The Hamilton–Brantford–Cambridge Trails are a network of multiuse interurban recreational rail trails connecting several municipalities in southern

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada. The trails are part of the Southern Ontario Loop of the

Trans Canada Trail The Trans Canada Trail, officially named The Great Trail between September 2016 and June 2021, is a cross- Canada system of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic oceans. The trail exten ...

. From end to end, the trail is long, running from

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

south through

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

Brantford Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County, but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully independ ...

and then East to central

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Gordon Glaves Memorial Pathway

The first portion of the Hamilton–Brantford–Cambridge Trails to be completed was named the Gordon Glaves Memorial Pathway in 1993.

Cambridge to Paris Rail Trail

The second portion of the Hamilton–Brantford–Cambridge Trails is the Cambridge to Paris Rail Trail, which was opened in 1994 along the

right of way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

of the now-defunct

Lake Erie and Northern Railway The Lake Erie and Northern Railway was an interurban electric railway which operated in the Grand River Valley in Ontario, Canada. The railway owned and operated a north–south mainline which ran from Galt in the north (now a part of Cambridg ...

. The northern

trailhead A trailhead is the point at which a trail begins, where the trail is often intended for hiking, biking, horseback riding, or off-road vehicles. Modern trailheads often contain rest rooms, maps, sign posts and distribution centers for information ...

is in

Galt Galt or GALT may refer to: Biology and biochemistry * Galactose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase, an enzyme * Gut-associated lymphoid tissue, a subset of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue People and fictional characters * Galt (surname), a list o ...

off Water Street, and from there the trail passes south through Glen Morris, a distance of approximately . It then continues on to Paris until officially terminating and becoming the SC Johnson Trail. The total length of the trail is .

Hamilton to Brantford Rail Trail

In 1996, the Hamilton to Brantford Rail Trail was the third portion of the Hamilton–Brantford–Cambridge Trails to be completed. It runs from

through the towns of Dundas and Jerseyville. The entire former railway bed is surfaced with stone dust and marked with a post at each kilometre, with frequent benches by the side of the path. From Brantford to Jerseyville the trail is owned and maintained by the Grand River Conservation Authority with the Jerseyville-Hamilton section similarly owned by The Hamilton Region Conservation Authority. Beginning in Hamilton just north of the Chedoke Municipal Golf Course, the trail runs West over

Ontario Highway 403 King's Highway403 (pronounced "four-oh-three"), or simply Highway403, is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario that travels between Woodstock and Mississauga, branching off from and reuniting with Highway 401 at both e ...

, through Ainslie Wood and into the

Dundas Valley Conservation Area Dundas Valley Conservation Area is located on the Niagara Escarpment in Dundas, Ontario, a constituent community of Hamilton, Ontario, and is owned and operated by the Hamilton Conservation Authority. Its 40-kilometre trail system provides a connec ...

. Parking and washroom facilities are available at the Dundas Valley Trail Centre, from the trail head. The path winds up the face of the Niagara Escarpment for , reaching the trail's peak elevation at the ruins of Summit Station on the boundary of the Hamilton Harbour and Grand River watersheds. The trail then descends through farmland to Jerseyville, where another parking lot is located at kilometre 18.5. It continues in a nearly straight line for several kilometres before turning South, crossing under the 403 and passing another parking area at the point. The final run through Brantford to connect with the Gordon Glaves Memorial Pathway.

SC Johnson Trail

The SC Johnson Trail (or SC Johnson Rail Trail) follows another section of abandoned Lake Erie and Northern Railway right of way between Paris and Brantford. It connects to the Gordon Glaves Memorial Pathway in Brantford. The trail opened in 1998, completing the network of off-road trails from Hamilton to Cambridge.

External links

Conservation Hamilton Brochure

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton-Brantford-Cambridge Trails Transport in Cambridge, Ontario Bike paths in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo Rail trails in Ontario Geography of Hamilton, Ontario Parks in Hamilton, Ontario