From Hwy. #2 (extension of Dundas St., Belleville) and the road into Baz Auto just east of Elmwood Dr. to west end of old Bakelite plant site.

2.3  kilometres

                                    

(The official trail lists this as a "connection" to the actual trail which starts at Herchmer.)

Right: The site of the Bakelite plant on September 23, 2013. It's a desolate field
with nothing much to recommend it. Still, as in 2005, lots of promises are being
made to turn it into something. We'll wait another eight years to see.
Don't hold your breath.

From here the trail is pretty straightforward. It’s not as civilized as the “official” trail just ahead, with quite a bit of refuse here and there, but I saw more wildlife (two herons, two rabbits and numerous ducks) in this stretch than I have in much wilder walks.

The marsh to the south is full of life. Total: 1.1 km., plus another 1.3 km if you take the loop to the spit (not included in distance total).

Rating: (The last bit is the best.)

Bayshore Trail/Waterfront Trail, Belleville, From Herchimer Avenue to Meyer’s Pier, then south along Pinnacle and Front streets to Dundas St.

3.4 kilometres

(2013: The official route starts at Herchimer and is listed as "off-road" to the north-west corner of South George Park, when it moves north up Front Street to Dundas as an "on-road" section.)               

This is a great trail for all ages: it’s easy, well-maintained and has lots to see. If you’re in downtown Belleville, this will get you away from the hustle-bustle. If you start at Herchimer and Dundas (just east of Dewe’s, Your Independent grocer), you can stroll down Herchimer, which has some modest little homes on it and a dilapidated factory on the east side. The street’s got a friendly feel.

The trail proper starts just beyond Keegan Pkwy. Head west along the paved trail past the Quinte Rowing Club (public washrooms here).

The trail deviates from the shore briefly at “pier 31” a collection of relatively high-end semi-detached houses built in a circle, with a nice inner courtyard. Signs at each end of the road into the houses advise that this is private property and there is no trespassing. The trail bypasses all this and soon after, you’re back by the shore and a marshy bit introduces the East Bayshore Park, where there’s a children’s playground.

A sign in this section indicates that sections of the waterfront are being restored to marshland to encourage wildlife (including fish), and indeed earlier on I flushed out a great blue heron.

Belleville Hospital is to the north at this point. You have to sit in the chair carved out of a tree trunk before checking out the little area where native plants are grown.

A little further on is a monument to Belleville’s railroaders. Before you come to the water filtration plant, you’ll walk over the first of several little bridges. Another sign informs you that the ponds to the north of the bridges are for holding storm water, which also contains pollutants from lawns and roads. The ponds allow pollutants to settle and plants absorb some of it so that it does not go into the bay. In the eighties, the bay was one of North America’s most polluted areas, but a concerted effort by a number of local and international agencies has brought the bay a long way from those times.

Near the end of the walk is a building that in the summer has a concession stand and washrooms. Nearby is a boat launch. The Kiwanis Club has a sign here indicating their heavy involvement in the trail.

Follow the trail around to Pinnacle Street. You should make a deviation here to take a look at Meyer’s Pier and to check out the green light at the mouth of the harbour.

In the summer, the harbour is filled with boats. Today [March, 2005] the harbour has ice in it and a couple of warning signs saying that it is unsafe to walk on. It is actually pretty thick still at this time of the year (this year) and I took a couple of forays out onto the ice along the way, to check out the view from the bay. I walked out along the stone jetty to the mouth, then slipped across the ice to the green light and the 9 km. sign side. You get a good view of the bridge to Prince Edward County from here, which is especially pretty at night. Earlier in the evening, I also heard gulls (Canada geese?) making a racket out in the bay, but the light was fading and they were too far away to see.

Continue the walk down Pinnacle to Front Street, then take the left down Front past a couple of restaurants. The Boat House has a nice deck that faces one of the boat dock inlets and you can see out into the bay. It’s about 1 km. from the tip of Meyer’s pier to Front and Dundas streets.

As I undoubtedly will lament, the Lake Ontario Waterfront Trail is broken between Belleville and Trenton. That means I will have to stitch something together to get there while avoiding traffic-laden roads. While you can make a continuous route through Prince Edward County (and should, it’s a beautiful part of the country) it’s sad that the Quinte West and Belleville folk couldn’t put something together. The trail takes some breaks elsewhere along the way (forcing one to stroll through hunt clubs, golf courses and other “private” spaces), but this is no excuse. The Bayshore Trail etc. in Belleville is fantastic. Now we need visionaries to carry it east and west.

Rating:

 Walked: March 24, 2005

 

 Front and Dundas streets east over the bridge then through the park along the shore behind the Ramada Inn, to the Bay Bridge (which goes to Prince Edward County).

1.7 kilometres

(2013: The official trail west is off-road from Front and Dundas. The Parrott Riverfront Trail, which follows the shores of the Moira River comes in from the north here and meets the waterfront trail under the bridge. The official trail runs along the shore from Front and Dundas to just beyond the water filtration plant, where it moves up again to Dundas Street and switches briefly to an on-road section.)

March 28, 2005: Heading east on Dundas, there’s the option of a railway bridge and the Dundas St. Bridge over the Moira. The railway bridge warns pedestrians to stay off it as “train time is any time.” I took the road bridge (but I confess to taking the railway bridge on my return journey). After the bridge, I slip over to the rail line, but don’t try crossing the fence into Morch Marine; it’s a fierce one. I worked my way left (south) at the road crossing into the marina and into The Harbour Club. From there, I crossed to East Zwick’s Island Park. There’s a channel of water running into the bay between the Ramada and the park, but at this time of the year you can walk across the ice and onto the park path. At other times of the year, you may have to walk all the way around to the road to get into the park.

The park has a very pleasant shore path which shouldn’t be missed. By the bridge, just before it curved back toward the hotel, I climbed the bank and over the guardrail to get to the sidewalk over the bridge.

 Walked: March 28, 2005

From base of bridge to Prince Edward County to parking lot in Quinte Conservation Park on Hwy. 2

4.6 Kilometres

(2013: The official trail is off-road to just past the filtration plant when it returns to Dundas Street and is on-road briefly to Palmer Road where it drops south briefly and runs south of the tracks to  to Wilkie Street  where it returns to Dundas Street. It is listed as a "connection" westward from here. You can also follow an on-road connection to the waterfront trail which runs through Prince Edward County to the south. I haven't done that, but it looks interesting. Most of the trail is on roads, but much of it also parallels the Millenium Trail, which is on an old rail line. So it looks like you could take the Millenium Trail when possible to avoid the roads.)

Back to April 25, 2005: A wet, unpleasant day. I clambered over the guard rails on the east side of Hwy. 62, and down the bank on the west side into Zwick’s Park. The park is quite open, so if there’s any wind, you feel it here. With a nasty drizzle it took some imagining to see the park in a better light. There’s an impressive  RCAF airplane on a post in the middle of the park. There were also cars cruising around the park roads and under the bridge. The park has a reputation as a pickup point for men, and I wasn’t sure whether I was vamping on that reputation as a couple of cars sat at the far end of the park with their lights on, but I felt that there was something going on here with the slow-moving vehicles.

I walked past the airplane before cutting north to the railroad tracks and headed west to the Gerry O’Connor Water Treatment Plant (2001). While photographing the plant, I was (quasi-politely) challenged by an employee who was probably wondering what a bedraggled long-hair was doing wandering around the building with a camera.

[2005 car photo here]

There was a fine old classic car in the parking lot (licence plate “Model Eh”) which I was photographing when two men came out of the building. They questioned me  about my motives. Surface polite, but suspicious. What was this long-hair doing strolling  by the plant? 

[2013 update: There's a pleasant ashphalt path from  Zwick's park along the shore to the filtration plant.  When you get to the filtration plant, turn north up Sidney Street (briefly) to the tracks. The  path actually curves along the shore in front of the plant, but it only leads to a little fenced-in grassy area; your progress is blocked.]

Beyond the treatment plant, I continued along the tracks. There is a bit of shore between the tracks and the water here, but it looked pretty thick with brush, and wet to boot, so I stuck to the tracks until I came upon a small mooring spot for yachts. There are several buildings here and quite a number of boats still beached for the winter.

An impassable chainlink fence is at the end of the
walking path that runs between the filtration plant and the
shore. Cut north briefly to the tracks before the plant if you
want to move westward without climbing a serious fence.
September 23, 2013

There’s a  road from Dundas Street (north of the tracks) running past the Westgate Lodge (a seniors’ home) to the mooring area. [This is where the official trail goes to Dundas Street and the westward section becomes a "connection" to the next section of trail.] I left the tracks and headed toward the lake here, then cut west along the shore. There’s a bit of brush to walk through (nothing serious) and then a makeshift camping spot with benches and firewood, all ready for a hot summer’s night by the lake.

Beyond that, along a muddy lane I ran into a couple of modest homes, followed by two massive homes under construction. This is part of the St. James By the Bay “Adult Lifestyle Community,” and a sign announces, “Phase One Now Under Construction.” To find out more, I could phone 613—966-1254, or check out "stjamesbythebay.com." As I was photographing one of the monstrosities, I was greeted by Alana Kalnay, who, with her husband Boyd, owns the new development. Behind the massive houses is a beautiful little white house (Alana called it a “cottage,” which aptly describes its “bijou” quality) where Alana said either she or Boyd grew up (I forgot which). The Kalnays have owned this parcel of land since the 1950s. Alana introduced me to Lisa, who also works on the project. Both were extremely pleasant and informative, especially since they were talking to an increasingly bedraggled wild-haired and now muddy-footed walker. I peeked inside the door of one of the show houses which was beautifully decorated. My shoes wouldn’t have allowed a tour.

To get to the development by road, you have to cut south-west off Dundas onto Avonlough Rd. (just east of the Dundas St. bridge over the tracks), then head south on Champagne Drive.

I walked past some huge piles of dirt and into St. James Cemetery. There’s a rudimentary fence at the edges of the cemetery which is easy to negotiate.

[2013 update: If you leave the tracks at the point where the now more established suburban development is, you can walk through a huge field that belongs to St. James Cemetary. That gets you to the shore and a nice grassy bit (a good place for lunch on a sunny day).

Getting into the cemetary now involves, either cutting back until a ravine disintegrates into a ditch or making a brief but steep climb just north of the shore through trees and brambles to the grassy order of the cemetary.

It is peaceful here. This is an excellent summer walk. The St. James Cemetary blends into Belleville Cemetery (a one-lane paved lane which is part of the network of roads through the gravestones is all that separates the two cemeteries). I stuck as close to the water as I could. There are lots of benches which would look inviting on a warm dry day.

At the western boundary of the cemetery, there is a serious chain-link fence. I eventually found a place to climb it, but it wasn’t easy; you may want to walk out to the road and around the fence if you don’t fancy ripping some clothes. If you  drop down the steep embankment to the fence, you can slip around the fence between it and the waterline, but it's a bit fiddly.

There’s a well-manicured open stretch of field beyond the cemetery, which is the backyard of the Calvary Temple (“A New Beginning” the sign out front announces). There’s a child-care centre attached to temple, so there was a bit of activity in the parking lot as I crossed the field.

Beyond the field there was a great little cottage/boathouse by the shore, easily accessible but hidden away from the hustle and bustle of the road.

Beyond that, I walked through some wood and brush and a guardrail  incongruously running by a trail to the water. Beyond the guardrail, is the mouth to Potter Creek, so after visiting it, it’s best to cut back to the trail and up to the road (Dundas St./Hwy 2).

Head a short distance along the grassy part beside the road, over the cement tunnel over Potter Bridge, and make a little detour into the big pipe running under the road to the Quinte Conservation headquarters. This is a diversion, but a necessary one, because you don’t want to miss the tunnel under the road. Then it’s back through the tunnel and into the park on the south side of the river. This is a little park, but it’s got lots going for it, including a great bench by the water where you get a good view of the bay. I had a good conversation with a blue heron at the mouth of Potter Creek. The heron consented to letting me take a couple of pictures.

Rating: (but a three-walkdude for the cemetary and the Quinte Conservation Park)

 Walked: April 25, 2005

From Quinte Conservation park (south of Dundas St., just west of Wallbridge-Loyalist Rd.) to Aikens Rd. and Dundas Street.

5 kilometres

(The official trail lists the section of Dundas from the aforementioned Applewood Drive to Wallbridge-Loyalist Road, which is just east of the conservation authoritiy's headquarters as a connecting link. From there it stops and indicates that the trail ends, but will resume in 13 kilometres. How a connection differs from the next 13 kilometres of road is beyond me.)

The conservation park has a little arboretum on its west side, still looking spring-bedraggled at this time of year. It’s called the “Nortel Arboretum”; I wonder if Nortel, which has vastly reduced its presence in Belleville, still supports it.

It’s not possible to walk the waterfront from the park; the best you can do is Dundas Street at this point. (I suppose I should call it “Old Highway 2” which it is officially called at some point.

Back in Evil Ontario Premier (EOP for short) Mike Harris’s regime (the mid-1980s), he removed this section of Highway 2 from provincial responsibility to municipal responsibility. We still have to put up with the chaos he inflicted on Ontarians.  

Cars are moving pretty fast here, but still it’s an OK walk if only for the big houses with long drives, spread out along the waterfront. There’s quite a mix, from modest to grand.

Soon after the park, on the north side of Dundas, is the Bayview Golf Centre with its “heated driving range” just so you don’t have to really experience the outside when you’re bashing the ball about. On the same side is the Montrose Inn a very impressive structure with big pillars that looks as if it’s been uprooted from the American south.

            On the south side, the Bay of Quinte Golf Club has its headquarter. A tunnel takes golfers under the road to the CPGA course on the north side of the highway. Before entering the tunnel, golfers are reminded to dress properly (no jeans, eh?) and to replace divots. If you want to wear jeans and beat the crap out of the grass, better go to Tweed or somewhere less auspicious.

Not long after the golf course, there’s a gas station on the south side, followed by a field. I headed back to the waterfront here and wended my way west through some long grass (easy) followed by some thick brush (not so easy). I also had to sneak by the bottom of some people’s gardens until I reached the east end of Potash Lane, which runs west to Frost Rd. A couple of dashes across back gardens got me to yet another set of relatively new houses where I lost my nerve and headed back to Dundas. A short walk and I was back at Old Highway 2 and Aikens Rd., with Bayside Secondary School just to the north and east.

 Walked: April 27, 2005

Rating:

Aikens Rd. and Old Highway 2 to Quinte View Road and Old Highway #2

4.2 kilometres

I spent a lot of time today bouncing back and forth from often marshy waterfront, people’s back yards and Old Highway 2. I walked a short bit down the highway to a laneway identified by a small sign indicating “Apperley Construction.”

A short stretch down the lane, I came upon a bridge and headed into the woods just after I had crossed it. There are a number of pathways and bridges in the woods immediately to the east, and I took the first pathway. A grassy path led me to a beautiful rustic garden, just unkempt enough and just cultured enough to make it a fine escape. I followed the lane to the end, where there was a little A-frame cottage. The next house over, a dog started barking, so I moved back up the lane, past a couple of funky bird houses and through a rough hedge into a field.

That led me to a new housing development (moving away from the lake somewhat, but not to the highway) called “Settler’s Landing.” Houses here are in the trendy massive style, lots of brick and stone, probably billed as an “adult community.” Davanco Homes (966-4499) are doing the developing. More waterfront that will never be public.

At the end of the eastward part of Settler’s Landing, instead of curving back to the highway, I headed into a pleasant field with quite a few little trails. That opened into Hunt Street which has smaller suburban-style houses and runs behind Connon Nurseries. The nurseries, with their entrance on the highway (with a big sign reading, Mom it’s too cold for flowers, referring to the uncommonly cold spring) look very inviting, with a big greenhouse front and centre.

I stayed on Hunt Street, passing Alice Avenue and Ghent Drive, moving smoothly into Dorothy Drive (Who are all these streets named after? Probably family members of the developer. Real history here.) At the end of Dorothy Drive, I kept on straight, traversing a wet gully (and got two soakers) before climbing a bank to a nice big field. This was probably the most relaxed part of the walk.

There’s a big pond north of the lake just before another residential area. I stayed north of it, but it’s possible to cut south of it. Before the houses start, you’ll run into a chain-link fence. If you move toward the lake, you’ll find an opening onto Northshore Dr., where there are more (reasonably-sized) suburban houses. At the end of this street, I had a chat with a boy walking his dog who told me he had a fort by the nearby marsh. He told me you couldn’t actually walk through the marsh. I told him I wanted to see his fort, so he headed east while I continued west to a couple of big trees where his fort is. He was particularly proud of cup holders in the fort, and indeed they were all there ready for use.

Now committed, I headed into the marsh and actually made my way through it with only slight water damage, to the bottom end of Bayview Rd. Staying off the road, I plowed on westward through a few back yards and mushy fields until the fences and houses looked too daunting. I headed nback to the highway through the Avalon Motor yards, where a very tired old windowless London bus is parked.

From here, it’s back to a bit of highway walking, past Colangelo Uvent Wine’s fine building on the north side and a couple of old plough’s ornamenting a person’s driveway on the south side until I reached White’s Cemetery. This is a nice little break, and you can get right to the lakeshore here before heading east off into a field (past the “private property” signs).

As I approached the garage property, I cut into the woods as it looked like the easiest way to make it out of the field. After a brief walk through the bottom of the garage property, I negotiated a minor swampy area before heading up a bank into a field with lots of trails leading hither and yon. If you keep roughly eastward, a trail will take you between a break in the houses lining Quinte View Road. There’s a chain link fence marking the start of the Trenton military base, with lots of military signs telling you it’s jail time if you trespass, so there’s nothing for it but to head back to the highway here. As I walked up Quinte View Rd., what sounded very like rifle shots were coming from the other side of the fence near the lake. I trusted the military would make sure there were no stray bullets whizzing by in non-military zones. I ended this walk at the junction of Quinte View Dr. and the highway (4.2 km.).

Rating:  

 Walked: May 4, 2005

                                    
Quinte View Drive and Old Highway #2 to Middle and Front Streets, Trenton

5 kilometres

 Quinte View Drive is the eastern Boundary of Canadian Forces base, Trenton. A chain link fence with three strands of barbed wire atop it surrounds the property on both sides of the road, and the highway funnels between these fences on both sides of the road. Ominous signs warn of huge fines and jail time for trespassing and of losing ones freedoms once one steps on defence property. On the south side of the road a sign announces “Welcome to 98 Wing CFB Trenton/Bienvenue á la 8’ Escardre BFC Trenton” A bit disingenuous, as the sign sits inside the barbed wire. About ten minutes along the south side of the highway, I passed CFB headquarters, set back a bit, and the military police building just behind the barbed wire. On the north side of the road are hangers and runways, and a couple of big military planes were sitting on the tarmac as I walked by.

Past the headquarters, on the west side of the south lot are a number of quite nice houses (of course still imprisoned within the fence), followed by, at the far western fence unimaginative warehouse-style barracks, for the non-officers.

Immediately after the base, is William Bain Memorial Park, which allowed me to get back to the water. At the shore, a spit leads out into the lake. Two bridges span open sections of water, so really I felt like I was walking out to little islands. Just before the spit/islands, a rusty sign hidden in the brush announced that there was “No Lifeguard on Duty.” To the east of the spit, two swans were fishing and a couple of ducks were tending to their two little ones. The spit is a nice picnic area and a great respite from the tribulations of traversing private land. The park also sports a baseball diamond and a soccer pitch.

At the west end of the park is a very straight stream and on the west bank of that is a string of fence that borders the edge of the Skyview Adult Mobile Home Park. The stream and fence force you back to the highway, but the trailer park shouldn’t be missed. Here are  a number of small homes (compare these with the monsters in the new developments) sitting on property not much larger than the buildings. Little grass plots are attached to these permanent “trailers,” and some of them look quite spiffy. The whole place is trim. At the waters edge is a one-story house, a great location if you love water. There seemed to be more human activity here; in the classier suburban residences everyone is away working hard to pay for their digs.

At the end of the trailer park road, I had to head back to the highway yet again. You can slip around a couple of trees and walk around the back end of the west side of the trailer park. Near the highway, I passed Wheel ’n Deal Bicycle Repair, which is a makeshift repair shop beside a trailer; it reminded me of little private industries in poorer areas of India.

A short bit down the highway,  I got back to the shore by walking behind Smylie’s Independent Grocery Store, followed by the backside of Canadian Tire. There’s a nice mini-spit behind Canadian Tire, where you can get a good view of the bay. Walking out on it is a little precarious; broken pallets have been placed over wet spots. It’s a nice spot to unwind in the summer while you wait for your car to get fixed, or to wait for your spouse while he/she gets lost in the automotive goods.

Heading westward, I passed through a line of trees, behind Trent Valley Lodge and through someone’s backyard (very nice, not upscale, but relaxed). A bit of swamp can be avoided by sticking close to the shore, but I had to leap over a dirty creek at its mouth.

A large parking lot follows, and then a sewage plant. Finally, announcing the mouth of the Trent River is Centennial Park.

When I walked it, there were all sorts of people getting ready for fishing season, which opens on Saturday, May 8. According to a couple of guys I spoke to as they stood by their pickup a few feet from their tent, the authorities allow camping here on opening day. Most campers had brought trailers and were parked by the marina on the western side of the park, where there are a number of berths for boats. Trailers were lined all along the shore, and a little community was forming. A big organizational tent was erected a little further north, near Highway 2/Dundas St., along with a rough-and-ready cafeteria called Pete’s Eats, which didn’t seem like it was in full swing when I walked by.

The park also had an impressive open stage. When I walked by, a father and son (I assume) were flying a kite there.

The official trail picks up again at centennial park.

Curving up to follow the mouth of the river’s edge, I headed west across the Dundas St. bridge, then north a bit to link up with the official start of this section of the Ontario Waterfront trail.

Rated: (The parks are nice; the road bits are only worth a one-walkdude rating.)

From Middle and Front streets in Trenton (on the banks of the Trent River) to 12 O’clock Point.

 6.2  kilometres

 (The official Trail passes under the bridge at the mouth of the Trent river and goes north, parallelling Ontario Street in a stretch of park along the river's eastern edge. At Dixon Drive, it moves up to and onto the sidewalk across the bridge  to the west bank. Then it follows the river south on the strip of park on the western bank to where we pick it up at Middle and Front streets. From there it travels, as we do, under the Dundas St. Bridge and into Fraser Park, the little park on the opposite bank to Centennial Park. Just beyond the north-west corner of the park, it returns to the road, heading south to the shore along Albert Street, then curving away from the water to Creswell Drive. head north-west here to Dufferin and then turn right  or south-west and finally east onto Carrying Place Road/Loyalist Parkway, avoiding going straight where duffering dead-ends at the lake. Stay on CarryingPlace/Loyalist parkway where it stays through to Nine O'Clock Point and Carrying Place.)

March 17, 2005:  Extensions eastward from Centennial are coming soon, so they say, and there’s a loop in Prince Edward County that the lakefront trail people claim as part of the trail. However, at this point there’s serious breakup of the official trail east of Trenton. [September, 2013 update: It's still "coming soon."] For Vishwawalkers that’s not a problem. However, if politicians want to buy land and build pretty walks, that’s just fine. The more private residences peppering the waterfront, the less attractive will the waterfront walk become.

Start at Middle and Front streets near the Quinte West Chamber of Commerce (it has got a big Travel Information sign on the roof). At the chamber of commerce, you can get all kinds of brochures, including those with maps of local trails. Remember that this is ATV and snowmobile country, so many trails described in the brochures are “multi-use,” which means machine-centric. All other users take some risk. At its worst it’s like walking down the middle of a road dodging high-speed vehicles.

Walking south along the western bank of the river is pleasant. There are lots of restaurants just before the bridge: Tomasso’s Casual Dining, the Bay of Quinte Deli (both with patios), Jim’s Pizzeria and the Times Square Diner, all in one short block. The patios look out onto the river. Admittedly, the scenery is not outstanding, but I imagine relaxing on one of the patios on a warm summer night would be a fun thing to do.

Today, I just breeze past and follow the trail past a sundial (upon which is inscribed “Trenton Renaissance: Phase II Waterfront Development – Opened October 21, 1995”) and under the bridge. The path under the bridge was a skating rink; take care you don’t flip on your backside.

From the bridge, follow the path around and through the park. There’s a here sign that reads “No fishing between signs” but there was only one sign that I could see, unless the other one was out of sight a mile or so away.  Walk through the park and the arches that record the lives of soldiers lost in the two world wars, and on up Albert Street to Bayshore East Park.

Walk across the park, behind the new municipal building/library (it looks much more impressive from the front). It should be noted that there are no trail signs here, and after the short downtown section, no indication that any effort has been made to create a trail.

I walked along the shore, following an old rail line along the side of a drab factory building and all the way out to the extension of Dufferin Street and the shore. A couple of military planes flew low over me during this walk; perhaps it’s a good spot for military plane spotters.

As mentioned above, the official route connects to Carswell Drive and then Dufferin Avenue. Carswell Avenue is a boring backstreet and Dufferin Avenue is a main thoroughfare with nothing for the walker.

March 21, 2005: Extension of Dufferin Avenue to end Twelve O’clock Road (at the point).

Again, the official waterfront trail should be only a guide. It suggests walking Carrying Place Road, which is a boring stretch and is used by large trucks and cars traveling at high speeds.

I walked on the ice. This is not bad: you get a good view of houses situated right on the Bay. Quite a mixed bag, but interesting.  How you could exercise your right to walk the shoreline is difficult to imagine, with fence lines right down to the waterfront.

As the ice was still solid, again I travelled along the shore. However, if the ice is not an option, follow the old railway line. I walked on that for part of the way (or next to it, on 13 First Road and 2^nd First Road). The line eventually goes to Carrying Place Road and parallels it, which is not as bad as the earlier bit (of Carrying Place Road), where there’s not always a good place to walk. While the rail line parallels the shore, you get a good view some of the houses and you get the possibility of having a chat with homeowners. I had one short chat with a person working out on his lawn.

Walking along the ice on the waterfront makes for quite a varied scene, and with little snow on the ice it was an easy walk. Again homes vary from the modest to the grand. People obviously feel they own their waterfront, as they’ve built all manner of things right to the waterfront. Some people have used the bay to dump organic waste – grass, wood chips and ashes were just dumped on the ice, presumably to fall through to the bottom of the bay in a few weeks.

To the west of the mouth of Dead Creek, a number of homes have their own quays. There are some interesting boathouses here. Twelve O’clock Point is clear, with cement blocks butting out into the bay. If you were in a hurry, you could make a more direct beeline to it from the starting point at Dufferin, but you’d miss the shoreline. Today was a beautifully warm one; if I stood quietly on the ice, I could hear surface crystals quietly snapping and crackling – almost a “fizzling’ sound.”

I walked back to Dufferin Street more directly and made a note to myself to walk on the ice to the island in the bay next winter; it looks interesting. [2013 note: i never did walk to the island.]

Rated: I debated this one: if you like varied urban and scruffy landscape, add a walkdude. There's definitely interesting stuff happening here if you're not partial solely to rough bush or English country gardens. Moderate, because of the human-made parts of the landscape can be challenging.

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