Cycling.
Fort George National Historic Site is the northern trailhead for the 53 km Niagara River Recreation Trail, which leaves Old Town along the Niagara Parkway and runs paved and stone-dust to Fort Erie. The first stretch out of NOTL hugs the lower Niagara River below the escarpment toward Queenston Heights, with the river on one side and the Parkway on the other.
Niagara Parks manages the trail end-to-end.
The brief.
The Niagara River Recreation Trail is open to pedestrians and cyclists; some sections share alignment with the Niagara Parkway road shoulder, so speed and direction signage applies. The northern stretch from NOTL to Niagara Falls is the most-recognized leg — flat, paved, river-edge — and is the iconic NOTL ride.
The 14 km Upper Canada Heritage Trail is an inland crushed-stone rail-trail from Old Town through Virgil to St. Davids; it's not paved and is a separate experience.
The Great Lakes Waterfront Trail carries Lake Ontario shoreline cycling along Lakeshore Road. Best season is May through October; the Parkway corridor stays popular with weekend traffic in summer.
NOTL's flat lake-plain bench keeps every option in this guide rideable for any fitness level.
3. places.
- 01
Niagara River Recreation Trail
53 km paved/stone-dust multi-use trail from NOTL (at Fort George) along the Niagara Parkway to Fort Erie; the northern NOTL→Niagara Falls leg passes the lower river, the Whirlpool, and the falls (the falls themselves sit in Niagara Falls jurisdiction).
- 02
Upper Canada Heritage Trail
14 km flat crushed-stone rail-trail along the former Erie & Ontario Railway right-of-way from NOTL through Virgil to St. Davids.
- 03
Great Lakes Waterfront Trail — Niagara-on-the-Lake segment
Lake Ontario shoreline route through NOTL via Lakeshore Road and the Niagara Parkway; useful for stitching NOTL into a longer cross-Ontario ride.
Today's read.
Cold but firm — winter-ready conditions · light winds · clean air.