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The Site: The Rouge River Valley Hike

The Rouge River is part of the Rouge Park which is the largest urban park in North America. It is one of a few wilderness areas left in South-Central Ontario, and has been close to being untouched by development since the arrival of Europeans. The park is surrounded largely by agricultural land with the exception of some exclusive private properties on the southern edge. It lacks recreational development but sports a considerable network of walking/bicycle paths which can make hiking through the area interesting. You need to plan your walk carefully in order to stay on the main trails and not take some of the unmarked side trails. Unlike other rivers in the Toronto area, the Rouge is allowed to fill its entire flood plain on a regular basis rather than being forced through an artificial channel. Parts of its watershed include the Toronto Zoo and the Beare Road Landfill.

Some special features of the Rouge Park include lakeshore marshes, riverside meadows, several oak and pine forest types and the valley terraces dominated by Black Maple forests.

The Rouge Park is at the northern edge of the eastern deciduous forest region, commonly known as the Carolinian life zone. This zone is rare in Canada, covering less than 1% of the country's land mass, and it provides habitat to more species than any other life zone in Canada. In 1984, the Rouge River valley was identified as one of 38 critical unprotected sites; fortunately the Park was created 11 years later and now protects these important habitats.

In some places, the Rouge River has eroded 40 m below the surrounding tablelands creating the impressive bluffs that can be seen at Twyn Rivers Drive (beside the Rouge River). These bluffs reveal many different layers of glacial deposits with the Twyn Rivers Drive bluff having a sediment fault line associated with a hidden bedrock fault extending into Lake Ontario in Pickering. The geology of the region is quite interesting.

The Rouge River is a two river system. Little Rouge and Rouge River are in the east and the northeast parts of Toronto and begin in the Oak Ridges Moraine in Richmond Hill and Whitchurch-Stouffville. The Rouge River empties into Lake Ontario.

I find that wandering through the scenic beauty of the Rouge River Valley makes for an invigorating hike that takes you over varied terrain to make a perfect early spring outing for adventurous spirits.  The trails pass through field, stream, and forest, and encounter a multitude of plants and flowers in the spring along with all manner of local animals.  It’s not unusual to come across a red fox, catch the fleeting image of a deer in the woods or to see the results of a beaver hard at work chomping on a tree. The natural bog near the end of the hike can be an almost mystical experience especially if you can be absolutely silent for five minutes to enjoy the sights and sounds of the bog.