HIKING TRAILS Wheelchair-accessible trails Close to home

BY SHEILA ASCROFT

The National Capitol Commission manages 236 kilometres of multi-use pathways extending from Gatineau Park, through Ottawa and into the Greenbelt. Most are accessible for people with impaired mobility, though much of the Gatineau side of the network is very hilly and therefore is not recommended.

We’ll start with the easy ones on the Gatineau side of the river.

PIONEERS TRAIL

Learn about early settlers in the Outaouais region, as you walk this short (1.3 km), easy trail. It starts at the Gatineau Park Welcome Area, located near Gamelin Street, and is universally accessible.

LAC-DES-FÉES PATHWAY

This one is north of Boul. des Allumettières along the eastern edge of Gatineau Park. Great for birdwatching, an easy onekilometre walk.

STONY SWAMP

In the southwest corner of Ottawa, this area off Moodie Drive features a network of beaver ponds, wetlands and forests. While it has more than

40 kilometres of trails, only its Sarsaparilla Trail (reached from P7) is universally accessible, as is its dock at a beaver pond. The larger area has wetland boardwalks and interpretive exhibits on geology and natural history. Stony Swamp is home to 63 species of regionally rare plants, 11 of which exist nowhere else in Ottawa’s Greenbelt. •

Ontario Conservation Areas

HERE ARE A FEW ACCESSIBLE TRAILS BEYOND OTTAWA

Famous park welcomes wheelchairs

If you want to go further afield and consider camping, Algonquin Park offers several locations with appropriate facilities. Two longish trails will get you truly into the spirit of nature:

Spruce Bog

Reverend William Bleasdell in the 1800s who wrote of the rock in scientific journals and so brought it to the attention of geologists across Canada

BLEASDELL BOULDER CONSERVATION AREA

This area is the site of a short trail that takes you to the “Bleasdell Boulder,” one of the largest known glacial erratics in North America. It’s estimated to be 2.3 billion years old. Named after William Bleasdell who wrote about it in scientific journals in the 1800s, it’s also known as Glen Miller Rock (after a local builder who retired nearby), the Boulder is 13.4 metres long, 7.3 metres wide and 6.7 metres (more than two storeys!) high. It’s surrounded by a wide variety of trees, flowers, ferns as well as small mammals, reptiles and waterfowl.

LEMOINE POINT CONSERVATION AREA

The Point is bordered by Lake Ontario and Collins Bay. It’s 136 hectares of forest, field and marsh, with a spectacular waterfront. This is a popular and well-used conservation area with more than 2,500 metres of shoreline on Lake Ontario. It not only has wheelchair accessible trails, it also has accessible picnic tables and washrooms nearby.

LITTLE CATARAQUI CREEK CONSERVATION AREA

This 394-hectare site has marsh, field and forest habitat. Its accessible trail also doubles as an interpretive tour with signage, a brochure and a viewing platform over the creek and marsh.

BAXTER CONSERVATION AREA

Between Kemptville and Manotick, this site has 68 hectares of wetlands, conifer plantations, mixed forest, alder thickets, nut groves and a solar energy display. An accessible boardwalk loop takes you through fern and trillium (in spring) environments.

FOLEY MOUNTAIN CONSERVATION AREA

High atop a granite ridge overlooking Westport village, 50 km south of Perth, this site has a new stone-dust mobility trail with interpretive signs designed for wheelchair users. A 300-metre loop with beautiful views of Upper Rideau Lake is a highlight. •

Boardwalk has sections in this 1.5-km loop trail that provide an excellent close-up look at two typical northern spruce bogs. The guide discusses their ecology.

Algonquin Logging Museum Trail and exhibits summarize the area’s extensive, economic and environmentally significant logging history. On the easyto-walk 1.3-kilometre loop, a re-created caboose camp and a fascinating steam

powered amphibious tug called an “alligator” are among the many exhibits on display. •