Hiking.
Pinery Provincial Park's ten named trails work through oak savannah, Carolinian forest, dune ridges, and swamp forest in a single park unit. The Cedar Trail (2.3 km) and Riverside Trail (2 km) follow the Old Ausable Channel; the Wilderness Trail (3 km) runs through the largest unbroken oak savannah block; and the Sassafras boardwalk (0.5 km) and Bittersweet (1.5 km) offer accessible options.
The brief.
Trails are short — every named loop is under 3 km, with most between 1 and 2 km. Terrain ranges from flat boardwalk through swamp forest (Sassafras, Bittersweet) to dune-ridge climbs (Lookout, Heritage).
Daily vehicle permit or Ontario Parks pass required at Pinery's gates. Trails are accessible spring through fall; winter use is informal — most trails are usable for snowshoeing when snow holds.
Inland, Rock Glen Conservation Area at Arkona drops a short stair-and-ramp trail into the Ausable gorge to the waterfall and Devonian fossil beds, and L Lake Conservation Area at Thedford runs a wetland-edge walking loop. ABCA conservation areas operate sunrise to sunset.
12. places.
- 01
Cedar Trail (Pinery)
2.3 km loop along the Old Ausable Channel through Carolinian forest.
Map ↗ - 02
Heritage Trail (Pinery)
2.5 km loop through oak savannah and dune ridges.
Map ↗ - 03
Wilderness Trail (Pinery)
3 km loop through the largest unbroken oak savannah block in the park.
Map ↗ - 04
Bittersweet Trail (Pinery)
1.5 km loop through swamp forest with boardwalk.
Map ↗ - 05
Riverside Trail (Pinery)
2 km along the Old Ausable Channel.
Map ↗ - 06
Carolinian Trail (Pinery)
1.2 km through the southernmost Carolinian forest stand in the park.
Map ↗ - 07
Lookout Trail (Pinery)
1 km dune-ridge climb to a viewing platform over the Old Ausable Channel.
Map ↗ - 08
Sassafras Trail (Pinery)
0.5 km accessible boardwalk loop.
Map ↗ - 09
Nipissing Trail (Pinery)
1 km along an ancestral lake bluff.
Map ↗ - 10
Pine Trail (Pinery)
1.2 km through pine plantation.
Map ↗ - 11
Rock Glen Conservation Area trail (Arkona)
Short loop with stairs into the Ausable gorge to the waterfall and fossil beds.
Map ↗ - 12
L Lake Conservation Area trail (Thedford)
Wetland-edge walking trail.
Map ↗
Today's read.
Cool but comfortable for layered effort · light winds.
