There is a wonderful walking trail circling a boggy, marshy, wetland in the north-west quadrant of Nobleton that is a naturalist's delight. The curvy triangular area is bound by Mactaggart Drive, Holden Drive and Sheardown Drive and is reached by travelling west of Hwy. 27 on either Sheardown (at the library) or on Mactaggart a little further north. The entire area is heavily treed, including the swampy marsh area and the higher ground around the perimeter. Nobleton is in a widespread area of Beech-Maple and Maple-Basswood forests and the photo above shows some of the towering 70 to 75 ft. maples and beech on the wetland's north slope. The variety of trees, shrubs and other plants is quite remarkable.
The wetlands are jammed with trees and plants and the water-views are obscured in many areas but do have a definite, lush swampy look in many places. The area drains south through Nobleton eventually reaching the East Humber River at the Humber Trails Conservation area.
The complete circuit of the trail is currently blocked at one point, on the north side, by a fallen tree (see photo below) and one has to do some energetic struggling to get past it. I spoke with Chris Fasciano of the King Township Parks, Recreation & Culture Department on Thursday afternoon and mentioned the blocked trail. He said his department would check on the situation and remedy it.
Even though there are occasional glimpses of houses beyond the treed boundaries, there is a special, remote feeling to this lovely, easy-hiking path. Naturalists, birdwatchers, and just plain walkers are in for a treat whenever they tread this trail.
Correction/Addendum...
There is an error in the description of the photo above. I stated that the trail is blocked by a fallen tree and that it would be removed forthwith. In fact the trail has always ended at this point. The fallen tree does not in fact block any trail. The folks at King's Works Department told me that there are plans to open this section of forest, in the future, to connect with the other end of the trail in Davis Park. Until that time, walkers will have to retrace their steps to a nearby access point on Mactaggart Rd.
Correction/Addendum...
There is an error in the description of the photo above. I stated that the trail is blocked by a fallen tree and that it would be removed forthwith. In fact the trail has always ended at this point. The fallen tree does not in fact block any trail. The folks at King's Works Department told me that there are plans to open this section of forest, in the future, to connect with the other end of the trail in Davis Park. Until that time, walkers will have to retrace their steps to a nearby access point on Mactaggart Rd.
Please comment if you wish.
Barry Wallace
No comments:
Post a Comment