Hiking Canada's Oldest Footpath - The 900km Bruce Trail

All trails lead to The Bruce in southern Ontario. If you're like me and enjoy wandering around the mixed Carolinian & beginngs of Boreal forests of SW Ontario, you've probably seen the white blazes or trail markers on the trees. I have been seeing them for a few years now and never thought about how vast of an area they covered!

Turns out, this 900km trail is Canada's oldest & longest marked footpath. It goes from Niagara region to Tobermory! I found different female hikers on Instagram like @Pinesanddines and @trailingcourtney that inspired me to take on the challenge. Check out my reel about starting the hike.

The Bruce Trail is composed of mixed deciduous and coniferous forests, rare vegetation communities and unique escarpment. I began hiking this trail in May 2022 by parking my car at my endpoint and taking an uber to my start at the Southern Terminus Cairn for a 7km hike. Guided by my Bruce Trail Conservancy membership & Bruce Trail Reference Guide with maps, I can see the trails and landmarks on my journey.

Each week, I am/will be going for one hike - gradually increasing my km count to hopefully the 30's in the next few months. Check out my YouTube video on Hike #1.

As the weeks continue, I will also begin my overnight hikes, which will incorporate camping into the mix. Since most of the trail is private, I will be needing to access different campsites off-trail and utilize friend pick-ups, uber, trail angels and taxis. I plan to camp for 50% of the trip!

I have completed walks across southwestern Ontario and co-run a women’s hiking group to encourage women to go outdoors. For me, I want to do this hike to prove to myself and other women that I can achieve hard things through preparation, equipment and intuition. I love the idea of something so rugged and wild -- that exists in such an urban landscape - right in my backyard!

I hope to inspire other women (just as I was inspired) to get outside and challenge themselves. I look forward to continuing to see the flora, fauna and seasonal changes occur while out on the trial. I feel this will connect me further to my bio-region.

Happy Trails!