Back in the late fall my wife and I did some hiking in the Guelph Lake conservation area.
The park is approximately 1600 hectares in area and surrounds a large reservoir that was created from a dam built back in the 1970s.
This isn't the actual dam by the way. That is much bigger.
The park is open year round for hiking, fishing and light water sports, like kayaking and canoeing. There is also a small modest beach and they do festivals in the area on occasion. Approximately 75,000 people visit the park each year.
There was a fee to enter that day that was about $15 CAD for the car. I wasn't happy about having to pay to get in but the area was really nice and well kempt and the hiking was pretty good by Ontario standards, so in the end I'm glad that we did it and would say that the fee was worth it to us.
From the parking lot there were several paths and trails to follow that took us through the different wooded areas.
Dogs were allowed in the park but were required to be on a leash at all times. The park was fairly busy that day, but not uncomfortably so, just busy enough that we would have kept him on a lead regardless.
The path circled a lake, which was very nice and peaceful and broke off into calm pools and gently flowing streams.
The park had a lot of great looking rock formations as well, that added to the natural beauty of the space.
The waterfall above was modest in height but was powerful and dramatic with the amount of water flowing through it and over the rocks.
We found this rocky outcropping that was like a mini cliff edge looking out over the water.
It was a nice view and great place to take photos.
There were several spots that made for good photo op locations.
This spot had great lighting for pictures with the sun shining through the trees.
This bridge boardwalk that we came across was another fun location.
It was nestled within the trees of the forest and looked very in place, almost like it was a part of the natural surroundings.
It was nice and sunny and a great day to be outside in nature.
After crossing the bridge and working our way around the lake we came to a small cave.
It didn't look like anything from the exterior. It was pretty camouflaged from the path, or maybe its just the photo, I can't remember.
It was actually fairly large on the inside when I went in though.
Another interesting thing that we came across were the ruins of an old mill that dated back to 1867, as you can see on the side of the building.
There was an information board outside of it that told of its history.
The mill was powered by the river before it was damed off and there was a general store that sold a variety of goods that could be bought or traded for commodities like sheeps wool among other things.
A fire burnt the original mill down in 1880 and it was rebuilt in the stones that you can see in these photographs.
Between 1915 and 1918 the mill made wool blankets for the army but ultimately it couldn't keep up with its competition and was forced to close its doors in 1925.
After the mill closed the family who owned the land turned it into a park and began charging admission to enter.
The park officially became a conservation area in 1963.
I don't really have anything else to say about the conservation area so I'll leave you with a few extra close up photos that I took that day. I hope that you enjoy!
Until next time, thanks for stopping by.
