Heart Lake

As tradition would have it, the May long weekend is when families jam every nook of their car with gear and head on up the 400 to cottage country for a three-day re-introduction to summer living.  Rob and I chose to do the exact opposite this year and remained happy and dry in our very own home.   Our quiet little street hosts a street party every May long weekend, and since this was our first “May 24” in our new home, we didn’t want to miss out!  Given the fact that the rest of the weekend was awash with rainy, cold weather, we must confess to spending some quality time in front our TV.

Heart Lake Conservation area is a natural oasis in the middle of urban sprawl-ville.  Yes, as the GTA continues to grow out and up, it is becoming harder to find that taste of the natural world untainted by honking horns and that oh-so-lovely smell of smog.  We were so pleased that we found this significantly sized conservation area a mere 20 minute drive along the 401/up the 410 from our home.  We were equally pleased to see the sprawling picnic areas, a network of trails and a large lake!

We get the sense that Heart Lake is THE place to be in the “greater Brampton area” for family and friendly get-togethers.  There are too many bbq pits to count and tons of parking.  Picnic areas are spread out throughout the CA and almost all of these areas have larger shelters.  Public vault toilets and trailheads leading to the lake are also included

It appears that they are building a mammoth water park that will be ready just in time for the 2008 busy season.  Various water towers, sprayers, hoses and sprinklers are currently being fit into splash pads.  This may be an attraction to some, a deterrent for others… we thought you’d want to know about this development either way!

There is a network of trails, simply referred to as “Nature Trails” and loosely marked with blue blazes that are quite inconsistent.  Though we started out following the blazes, once we couldn’t find the next one, we began to make left and right turns with reckless abandon, figuring that we really couldn’t get THAT lost in a network that only has one name.  The vegetation is quite lush in the area due to the vast amount of bodies of water—swamps, ponds and the big lake.  Along one stretch of the trail, tropical ferns dominant the scene, making us feel as though we’ve stepped into a rainforest of sorts.

Heart Lake offers boating, fishing and swimming… but you’ll need to check out the signs to see if swimming is on the daily activity menu.   As we trekked around the circumference of the lake, we came across many would-be fishermen hoping for an early season catch.  Only one of them seemed to be having much luck that day.  The trail around the lake gave us a great impression of how close we really were to civilization.  A few private properties overlook Heart Lake .  You can access the lake trail from any of the picnic areas.

Overall, we were pleasantly surprised by Heart Lake Conservation Area.  It isn’t for the heavy-duty hiker perhaps but is definitely meant for those looking for a nice afternoon outside with friends, family and a bbq!  The trails are very kid and pet friendly as they aren’t too challenging.  Definitely come prepared for mud on wetter days or those following heavy rain days. 

Algonquin Provincial Park

http://www.algonquinpark.on.ca/index.html

Northern Edge Wolf Howl Canoe Trip Information

http://www.algonquincanada.com/pdf/wolf.pdf

Algonquin Outfitters

http://www.algonquinoutfitters.com/