Cycling.
Thorold sits at the midpoint of the Welland Canals Parkway Trail with more than 12.5 kilometres of paved trail inside the city — part of the 45-kilometre St. Catharines to Port Colborne canal corridor and a section of the 140-kilometre Greater Niagara Circle Route, which links the Niagara River Recreational Trail, the Welland Canals Parkway Trail, the Friendship Trail, and the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail.
The brief.
The Greater Niagara Circle Route is 140 kilometres total, with 90% on off-road paved trails and the remaining 10% on paved shoulders. Inside Thorold the canal trail is paved and almost entirely flat, except for the climb up the Niagara Escarpment to the Lock 7 Viewing Complex on Chapel Street South.
The Lock 7 deck has bike racks and is the most distinctive trailside stop in the city — the deck looks down on Locks 4, 5, 6, and 7 from the top of the escarpment. Riders crossing the canal at the southern edge of Thorold use the free Bridge-It Ferry from Port Robinson — a pedestrian and cyclist crossing operating since the 1970s.
The trail is best ridden May through October.
3. places.
- 01
Welland Canals Parkway Trail (Thorold portion)
12.5 km of paved trail in city; part of the 45-km St. Catharines–Port Colborne canal corridor.
- 02
Greater Niagara Circle Route
140-km regional cycling loop linking the canal corridor with the Niagara River, Friendship, and Waterfront trails.
- 03
Bridge-It Ferry (Port Robinson)
Free pedestrian and cyclist canal crossing south of Thorold.
Today's read.
Cold but firm — winter-ready conditions · light winds · clean air.