Alberta Road Trip
Cathy
Back from Alberta

From hiking up mountains and exploring valleys to feeding cows and riding horses, we've had a whirlwind of adventures on our road trip to Alberta. With Canada's landscape ranging in such beauty, we focused most of our time exploring the outdoors and caught a few glimpses of wildlife. We visited incredibly blue lakes, relaxed in a hot spring and watched cows block the road we were driving on. 

Back from Alberta

Conservation Area

Silver Creek Conservation Area in Halton Hills

On a warm afternoon, we decided to go on a short hike at Silver Creek Conservation Area. 

What we Did

We parked at the side of the road and headed over to the information board with the map. As a heads up, we didn't find this map too helpful since it didn't highlight what the trails were or how long they were. To avoid our mistake, make sure to check out the online map before you begin. We decided to follow the Bruce Trail for maybe an hour before it got too muddy for us to continue. 

Even though we didn't stay long, we really enjoyed the hike. There are so many side trails to choose from. Whether you're looking to do something shorter or longer, you can customize the hike to your liking. 

From photos we've seen online, there's a waterfall somewhere in this conservation area. If you know which trail it's on, let us know and we'll go back to hike it!

Notes

  • Location: Vehicle access from Town of Halton Hills 9th Line and Fallbrook Trail (27th Sideroad) L7G 4S8. Or you can just Google Maps it. 
  • Hours: Sunrise to sunset.
  • Parking fee: There's a donation box at the main kiosk of 9th Line. 
  • Trails: There are six trails you can hike here. I would check the map before you head out. The map at the entrance wasn't too clear. 
  • Difficulty: Moderate - It didn't seem too difficult, but we also didn't make it to all of the trails. 
  • Time: This is entirely up to you. There are so many hiking trails that you can spend one hour or a whole day there.
  • Dogs: Dogs are allowed but you must keep them leashed. 

Happy Adventuring! 

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Eramosa Karst Conservation Area in Hamilton

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When you think of hiking, I bet you don’t think you would come across karsts did you? Well, at Eramosa Karst Conservation Area, the park is filled with treasures including forests, meadows and underground caves and steams. But before we explain more about that, you may be wondering: what is a karst? Karsts are geological formations that include underground drainage, caves and passages caused by dissolving rock. 

As a great spot for a hike, Eramosa Karst’s interesting geology makes it a one-of-a-kind place to visit in Hamilton. There are over four kilometres of trails, boardwalks and bridges that take you through forests, meadows, geological formations and a natural amphitheatre. Here, you’ll find three trails here that range from easy to moderate difficulty: Karst Features Trail, Meadows Trail and Bobolink Trail.

What we did:

We mostly stayed on the Karst Features Trail so we could visit Pottruff Cave,  Nexus Cave and see some karst features. You should hit both if you stay on the trail, but we had trouble finding them. You'll have to keep an eye out so you don't miss it. We ended up having to backtrack so we could find it. 

Pottruff Cave is quite large and a pretty neat geological feature if you haven't seen too many caves in your life. If you climb down into the entrance, you'll feel pretty small. 

For Nexus Cave, you'll be able to see the entrance as well as a window for it at two different spots. These features aren't as striking as Pottruff Cave, but worth checking out if you're already on the trail. 

NOTES:

  • Location: Upper Mount Albion Road, Stoney Creek, ON
  • Parking fee: There's no entrance fee - yay! But there's a parking fee of $2/hour. 
  • Time: We budgeted about 2 hours here and we were able to fully complete the Karst Features Trail and part of the Meadows Trail. 
  • Dogs: Dogs are allowed but you must keep them leashed. 

Happy Adventuring!