Hike L57 Northumberland Forest

Northumberland Forest

TRAILMAP

ELEVATION

SATELLITE

ROADMAP

PHOTOS

LOCATOR

GPSLOG

TRAILGUIDE

Hike Info

Trailhead:N44.11691 W78.09119 -about 1 h east of Toronto eastern border.

Length:11 km

Time:3h 30 min

Difficulty:Intermediate

Ascent:NA

Terrain:Generally rolling hills; some dirt roads

Parking:None

Facilities:Porta John at entrance

Lunch:none specific

Mapping:5 Sept 2013

Other:NA

Updates:NA

Flexihike:Can leave out loops

Likes:C trail

Winter:X-country skiing; motorized trails

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.

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Peter Albert

about 4 months ago
#326

This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site

I tried this itinerary recently (July 2021). It was a solid route, but not overly exciting. The trails take you along a combination of quiet forest paths and dirt roads. But there aren't any particularly interesting landmarks along the way.

I believe there's an error in the trail guide. After the "Location 57" sign, the guide indicates "Turn right and enter the woods on a narrow path designated as the "C" trail". I didn't see this path at the sign, or in a few hundred meters in either direction. It's possible that I missed it, though. Instead, I walked back out to the road (200 meters), and continued for another 200 meters to the Location 70 sign. That soon leads you to the Sweet Fern loop, which is what the map refers to as the C loop.

One thing to watch out for - the forest is in black bear territory. Ideally this hike should be done with a group, and with bear spray and a knife.

Anyone who's driven this far should consider visiting The Gut Conservation Area (one of the most impressive, and least-known waterfalls within ~200 kilometers of Toronto). It's about 80 minutes away from the Northumberland Forest. Keep in mind that the road into that area is in very poor shape, there's no cell reception, and there's no facilities or infrastructure of any kind onsite. The reward is a small but immensely powerful waterfall with no crowds whatsoever.

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