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The Site: The Boyne River and Primrose Loop Hike

Boyne Valley Provincial Park is situated on the Boyne River approximately 20 kilometres north of Orangeville, four kilometres east of Shelbourne and north of the Highway 89 and 10 junction in Dufferin County.

The Boyne River cuts through the southern heartland of the province, about an hour's drive north of Toronto. Flowing east, the river slices through the Orangeville and Singhampton moraines. The terrain features a range of natural communities, hardwood forest, open fields, bottomland, and swamp. Reforestation has replenished the forests felled by loggers. Boyne Valley is comprised of a number of natural communities including hardwood forest, open fields, bottomland, and swamp. Boyne Valley is a non-operating park, and has no facilities except hiking trails. Visitors may fish, but hunting is not permitted.

The park offers a wilderness fishing experience suited to adventure anglers where you can catch rainbow trout in spring and Chinook salmon in fall.

The Primrose and Boyne River hiking trail begins 1.6 km north of the village of Primrose which is located at the intersection of Highway 10 and Highway 89 on County Rd 19. County Rd 19 (Prince of Wales Rd) continues on north at the stoplights when Highway 10 turns left towards Shelburne. Just past a bridge over the Boyne River, there is a small parking lot on your right.  The main attractions are Murphy's Pinnacle -a grassy hill providing a great view of the surrounding countryside; and the outstanding narrow verdant valley of the Boyne River. Murphy’s Pinnacle is a sand and gravel kame created during glacial retreat 12,000 years ago. A recent rerouting of the Bruce Trail greatly improves this hike and takes you down into this lush valley and across a number of bridges over the various tributaries of the Boyne River. This eliminates the need to walk along busy highway 89 as was the case before the reroute and new the trail opening.

The Boyne River and Primrose Loop hike can be a challenging hike but it is also a great hike that has a lot of attractions to draw the hiker. I particularly like Murphy's Pinnacle, especially after the trail revision that  teases you with the site but cleverly takes you around the pinnacle where you can ascend to the top with little difficulty. This reroute cuts down on the steep frontal cimb that was eroding the landscape. Murphy's Pinnacle is one of the highest points on the Primrose Moraine, a relic of the last period of glaciation and provides outstanding views of the surrounding countryside in all directions. The mighty Boyne River makes its' presence known in many parts of the hike as you cross it over a number of bridges. I remember trying to do this hike one early Spring with a few friends (Wendy, Rick, Ernest, Dave and Lorine) when the ground was still snow covered in places. The whole Primrose Trail was essentially ice, and once we got into the Boyne River section of the hike, the sloping path was so icy we had to climb up into the woods and go from tree to tree to prevent us from sliding down the slope. Eventually we had no choice but to sit and slide down into the valley.