Outdoor Family Adventuring

In the summer of 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, my partner and I bought a house about 45 minutes away from Toronto. Both of us had been in Toronto for years and years; myself 15ish years and my partner almost 20 years. Toronto was our home. But with two kids, a dog and the mounting expenses of childcare and rent in Toronto, it was time for us to move on and start a new chapter.

We settled in Hamilton, a smaller city about 45 minutes southwest-ish of Toronto. We bought in an urban area with restaurants and local shops and we are still close enough to the lake to be happy. We began planting roots. An unfortunate side effect of moving cities during a pandemic is that it is difficult to make friends. I was on an extended maternity leave when we moved, my partner worked fulltime from home and my son started JK within 3 weeks of our move in date. Most days, it was just my baby daughter and I left to explore the new city. We took a lot of drives where she napped and I familiarized myself with our local area. It was during this time, September and October, that I began noticing the many Conservation Areas throughout the region. I started looking through the Hamilton Conservation Website and learning more about what Conservation Areas do, what role they play in the protection of our watershed lands, our environment and the importance of the preservation of these areas.

The first place I explored in Hamilton was Eramosa Karst Conservation Area, just up the mountain as they say here. It is located on the edge of the Stoney Creek mountain, with a very residential setting on one side and farmlands on the other. Parking is $5 here, a fee any visitor to the Conservation Area should be pleased to pay in exchange for exploring here. There is a washroom available and little sitting area with picnic tables which is ideal for a pre and post snack when you’re out hiking with smaller kids. It is an easy and beautiful spot to hike with little legs as the trails are maintained extremely well and are clearly marked. Another plus for me with a small babe during this time was that the trails are very stroller friendly.

Throughout the fall, I started to make a weekly visit to this little special spot in Hamilton for a stroller walk with my daughter. It was always such relaxing and gorgeous walk through the trails that wander through forests and meadows. My daughter was not one for stroller naps, but she often fell asleep during our walks through here! Each walk usually highlighted something new for me, such as the rock formations that are found throughout the Conservation Area. Most visits also reminded me of the fact that I was a guest in the animals home; in particular I was reminded of the presence of coyotes through piles of poop along the meadow trails. In total, there are 7kms of trails here and while I think I have managed to explore every foot of them, I still find myself coming back here to walk them again.

Eramosa Karst is located in a fairly residential area, which probably wasn’t always the case, but it is a fairly significant area of environmental interest and preservation within the Hamilton Conservation Authority. In 2003, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources designated the Eramosa Karst lands as an Area of Natural and Scientific Interest. The website for the Hamilton Conservation Authority notes that Eramosa Karst is believed to have the largest number of unique karst features in any single area in the province. Pretty exciting to have this little gem right in our backyard!

While Eramosa Karst was the first introduction I had to the Hamilton Conservation Authority and Conservation Areas in general, I have continued to explore and visit many others in the surrounding areas. This little piece of conservation in my new city has opened up a whole new world of outdoor exploration for me and my family. We have since explored Christie Lake, Confederation Park and Valens Lake throughout the winter and with spring on our doorstep, we can’t wait to add to our list!

Happy Exploring!