The best family-friendly hikes and walks in Hockley Valley Provincial Park

Mono Tract Forest Trail runs through a mixed forest of conifers and hardwoods, following old forest roads and narrower trails throughout the tract. It’s ideal for hiking, running, and mountain biking, and its natural setting makes it easy to leave the busier routes behind for a while and spend a few hours enjoying a lovely walk, run or bike ride through the trees.

The Mono Tract is one of 14 tracts in the Dufferin County Forest, a patchwork of woodland replanted from 1931 onward after early land clearing left thin, sandy soils too eroded to farm. Today it’s a healthy mix of pine, spruce and mixed hardwood forest, with Hurontario Street along its western edge and Mono Cliffs Provincial Park next door to the east. Ruffed grouse and white-tailed deer call the woods home, and as you explore, you’ll be sharing the trails with mountain bikers, so keep an eye out for others while you’re here. Dogs are welcome, but be sure to keep your pup on a leash or under control.

Middle Loop winds through the heart of the Mono Tract, connecting with the North and South loops on either side, as well as several others throughout the tract. It twists and turns more than the wider logging roads around it, making for a slower, more sheltered walk through the trees. You can take it as a short route or fold it into a longer loop to explore deeper into the tract, where planted conifers gradually give way to a mix of hardwood trees.

The whole Bruce Trail stretches for around 900 km (559 miles) across the Niagara Escarpment. This section links to some of the side trails like the Glacier Valley Side Trail which make shorter and looped walks possible.

Monora Park's trails are colour coded, and Yellow Trail is the outermost trail circling the perimeter of the park. Other trails include Blue Trail, Green Trail (connecting trails), Orange Trail and the largest network of trails within the park's centre is Red Trail.

Monora Park is open year round with summer activities including hiking and biking, while in winter the Mono Nordic Ski Club provides regularly groomed trails for cross-country skiing. The series of trails are named after colours, with two small scenic ponds the trails circle. On the park's east side is parking, restrooms and the Mono Nordic Ski Club house.

The pond in Monora Park was created by a dam on Monora Creek in the 60s. Today the shores are filled with reeds, and the water level can lower quite a bit in summer.

Right in the Orangeville, small city in south Ontario, you can enjoy this beautiful park. It is man made lake created by the dam on the Credit River. Whole area is controlled and preserved by the Conservation Authorities and it is real gem. Very well maintained and enjoyable all year around. Circle trail around the lake is 11 km but there are many smaller side trails. In the summer you can rent kayaks and canoes. In the winter you can rent ice fishing hut and equipment. Also available in the winter are ice skating pads, on the frozen lake, that you can rent on hourly basis for $20/h. If you are coming with the car to the main entrance there would be a fee, $6.50 per person. You can access the park for free if you park outside and walk in through many other entrances. Enjoy and respect.