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Hamilton Waterfront Trail

The Waterfront Trail runs along the sandy dunes beside the lake. The trail is a wide 2 car lane paved path and must be the best and longest roller blade section I've seen so far. Its ironic that a major industrial and shipping center of Canada, has the longest lakeside trail of all running the full length of the city. Thank you Hamilton!

There are 2 public washrooms along the path for rest stops and water refills. At it's North Burlington section, the trail begins on the lake side of the Lift bridge. Head up the path from the pier where the paved trail begins.

Hamilton Beach

Heading south towards Stony Creek the path crosses several sandy beaches. You'll notice that the nature along this section is unique mixture of beach grass, sedges, birds and some flowers that managed to escape their owners. The houses along this section are also a unique blend of cottage and home. This area was the Sunnyside of Hamilton where, like Sunnyside beach in Toronto, the area was an entertainment mecca in days gone by.

The Dynes Tavern

As you cycle past some of the interesting houses, you'll undoubtedly will pass the famous Dynes Tavern, what used to be the oldest remaining tavern in Ontario! As of summer 2007, The Dynes Tavern has unfortunatly closed it's doors.

This was just one of several restaurants and volleyball courts you'll find further along the way.

WaterWorks Park

Towards the southern end of the path, you'll pass the entrance sign to the waterworks. If you stop here and look over the QEW, you'll see the smoke stack of the Hamilton Steam Museum. Continue on and you'll pass the waterworks park. Here you are, near the end of the trail. when you're past the waterworks, look back and enjoy the view of the trail from Burlington, the lift bridge, the beaches and the Niagara Escarpment in the background (top photo).

The Escarpment (top photo) was formed 450 million years ago from the calcium bodies of sea creatures deposited, compressed and compacted over a period of 25 million years into a hardened rock (called Dolostone). This ledge of hard rock traces a large circle around an ancient sea bed centered under the state of Michigan. A vast inland sea existed in what is called the Michigan Basin, a depression and buckling of the shield.

The hard rock at the top of the Escarpment erodes much more slowly than the shale below it, and water speeds the whole process as you can see how far the Niagara falls are inland from the rest of the Escarpment. Once water and wind have eaten the support below the Dolostone, it falls off creating the sharp ledges and rock rubble below.