. We did manage to get some really nice family fun photos. It's like we had our own private photo studio so it was a lot fun. I probably will try coming back again since we didn't complete the whole trail. If you are looking for a easy trail, then give this place a try.

We were in the area, looking for a nice small park to go for a walk in on a very unseasonably cold…read moreday at the end of winter. We saw this park on the map and decided to give it a try. It's a nice little park tucked off of Gore road. Wide, easy trail that would be good for kids and mountain bikers alike. We didn't get all the way to the Quarry but we'll come back to see it next time. There are benches here and there to relax on, and lots of people walking dogs. Great little place to spend an afternoon.

Thought this was going to be a loop but ended up not being one. Lots of swamps so a ton of…read moremosquitoes! Watch out for them!

I'm really surprised I haven't reviewed this place - though I think I at least have reviewed the…read moreTree Top Trekking. The one thing I don't like is the notion of having to pay to enter a park. This might sound like an odd take since it's quite normal in Ontario, but being from BC originally, I can tell you that it was quite surprising (for here, and all other paid conservation parks). It's frustrating that the nicest park in the city - by far, which also has it's only natural lake, is gated and requires an entrance fee. I'll still give it 5 stars since it's part of a norm for the entire province, so I can't really hold that against it. I'll also have to admit that having a fee has perks which become apparent - namely: much cleaner, high staffing ratio (which helps cleanliness), no overcrowding, well maintained and even the configuration. It's similar to hating the cost of the 407 but having to admit you also love being able to cross the GTA in half the time. Heart Lake itself is a nice lake, and as mentioned the only natural lake in Brampton and probably one of the largest for quite some distance around it. Even without having visited, you may have seen it without realizing it since it was used in the movie Tommy Boy years ago (when Chris Farley is sailing and being taunted by kids). There is fishing, various types of boating, which now also includes boating at night with clear boasts that have bright neon lights around them. There are trails to walk along it too, but sadly not to go around it since city planners in their infinite wisdom years ago allowed a handful of houses to back onto the lake. There's also a some cross country trails in the wooded area for that type of running and cycling. The treetop trekking here is fantastic, but a completely different fee and business listing. But worth noting it is located here. There's an insane amount of picnicking spots. A perk with it being paid entry is that you're very likely to find a table and they even offer spots for charcoal disposal. They do offer being able rent out large spots for very big gatherings as well. They have a big splash pad and a nice large outdoor pool which has proper rope separation between shallow and deep ends. Again, the pool is quite large, so even on a busy hot Saturday in July, there was reasonable room in the shallow end - but considerably more space in the deep end. There is another fee for swimming, but it's quite reasonable. Good lifeguard ratio as well. So you've got to 'pay to play', but I also can't say there isn't value for the money. I'd highly recommend looking at an annual pass (family pass especially) which probably pays for itself within 2-3 visits here, or to any of the other TRCA conservation areas. I believe Brampton library does offer the ability to borrow a pass, but you'd want to plan ahead as I wouldn't be surprised there's holds for it.

The conservation park has a lot to offer: Tree Trekking, trails that continue along the lake,…read moreexercise equipment, lots of parking space and huge picnic and bbq area with lots of picnic tables, with all the safety measures in place; designated place to throw away ashes, big garbage bins. Good for all seasons