Geocaching by Bike on the Bartley Smith Greenway

I went for a ride with my family looking for some geocaches.  We ended up finding 4 out of 5 which is pretty good.  We'll have to go back some time to get others further south along the Bartley Smith Greenway trail.

Rutherford GO Train Station #BiketoGO

Bartley Smith Greenway south of Rutherford Road in Vaughan

Geocache map available at www.geocaching.com

Markham Town and Trail

The York Region Cycling Tour Map (New in 2016) provides ideas for exploring York Region by bike, from ten tour routes to mountain biking, BMX and family cycling options.  

I intend on biking all ten routes this year, and decided to

 start with the 25 km Markham Town and Trail.

Start your ride amidst the exotic sights, sounds and aromas of Pacific Mall, the largest Chinese indoor mall in North America. Nearby is the gorgeous and quaint village of Unionville. At the eastern end of the loop is the Milne Dam Conservation Park. The water dam and mill attracted mass settlement creating the Village (now City) of Markham. This stretch of lush parkland along the Rouge River Valley offers great migratory bird watching. Or if BMX or MTB riding excites you, take a short detour to Joyride 150, Canada's first indoor bike park.

Ride Rating: Recreational cyclist – mix of trails and quiet streets with mixed traffic on a few busier streets
(Family/leisure option – ride the Rouge Valley Trail from Main Street Unionville (Victoria Street) to Milne Dam Conservation Area)

• Surface: unpaved trail (limestone screenings), paved trail, road
• Possible Starting Points:
• Milliken Mills Community Centre and Park – overnight parking and access to water and washrooms
• Unionville GO Station – overnight parking
• Markham GO Station – overnight parking
• Toogood Pond - parking
• Detailed maps:  RidewithGPS (with Points of Interest)

• Highlights: 
• Main Street Unionville 
• Main Street Markham 
• Markham Theatre
• Toogood Pond
• Milne Dam Conservation Park
• Pacific Mall

Here's the full route captured by my GoPro camera

Here are some more highlights.

Birchmount, crossing under Hwy 407

Approaching Markham Centre, Birchmount at Entreprise Dr

Markham PanAm Centre (site of badminton, table tennis, water polo)

Main Street Unionville

Rouge Valley Trail

New trail crossing at McCowan to Milne Dam Conservation Park

Milne Dam Conservation Area

Main Street Markham

Carlton St

Toogood Pond


Village Parkway

Pacific Mall

It was a pleasant ride with a good variety to see along trail and streets.  Could use some better wayfinding along the trail sections.  I need to go back and spend more time along those Main Streets to sample some culinary treats!

Mountain Biking in the York Regional Forest Brown Hill Tract

It was a beautiful Fall day, and adventure was beckoning, so earlier this week I checked out the York Regional Forest - Brown Hill Tract in East Gwillimbury, which is known to be one of the best mountain biking spots in York Region.  There's a good mix of single track forest trails, and I hope to come back to ride some more.

Access from McCowan

Parking lot at Ravenshoe (which has a larger parking area)

Cry Baby trail

Access path along Ravenshoe

 Old Jay trail (lots of leaves so a bit difficult to follow trail).  Yes, I was using an electric cruiser!

Stinky trail

PDF-maps has a smartphone and tablet friendly GPS-enabled map of the Brown Hill Tract that can help with navigation.

Lake Simcoe Shoreline in Georgina

York Region has a waterfront too: the beautiful shores of Lake Simcoe.  Experience it by cycling the Lake Simcoe Trail for about 50 kilometres along Lake Drive and Hedge Road, connecting key destinations within Georgina including the Georgina Island Ferry, Sibbald Point Provincial Park, De La Salle Park / Franklin Beach, Willow Beach, The ROC, Claredon Beach Park, and Adeleine Park as well as the communities of Virginia, Sutton and Keswick.

Check out the Briars Resort for dining or accommodations.  It has lots of bike parking.

Ice cream at Jackson's Point

Lake Drive is part of a larger vision: the Lake to Lake Route.  York Region, in partnership with local municipalities and conservation authorities, has started an ambitious plan to build a 121 kilometre cycling route and walking trail from Lake Simcoe at the northern edge of the York Region through the City of Toronto to Lake Ontario.  The Lake to Lake Cycling Route and Walking Trail will be a major recreational and commuter route that connects key destinations and natural heritage areas.

A family cycling trip to Orillia

It was labour day weekend, and my wife and I were still clinging to the last few precious days of summer holidays.  So, we decided to make them count and go on an overnight family cycling trip.  We landed on a visit to Orillia, about an hour's drive away, booked a hotel, loaded the bikes, and away we went.  We were pleasantly surprised.

We stayed at the Best Western Plus Couchiching, which I definitely recommend.  It backed right on to the Millenium Trail, a 10km trail from one end of town to the other.  The free hot breakfast made for a great start to the day, and I also made use of their hot tub and sauna after the day's activities.

This was our first taste of cycling touring as a family away from home.  We had a great time and hope to do more trips like this in the future.

Hotel with trail in foreground

Here are some photos along the Millenium Trail in Orillia.  It passes along the Lake with several nice beaches and parks.

Tudhope Memorial Park

Paved path, dirt road.  I like the priorities!

Wayfinding

At Couchiching Beach Park, we happened upon a delightful train ride that was run by the Orillia Rotary Club.

At this entrance crossing, the path bends away from the road to provide better sight lines and reaction time to motorists and cyclists.

Here's the view from the other side

This park had a lot of amenities including a beach, kayak rental, splash pad, and playground

East end of the trail (the narrows)

A well-deserved cold treat on a hot day!