The Devonwood Bike Trail is a fairly straight and flat bike trail in the southern end of the city of

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the souther ...

.{{Cite web , title=Devonwood , url=https://www.citywindsor.ca/residents/parksandforestry/Trails/Pages/Devonwood.aspx , url-status=live , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526204623/https://www.citywindsor.ca/residents/parksandforestry/Trails/Pages/Devonwood.aspx , archive-date=2023-05-26 , access-date=2023-11-12 , website=City of Windsor, Ontario, Canada The path starts just south of

E.C. Row Expressway The E. C. Row Expressway is a municipal expressway in the city of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It divides the city in half as it crosses it between the Ojibway Parkway in the west and Banwell Road in the east, a distance of . It was built between 19 ...

at the intersection of Hallmark Avenue and Conservation Drive. The path has several short branches less than 100 m long to connect it to neighbouring

cul-de-sac A dead end, also known as a cul-de-sac (, from French for 'bag-bottom'), no through road or no exit road, is a street with only one inlet or outlet. The term "dead end" is understood in all varieties of English, but the official terminology ...

s, and passes through a couple parks. Its southern terminus is the end of the pavement as it enters the

Essex Region Conservation Authority The Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) is a public-sector agency with delegated provincial authority to address risks of natural hazards, relating to flooding and erosion. ERCA was established in 1973 to manage the natural resources of th ...

-controlled Devonwood Conservation Area, a heavily wooded animal and plant sanctuary. The trail also serves the

Windsor Airport Windsor International Airport is located in the southeast portion of the city of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The airport serves a mixture of scheduled airline flights and general aviation, and is a popular point of entry into Canada for private an ...

Devonshire Mall Devonshire Mall is a shopping mall in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It was built in 1970 at the location of the former Devonshire Raceway, a horse racing track, that had existed since 1935. The mall has been expanded several times since its opening, i ...

, and the "Silver City" mall and theatre area via bike lanes on Calderwood Avenue and a paved trail along

Walker Road Walker Road is one of the busiest roads in Windsor, Ontario. It has an average annual daily traffic (AADT) level of 32,000 cars per day at the CP Rail crossing. History The road is named after Hiram Walker, distillery baron. The CP Rail cros ...

. Contrary to what one may expect, the trail is actually quite lightly travelled, considering the major attractions within 1 mile (1.6 km) of it.

Extensions

Since Trans-Canada Trail signs have been posted along the western half of the

Riverfront Bike Trail The Roy A. Battagello River Walk Bike Trail is the current backbone of the "Windsor Loop" bike trail network in Windsor, Ontario. The bike trail travels from the foot of the Ambassador Bridge (at Peter Street and Huron Church Road), to traffic lig ...

(and since the

Grand Marais Trail The Grand Marais Trail is the name of a small bicycle trail that follows Turkey Creek (also known as the Grand Marais Drain) in the middle of Windsor, Ontario. It starts off as a minor spur route, connecting the West Windsor Recreationway with ...

has been completed, along with bike lanes and signs along Parent Avenue being erected), it is speculated that this trail may provide a connecting link between the Riverfront Trail and the

Chrysler Canada Greenway The Chrysler Canada Greenway is a 42 km-long rail trail in Essex County, Ontario, Canada, stretching from Oldcastle, Ontario, Oldcastle (near Windsor, Ontario, Windsor) to Leamington, Ontario, Leamington. History The trail dates back to ...

, which runs from South Talbot Road to the official starting point, 1.1 km south, at

Highway 3 The following highways are numbered 3, H-3, PRI-3, AH3, E03 and R3. For roads numbered A3, see A3 roads. For roads numbered M3, see M3. For roads numbered N3, see N3. For roads numbered 3A, see 3A. International * Asian Highway 3 * Europea ...

and Oldcastle Road, in Oldcastle, and travels via

Harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England ** Harrow, London, a town in London ** Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) ...

and Kingsville to Ruthven and Leamington. One main obstacle is the Devonwood Conservation Area, which has several sharp curves, poor visibility at times, and is a protected

nature preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

Windsor Loop

The City of Windsor has expressed intentions on creating a

bike trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The ...

, bike lane, and signed-route/Bike-Friendly Street " beltway" around Windsor, using pre-existing routes, lanes, and trails, and adding new ones to streets. The trail would use the

and Ganatchio Trail to the north, the West Windsor Recreationway to the west, a new alignment following Cabana Road to the Devonwood Conservation Area. The Loop would also follow the current Devonwood Bike Trail, following along North Service Road and

to the subdivision of Forest Glade, where it would turn north on Lauzon Road (not Lauzon Parkway), and follow the current signed route and path along Hawthorne Drive (a residential street), to the

Little River Extension The Little River Extension (full name: Ganatchio Trail – Little River Extension) is one of the newest and busiest recreational trails in Windsor, Ontario, having been built in 1996. The trail is used mainly as a link between the large sub ...

, before meeting back up with the Ganatchio Trail at the

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

traffic circle A roundabout is a type of circular intersection (road), intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The N ...

. This route has not been completed yet, but several segments are already in place. The loop has a couple crossings at E.C. Row interchanges, which are extremely busy, and could pose a potential safety hazard to cyclists. The city hopes to finish the Loop "within the next 20 years".

References

External links

Bike Trails at City of Windsor's website, CityWindsor.ca

Rail trails in Ontario Trans Canada Trail Parks in Windsor, Ontario Bike paths in Windsor, Ontario Proposed transport infrastructure in Canada

Extensions

Windsor Loop

See also

References

External links