Killaly Meadows

London , Ontario is lovingly referred to as the “forest city” because of its remarkable number of trees.  Being a very residential city, that is, having many different single family home neighbourhoods, provides for a unique opportunity to maintain a lush, green environment.  The Thames river runs through the city and offers great canoeing in the summer months. 

All year round, Londoners enjoy hiking the various trails that wind through neighbourhoods, the university grounds and the many area parks and conservation areas.  As a matter of fact, the Upper Thames Conservation Authority has protected a great deal of land by establishing Environmentally

Significant Areas (ESAs), Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSIs) and both Provincially and Locally Significant Wetlands.  We had the opportunity one afternoon to check out Kilally Meadows, an ESA.

This area is of special significance because it provides shade for the Thames and a safe habitat for birds and other wildlife. At the same time, the meadows absorb runoff water from local development and hold floodwaters from the Thames when the precipitation has been higher than normal.  If you are keen on checking out a variety of different birds, reptiles and tree species, these Meadows are chock-full of wildlife.  Kilally is home to 117 bird species (e.g., the hairy woodpecker), 9 species of reptiles (especially different kinds of frogs), as well as almost 400 species of plants (such as butterfly weed, willow trees and yellow violet).  If you’re extra lucky, you might catch a glimpse of white-tailed deer, raccoons or an opossum!

Despite being surrounded by apartment buildings and other dwellings, the area is very quiet and thus a wonderfully convenient place to take a hike after work or school.  The access point we used was at the end of Windermere Rd (between the mini-golf centre and the Goodlife at Windermere and Adelaide , follow Windermere up to the baseball diamonds and at the very end of the road, you’ll see the Kilally entrance and parking area).

There’s an 11 km trail network running through Kilally Meadows, most of which runs alongside the river. There are many entry points along the way, especially from the neighbourhoods that line the trail.  This is an easy hike and very suitable for children and adults alike.  Blazes mark the different trails: Yellow to mark the maintained trails in Killaly Meadows, Blue for the side-trail of Thames Valley Trail, White to mark the Thames Valley Trail. 

If you’re interested in Geocaching in Killaly Meadows, this area is host to a few caches.  You can track them down at:

www.geocaching.com  or learn more about geocaching (http://www.journeysontario.ca/Geocaching.html) on our site.