Rattlesnake Point is an eco-tourism area located in Milton, Ontario, Canada and is owned and operated by Conservation Halton. Spanning roughly one hundred square kilometres across and near the

Niagara Escarpment The Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in Canada and the United States that runs predominantly east–west from New York through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin, and into Illinois. The escarpment is most famous as the cliff over ...

Halton Region The Regional Municipality of Halton, or Halton Region, is a regional municipality in Ontario, Canada, located in the Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario. It comprises the city of Burlington and the towns of Oakville, Milton, and Halton Hil ...

, the Rattlesnake Point area is home to many golf courses, country markets and equestrian training and boarding facilities. It is a popular scouting area. As urban sprawl continues to increase in Southern Ontario, new housing developments in Milton have begun to encroach upon Rattlesnake Point. Land once deemed off-limits because of its relatively difficult accessibility and seemingly untouchable status as a United Nations Biosphere-protected area is being sought after for its prime real estate value as an underdeveloped and environmentally pristine region near the core of one of Canada's most dense urban areas. Rattlesnake Point is often visited by cyclists, hikers and climbers due to the array of beautiful caves and cliffs. Rattlesnake Point receives its name from the snake-like path cut by glaciers along the edges of the Niagara Escarpment, rather than from the Massassauga Rattlesnake.

Conservation area

The Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area was established as a

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

in 1961 by the Halton Region Conservation Authority. It is a popular destination for hikers, backpackers, cyclists, rock climbers and nature-lovers in the

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of Durham, Halton, Peel, and York. In total, the region contains 25 urban, suburban, and rural municipalities. The Greater T ...

along with Mount Nemo Conservation Area. The park's ten kilometres of cliff edge and forest trails connect with the Bruce Trail and

Crawford Lake Crawford may refer to: Places Canada * Crawford Bay Airport, British Columbia * Crawford Lake Conservation Area, Ontario United Kingdom * Crawford, Lancashire, a small village near Rainford, Merseyside, England * Crawford, South Lanarkshire, a vi ...

. The conservation area also has facilities for organized and family camping with 18 group campsites. Certain campsites and facilities are closed during the winter from November to April.

Trails and access

Access to the Bruce Trail at Rattlesnake Point is available at several locations, including

Mount Nemo The Mount Nemo Conservation Area in Burlington, Ontario is a conservation area owned and operated by Conservation Halton. It is popular with rock climbers in the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe, along with nearby Rattlesnake Point C ...

. Other hiking and biking launch spots include Lowville, Kelso and Kilbride. Outdoor enthusiasts can connect to the long Lake Ontario Waterfront Trail. Rattlesnake Point was the location of the 2011

Canadian National Road Race Championships Governed by Cycling Canada, the Canadian National Road Race Championships is a road bicycle race that takes place as part of the Canadian National Cycling Championships, and decides the best cyclist in this type of race. The first edition took pl ...

Rock climbing

The limestone cliffs are popular with rock climbers and are fitted with bolts for

top-rope Top rope climbing (or top roping) is a style in climbing in which the climber is securely attached to a rope which then passes up, through an anchor system at the top of the climb, and down to a belayer at the foot of the climb. The belayer takes ...

anchors.

Sport climbing Sport climbing (or Bolted climbing) is a form of rock climbing that relies on permanent anchors (or bolts), permanently fixed into the rock for climber protection, in which a rope that is attached to the climber is clipped into the anchors to ...

routes are available towards the western edge of the cliffs, having been developed in 2018 as part of the Rattlesnake Bolting Project by members of the

Ontario Alliance of Climbers The Ontario Alliance of Climbers (OAC, formally known as Ontario Access Coalition) is an independent, provincial, volunteer, non-profit organization that works to keep climbing and bouldering areas open in Ontario, Canada. The organization's stat ...

. To protect the ancient cedars that dot the area, there is a ban on slinging trees.

References

External links

Conservation Halton: Rattlesnake Point
{{coord, 43.4676, N, 79.9127, W, display=title Niagara Escarpment Conservation areas in Ontario Protected areas of the Regional Municipality of Halton Climbing areas of Canada