Hiking & Walking
We are steps from the Bruce Trail and even have two unique hiking areas right in the village – the Grey-Sauble Conservation Authority Forest at the end of Highland Dr (behind the Arena/Kinplex) and the Flesherton Hills at the west end of the Macphail Memorial Elementary School parking lot (Campbell St).
Bruce Trail Walk 1 – Spectacular View from Old Baldy
Take County 4 east from the village; turn left (north) on County 13 signed to Talisman, Eugenia & Kimberley. Go through Eugenia and about halfway down the hill into the Beaver Valley and Kimberley, turn RIGHT up a short steep gravel road (sideroad 4B). (The road to the left was County 30 to Markdale and the Beaver Valley Ski Club.) Park just past the entrance to an apple orchard and walk up the switch-backed road allowance. At the top look for Trail blazes to your left into dense cedar bush along the side of the cliff, and through mixed woods to Kimberley Rock, about 30 minutes from where you parked. Return the same way.
Bruce Trail Walk 2 – Round Trip through Woods and Meadows
As above, drive down 13 towards Kimberley, but turn left on 30 to the entrance to the Beaver Valley Ski Club. Drive in, over the bridge, and park in the huge lower parking lot. Walk across the second bridge and follow Trail blazes up the ski slope to the top, across in front of The Keg clubhouse, and continue north through woods and open fields along the rim of the valley. The Trail descends through mature hardwoods, passing gushing springs and following logging trails until you come out onto a steep gravel road (sideroad 7B) immediately south of Talisman’s ski runs and above their tubing runs. You can either return the same way on the Bruce Trail, or go down the gravel road, turn right on Shilvock Road to where it ends at the Beaver River. Follow the track alongside the river (this is private land and not the Bruce Trail, but it is OK to walk respectfully of the rights of the owners). The path climbs above the river to the site of a farmhouse, by a huge willow, and then slopes down along its former laneway through a barricade. Before the river, turn right and follow the path of many fishermen, past a crumbling concrete bridge, through meadows to another empty farmhouse site. Cross the river here, to the road, turn right and return to your car at the Ski Club. Allow about two hours.
Walks in and from Flesherton
Without even getting into your car (assuming you are staying in Flesherton), there are attractive village walks as well as country walks from the village.
Flesherton Hills
This is an area of abandonned farmland and orchards, woods, and beaver ponds behind the two schools, which has been designated for outdoor studies, and has an extensive network of trails for hiking and cross-country skiing. Go down Campbell Street (west off Toronto St – Hwy 10, 2nd street south of the lights) past Macphail Memorial Elementary School. All the trails are clearly marked and you can simply wander and explore, and watch for beaver and deer etc. Maps and History of the Flesherton Hills are available by clicking here or go to Day Tripper – Flesherton Hills.
Grey Sauble Conservation Area
Walk down Hwy 10 to Highland Drive (Community Centre and Arena). At the end of Highland is the entrance to a fairly extensive (but not very well defined) Conservation Area with many delightful trails, streams, hardwood and cedar forest, plantations, open views and old meadows. The trails are not marked, but it would be hard to get lost.
Village Walks
Very few of Flesherton’s streets are merely like typical subdivision tracts and there are many attractive older homes. In general the streets south of County Rd. #4 have more interesting houses, hills, and gardens, but there are also some nice walks to the north, including beside the Boyne River from the Flesherton Memorial Park.
Hoggs and Eugenia Falls
You can simply drive to the parking area of the Conservation Authority and a 2-minute walk will take you to the parapet overlooking the Eugenia Falls, or you can walk up a delightful road allowance from the bottom of the valley, while taking in one of Grey County’s most secret and beautiful waterfalls. Take 4 east from the lights, past Magee’s Gas Station and Grey on 4 Dinner, and turn left at a sign to Lower Valley Road. After about a 1/4-mile, turn right on Lower Valley Road at a very pretty mill. Cross the river over a bridge with no railings and as the road bends left and rises, watch for three yellow posts at the top of the rise on the left, before the road turns right and descends. Hoggs Falls are a very short walk in through the cedar woods, with a broken dam but no revolving restaurant or waxworks. You can scramble down to below the falls, holding on to strategic roots, but it can be slippery in summer and is not wise in winter. The path continues around the knoll and returns to the road. Continue north on Lower Valley Road, crossing the river a couple more times, to a left bend beside a brick farmhouse straight ahead of you. Pull in to the right at the bend (very limited parking) and walk up the road allowance (snowmobile trail in winter). It is very rutted and can be muddy but soon climbs to become a rocky and washed-out gravel path all the way through cedar woods to Eugenia Falls. Near the top of a steep part of the path, watch for some red blazes to the left, where an old pathway descends to the river gorge. This is very rough going, but in summer you can clamber over house-sized boulders to the base of the falls.
Feversham Gorge
Go east on Cty 4 to County 2 (one east of Maxwell) and turn left. Just before the turnoff to the village of Feversham, on the left, is a parking area. A figure-8 looped trail system gives access to a very scenic stretch of the Beaver River, with cliffs, pools, rapids and dense woods. There are stairways to assist the hiker, as well as log bridges over swampy bits, and a very pretty mossy stream that tumbles over numerous clay pools and cedar roots into ‘the Grotto’. Quaint Feversham itself is worth walking around in because of the beauty of its location.
Kolapore Uplands Wilderness Area
About 5,000 acres of public and private land provides around 60 kilometres of wilderness cross-country skiing trails, most of them pretty rugged, and hiking is not permitted during winter. However, when the snow has gone, those same trails make for beautiful walking in magnificent woods, along cliff edges, by ponds, streams and swamps, and occasionally in open meadows. The trails are well marked, and maintained by volunteers of the University of Toronto Outing Club, but they are marked in such a manner that you can only really find your way with their map, obtainable at the Georgian Tourism Information Centre and Little Ed’s, both in Collingwood. Park only at designated places.
Unopened Road Allowances and Railway Trails
While none of these provide extensive hiking like the Bruce Trail, there are many where an attractive walk can be found, giving otherwise secret views of farmland, river, cliff, or bush. West of Flesherton on 4 at Ceylon the former Owen Sound Railway has had its tracks removed and provides walks south to Wilcox Lake or northward to Markdale (and beyond). A good map will indicate the many unopened road allowances in the area, some of which are open in summer and which are used by snowmobiles in winter.