Cycling.
The Welland Canals Parkway Trail starts at the St. Catharines Museum & Welland Canals Centre at Lock 3 and runs 45 km of paved off-road path south alongside the canal to Lake Erie at Port Colborne — a flat canal-side route with ocean ships transiting Locks 1 through 8 beside the trail.
The Parkway is a component of the 140 km Greater Niagara Circle Route, the Niagara Region's signature cycle-touring loop.
The brief.
The Greater Niagara Circle Route links four trails: the Waterfront Trail along Lake Ontario, the Welland Canals Parkway Trail, the Friendship Trail along Lake Erie, and the Niagara River Recreational Trail through Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake. The loop is roughly 90% off-road paved.
From St. Catharines, the northern start at Lock 3 puts the Welland Canals Parkway Trail at your doorstep; heading west or east on the Waterfront Trail through Port Dalhousie carries you into Lincoln (Beamsville) or Niagara-on-the-Lake.
The Welland Canals Parkway is paved and flat through the St. Catharines section.
Best season is May through October; the Parkway and Waterfront Trail stay accessible into shoulder season.
3. places.
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Welland Canals Parkway Trail
45 km paved off-road from Lake Ontario at St. Catharines (Lock 3) to Lake Erie at Port Colborne; component of the Greater Niagara Circle Route.
Map ↗ - 02
Greater Niagara Circle Route
140 km loop linking the Waterfront Trail, Welland Canals Parkway Trail, Friendship Trail, and Niagara River Recreational Trail; St. Catharines anchors the northwest of the loop.
Map ↗ - 03
Great Lakes Waterfront Trail (St. Catharines section)
Lake Ontario shoreline route through Port Dalhousie and Sunset Beach.
Map ↗
Today's read.
Cool but comfortable for layered effort · light winds.
