Hiking.
A granite cairn in Rotary Park, beside the Ganaraska River and within sight of Lake Ontario, marks the southern terminus of the 387 km Ganaraska Hiking Trail to Glen Huron at the Bruce Trail near Collingwood. The Pine Ridge section, the southernmost of six, carries 65 km of mixed terrain north into the Oak Ridges Moraine — the start of a long-distance corridor that crosses the Kawarthas, the Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands, and the Niagara Escarpment.
The brief.
The Pine Ridge section can be walked as day-hike segments out of Port Hope or as the first leg of a multi-section through-hike north. The Ganaraska Hiking Trail Association maintains the trail and publishes section maps.
Inside town, the Ganaraska Hiking Trail Port Hope local section runs 9.3 km from the downtown core to Port Hope Conservation Area, with the 1.5 km Patricia Lawson / Jack Goering Section as a short urban-ravine option. North of town, the Ganaraska Forest's 4,000 hectares hold over 100 trails for hiking and mixed-use recreation, with marked routes from 4 km to 16 km in the Forest Centre area; day passes or memberships are required to use the forest.
4. places.
- 01
Ganaraska Hiking Trail — Pine Ridge Section (southernmost)
65 km of mixed terrain starting at the granite cairn in Rotary Park along the Ganaraska River; runs north through the Oak Ridges Moraine.
- 02
Ganaraska Hiking Trail — Port Hope local section
9.3 km from the downtown core to Port Hope Conservation Area; includes the 1.5 km Patricia Lawson / Jack Goering Section.
- 03
Urban Ravine Lands Trail
Connects the Ganaraska River corridor west to Port Hope High School; in-town ravine walking.
- 04
Ganaraska Forest
Over 100 trails across 4,000 ha; trails range from 4 km to 16 km in the Forest Centre area.
Today's read.
Cold but firm — winter-ready conditions · light winds · clean air.