TRAILMAP

   ELEVATION

   SATELLITE

   ROADMAP

     PHOTOS

   LOCATOR

    GPSLOG

  TRAILGUIDE

 

The Site

Northumberland Forest

Parking for the Northumberland Forest Purple Trail is located on the east side of County Road 45 at Woodland Road. The trail is made up of: Loop A 3.5 km (flat or small hills); Loop B 6 km (steep, long hills); and Loop C 9 km (steep, long hills, narrow trails) although this hike combines the trails into one large loop. The trail passes through many different forest types including pine plantations and mixed deciduous forest and at the south end of the C loop. 

The forest habitat found on the Purple Trail in the Northumberland County Forest are early sucessional forest, mature pine plantations and oak and poplar woodlands. At the south end of the C Loop, the trail passes through an area that had a prescribed burn to maintain fire associated black oak woodland flora.

The trail is wide and there is more dirt road walking than I would like to see. With the exception of one hill, none of the other hills are much to worry about on the B and C loops.

Information, Etiquette and Rules

Dogs
Dogs must be under control at all times. Unleashed dogs can cause: Spooked horses resulting in a dangerous situation; Dangerous encounters with other dogs and wildlife (e.g., porcupines); Disturbance to wildlife and the ecosystem Increased dog poop on trails.
Not every forest user is a dog lover. Please respect other users.

Cyclists
When encountering others, call out as early as possible to notify them of your presence Give horseback riders right-of-way. Stop and ask the rider what they would like you to do.

All users
Respect trail closures and barriers.
Please respect other forest users .
A portion of the trail along Dunbar Rd. is shared with motorized use. Work is underway to provide an alternative trail.