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The Site: Mount Nemo Conservation Area Hike

The Mount Nemo Conservation Area hike takes place in a natural environment park that is protected and managed by Conservation Halton. The park includes unique geological features and one of the best examples of a cliff edge ecosystem in Ontario. When you explore the natural beauty of Mount Nemo, you will see rare ferns, poison ivy, chipmunks, warblers, soaring turkey vultures and ancient cedars. These are just a few of the many species that are indigenous to the area.

The limestone cliff at Mount Nemo, with its crevice caves, rock fissures and talus slopes, is a well-known landmark in Halton. As part of the Niagara Escarpment, Mount Nemo was formed 450 million years ago along the shore of the shallow tropical sea that covered a vast area of Ontario and Michigan. Skeletons of primitive sea creatures and debris from ancient mountains were compressed into massive layers of reef and sedimentary rock. These ancient coral reefs formed a layer of amabel dolostone to create the cap of the cliff at Mount Nemo. Beneath this layer are soft, easily eroded shales. Over succeeding millions of years, erosion, glaciers, ancient rivers and lakes, and the elements, shaped the escarpment into its distinctive craggy cliffs and rugged slopes that can be seen today. At Mount Nemo, the escarpment height varies from 30 m at the north end to 10 m at the south end.

From the Brock Harris Lookout atop the Niagara Escarpment at Mount Nemo, you can view the surrounding countryside for more than 50 km. It is one of the premier viewing areas on the escarpment in Halton. From this vantage point, the escarpment winds to the west and north where you can see Rattlesnake Point and the Nassagaweya Valley near Crawford Lake. Walkers Line, just below the lookout, runs north and south. Today, increasing urbanization emphasizes the importance of the Niagara Escarpment.

The caves at Mount Nemo are important for bat nesting and hibernation. Four bat species are known to be present. Disturbance of the caves will affect bat species. Mount Nemo is a popular rock climbing area due to the clean high vertical face of the cliffs. Hikers should be careful at Mount Nemo as the cliffs have no barriers at the edges and can be hazardous and quite slippery when wet. Caution should be demonstrated with young children.

This is my favourite short hike and a good choice for those beginning hiking. It's also a good choice if you want to show visiting non-hikers some Ontario ourdoors and a bit of the famous Niagara Escarpment. The trail is very interesting and takes you right along the top edge of the limestone cliffs. There are some great lookout points and resting benches as well on this loop hike. You'll also enjoy the turkey vultures riding the escarpment updrafts and soaring overhead.You'll also see the crevice caves and see ancient cedars, a thousand years old, clinging to the cliff edge.  Rich green ferns blanket some of the rocks and areas along the trail. Not enough? There is one sramble up a rocky slope just to add the right touch of daring adventrure.