Fall colours at Rouge National Urban Park
This week we went back to an old favourite. We love Rouge Park. We usually go down to the Rouge Beach part of the park and walk along the waterfront trail down there. We had been to this section of the Park a couple of years ago (around the same time of year) and really enjoyed it. It's the section of the park where the Rouge Valley Conservation Centre is located.
It was Thanksgiving weekend and we normally spend the weekend with family but stayed close to home amid the resurgence of COVID cases in the second wave of the pandemic. I was looking for something special to make the weekend feel a little more festive so I really wanted to get a look at the fall leaves. I didn’t even want to attempt Dundas Peak because I figured it would be jammed and probably also fully booked and then I remembered that Rouge Park would be a great spot. Since we had been here in October two years ago and it wasn’t overly busy I had hoped it was still off the beaten path a bit. I figured it might be busier with Thanksgiving weekend, the fall colours approaching their peak, and the Pandemic forcing people outside more than usual. The weather was also pretty spectacular: warm and sunny. But I was hopeful it wouldn’t be too bananas.
Well, it was busy. The parking lot was jammed although we got lucky and found a spot almost immediately. Thankfully, though, the trails themselves weren’t too bad. Don’t get me wrong, there were lots of folks on the trails although it wasn’t as bad as I’d imagined based on what the parking lot looked like. And as we got further in the crowd thinned out. We even managed to get good access to the viewing platform which I’d expected to be congested with a big lineup of folks waiting to go up. People were generally really great; they kept their distance on the trails and nobody really hogged the viewing platform at the lookout point.
We started off on the Vista Trail, taking the section that runs by the lookout point. I had a feeling it would be busy, so my goal was to do the lookout first and then make our way further into the Park assuming lots of folks had come for the fall leaves and would likely stick to the Vista trail and loop back to the parking lot after getting their fill of the fall colours. The lookout is actually not that far in, so after taking in the view we set off on our forest walk, continuing along along the Vista Trail.
At a certain point we noticed a fork and a small side trail moving down and away from the main trail, but quasi-parallel to it. It looked quieter than the main trail which still had lots of folks on it, so we decided to take our chances. It was unmarked and I couldn’t find it on the map anywhere, but it was definitely a cleared side trail and we did see other folks using it. Turns out that this side trail actually leads down to the Little Rouge River. It does end in a dead end at the river, though, so we either had to back track all the way back to the main trail or just climb straight up the steep ridge to get back up to the main trail. After the kids had some fun exploring at the water’s edge, we opted for the climb up the ridge to make our way back up to the main trail. From there, we continue along Vista Trail until we reached Twyn Rivers drive. Apparently, the Vista Trail runs along a ridge between the Rouge River Valley and the Little Rouger River Valley.
Once we arrived at Twyn Rivers dr., we took a left and followed the road until we found the trailhead for the Orchard Trail (it’s hard to spot, located just after the bridge that runs over the Little Rouge River). The Parks Canada website does suggest joining the Orchard trail to form a loop with the Vista Trail, but we also knew about this little trick because we’d accidentally done it last time we were here after we got a bit muddled. It would honestly be hard to find if we didn’t already have a sense of what we were looking for.
The Orchard Trail starts off running down closer to the water and then it climbs up. We saw an old rusted out car frame hidden in the forest just beyond the trail head and took in some spectacular views of the Little Rouge River from up on the ridge.
Rouge Park is a real gem in Toronto, and I’d like to explore other sections of the Park at some point. Maybe I’ll add it to the list of trail destinations that have undiscovered trails for us to come back to!
What you need to know to plan your visit!
Managed by: Parks Canada
Hike Length: 5.5km - Check out the trail map!
Trail Style: Packed earth / natural surface
Wayfinding: The wayfinding is fairly good. The trail heads are well marked and there are white blazes painted on the trees to help stay on track. However, there is no signage at trail junctions (at least not that we saw on the trail sections we were on). It would be particularly helpful if there were signage with guidance on how to join the Orchard trail or other trails that come to a head at Twyn Rivers drive. If we hadn’t been here before and hadn’t done some planning ahead of time, we likely would have never known that we could walk down Twyn Rivers dr. and get onto the Orchard trail. However, you can download the Rouge App, which provides interactive trail maps with real time tracking. Having the app clearly would have made wayfinding a breeze (whoops!). But sometimes winging it is part of the adventure, no?
Sun Exposure: You’re covered – Most of the trail is fully covered, but there are a couple of small sections that are fully exposed (a section at the beginning as we approached the observation deck, and when we walked along Twyn Rivers dr. to get to the Orchard Trail).
Bug-o-meter: We’ve only ever visited this trail destination in October, after mosquito season so we don’t know what the bug situation is like in the summer.
Key Features & Little Surprises: Observation deck/lookout with a view of the Little Rouge River Valley on the Vista Trail; Scenic lookout from the top of the ridge on the Orchard Trail; Rusted out old car frame; Side trail that leads down to the Little Rouge River; the Salmon running up the river (if you are lucky enough to catch sight of them);
Hot tip: Try to time your visit during the height of the salmon run (they come up the river from Lake Ontario to spawn). We missed it, but we saw evidence of the ones that didn’t quite make it (☹) and it would be so cool to see them in action.
Parking & Logistics: Parking and entry to the park are free.
Driving Time: 30 mins or less, depending where you are coming from within the city.
And hey, if you visit one of these trail destinations after reading our posts, leave a comment and tag @ParkLark_ on Instagram to tell us how it went and spread the word about our bucket list challenge.
Comments