Cycling.
Pelham is a designated Bicycle Friendly Community at the silver award level — the same level as Ottawa, Toronto, and Hamilton. The Steve Bauer Trail, named for the Pelham-raised cyclist who won silver in the men's road race at the 1984 Summer Olympics, is the rail-trail anchor — following the former Niagara, St.
Catharines and Toronto commuter line south from Fonthill toward Welland.
The brief.
The Steve Bauer Trail combines paved and gravel surfaces through suburban Fonthill and a wooded greenway south of Port Robinson Road to the Welland border; the rail-trail section is mainly flat. The Town of Pelham road network combines Niagara Escarpment slopes with quiet rural concession roads through Fonthill, Fenwick, Ridgeville, and Effingham — terrain that combines short hills with long flat stretches.
A documented Bauer Cycle road loop links the hamlets through the kame summit. Pelham sits inside the Niagara Region's broader cycling network — the Welland Canals Parkway Trail and the Greater Niagara Circle Route lie just east in Welland and Thorold.
Best season is May through October.
3. places.
- 01
Steve Bauer Trail
Rail-trail along the former NS&T commuter rail corridor; runs from Fonthill south toward Welland; mix of paved and gravel surfaces; mainly flat.
- 02
Town of Pelham road network
Bicycle Friendly Community silver-level designation; combines Niagara Escarpment slopes with rural concession roads through the five hamlets.
- 03
Bauer Cycle road loop
Documented road route through the kame summit linking Fonthill, Fenwick, and Effingham.
Today's read.
Cold but firm — winter-ready conditions · light winds · clean air.