Hilton Falls Conservation Area

 

As you can guess from the name, one comes here to see the falls. 

Hilton Falls Conservation Area is just 40 minutes west of downtown Toronto. It has a total of 34km of trail. It’s a great place for a day trip or a quick jaunt into nature to escape the city. 

The hike begins with a small ascent from the parking lot into the forest. There are many trails that snake around the conservation area. The trails are marked very consistently, though note that the marker colours don't always correspond to the trail map colours; it's better to rely the alphanumeric codes on the post markers than the colours.

The best route up to the falls, in my opinion, is to take the yellow trail (see map below) until you reach the point where it's crossed by the Bruce trail. The Bruce trail, as usual, is very scenic, quiet and much more rugged than the ultra-well groomed main trail.

The trail runs along a cliff overlooking a river of runoff from the waterfall. Shortly after hitting the trail you encounter the highlight of the hike, the Hilton Falls. They’re squat, fast-running and very photogenic. Especially in the spring when icicles are clinging to the cliff side. Nestled to the left of the falls is the elegant arch of the remains of a old water mill.

At this point you may feel you haven’t had enough hiking for the day; thankfully you can see from the map that the conservation area stretches far beyond the falls. The size of the conservation area is really special for something near the GTA. There’s a rest area with a fire pit beyond the head of the falls, perfect for picnics, and from which you can plan the rest of your walk.

Now for a couple of my favourite spots aside from the falls...

If you keep going along the river, you can reach one of the most enjoyable parts of the hike. Along the river you can reach a point where you can hop over to the other side. Not only is this mildly exciting, but from the other side you get to explore the surprisingly expansive ruins of the old water mill. Walk back toward the falls from the other side, see if you can spot the low walls snaking across the ground! Once you reach the falls again, you’ll find yourself standing on a high cliff. That’ll give you a bird’s eye view of the beautiful ruins next to the falls.

Another really cool spot, if you're into wildlife watching, is along the Beaver Dam trail just past where it crosses the Bent Rim trail and near the pond. At a certain point the trail is interrupted by a small bridge. Watch your step around here as the sandy trail forms a great nesting spot for snapping turtles! We returned to Hilton Falls in the summer where we were lucky enough to see a few baby turtles breaking out of their eggs. Unfortunately, it looked like the nests in the area had been raided by a predator--otherwise the eggs would have been underground and I would not have spotted them so easily. Still, it was wonderful to see some resilient survivors.

As I’m writing this mid-pandemic, it’s important to note that reservations are required. Though it may seem inconvenient, it has a positive side-effect: the number of visitors to the park at time is limited so you get to enjoy nature in relative peace and solitude. Unfortunately, it also limits your time at the park, but you can definitely enjoy the best parts of the trail within the allotted time slot of 2 hours.

More beautiful wildlife

Hilton Falls. Take your date, take your dog, take your dad; the park is perfect for any occasion. We all need a bit of fresh air these days, why not bless your eyeballs with the sight of beautiful nature while you’re at it!

Gen