Small Town Natural: Where to hike in Haliburton Highlands, ON, Canada (Part 3: Snowdon Park) In Spring; early mornings watch the beavers and muskrat swimming about busying themselves. Great snowshoe trails or fat bike trails in Winter too!
Directions: From Haliburton take Gelert Rd to the first road on Right after South Lake Rd. (you will see a big sign for Snowdon just before your turn) follow this road until it ends at a medium sized parking lot.
Parking: IF..people park correctly there is room for approx. 15 cars but most often people do not park properly so it is more like 8 cars (there are no lines for parking spaces). This is a dirt road that ends at a dirt parking lot. It can be very muddy in Spring beware.
460 acres of land
Trail length approx. 3 k.m. with short loops closer to the parking area. Could be more trails if the bridge to the longest loop gets fixed.
This is a mixed forest with two scenic marsh areas and a couple look out spots including one that is at trail head next to the warming hut cabin. Please be respectful of the cabin no trash and no graffiti and no breaking of windows (we discovered someone had done this last year to the beautiful antique windows..very disappointing behavior). The cabin is more of a shelter from the wind than a warming hut since it doesn't have a heat source. There is a very old car wreck deep in the forest on the longest loop.
Difficulty: Easy (not wheelchair accessible but it is very flat for the shortest loop so those with mobility issues can enjoy a lovely walk in the woods) The longer trail and longer loops are not flat like a rail trail but no hills of any kind.
Cell Reception: Very spotty. Usually only 1 bar ,sometimes 2 bars
Garbage: Pack in and pack out please! Dog walkers please stoop and scoop and take bags home with you.
Washrooms: Yes. There are two port-a-potty washrooms that seem not to be cleaned regularly so take your chances. LOL.
Picnic tables: None. There are however a couple benches at the trail head and some very sketchy looking shelters with dilapidated rooftops within 1 k.m. of the parking area. Bench for viewing the marsh is built into the viewing platform in above photo.
A great place for a stroll through the forest and alongside the marsh with viewing spots. There is a ramp that leads to an overlook at the trail head to view the marsh. This would be a great place for bird watchers and wildlife watchers.
Walking my dogs here in previous years we have seen plenty of rodent activity. Squirrels, chipmunks, wild rabbits, mink, beaver, muskrat and even a winter ermine.
Some of the trails are through wetland areas and will not be traverse-able in Spring or after a heavy rainfall. This is a mixed forest full of wildlife. The bridge that leads to the longest trail out past the car wreck of the cadillac is in very bad condition. Missing boards and nails sticking up and broken boards and the bridge has been twisted by marsh ice movement so I would not recommend crossing that bridge until it is repaired. It is really too bad because you can add approximately 3 k.m. to to your walk if you do walk the longest loop.
Enjoy your outdoorsy adventure!
