For information and maps on this and other bike paths or if you came by a direct link please visit the home page

Waterfront Trail

Yup, The Trans-Canada - Waterfront trail is that little dirt foot path crossing every ones drive way! Do like everyone else, and just bypass the trail, and continue on road, along Lakeshore Rd. to Burlington. Actually some sections along Lakeshore either have bike lanes or the paved shoulder is wide enough act as a bike lane. An alternate to Lakeshore Rd, is to pick up Rebecca St either at 16 mile creek or near 14 mile creek. Rebecca and Burlington's New St. is a slightly shorter direct route to Burlington. Rebecca has bike lanes or sidewalk paths for most of it's length.

Oakville Upper Trails

Most of the Oakville trails are north of the QEW. There are 3 main trails running North to South, the Morrison Valley trail seems to be the longest. The trails have a main run, then are joined to extensions by some on road riding. The 2 trails I've been on form a loop beginning just north of the QEW on Trafalgar rd. For Experienced Adults, you can pickup these trails by heading from lakeshore on Reynolds then left to Trafalgar and across the QEW. You can also pick up these trails from the Oakville GO by heading to the south-east end of the parking lots and then crossing the QEW on Trafalgar Rd.

WedgeWood diversion channel Trail

The crushed gravel trail begins just north of Iroquois Shore Rd on Trafalgar on the East side of Trafalgar.The trail runs alongside the drainage channel on it's south side. The channel was created after Hurricane Hazel to protect the local homes and divert heavy rainfalls to the lake. As you ride eastward, you'll see a pedestrian bridge cross the channel. That will be the return point of our loop. For now, continue along the channel eastward until it starts to curve northward. This trail runs along the shoreline of the ancient glacier lake Iroquois, a large lake that formed as the ice melted during a retreat but was blocked from draining into the St. Lawrence by an ice jam near Kingston. Once the trail curves northward, you pass the entrance to the Iroquois shore park. The park is a series of loops through the woods that loopback to the entrance along the Wedgewood trail. The park is undergoing revitalization and restoration efforts and is very sensitive to damage. Continue northward along the trail as it becomes the Sheridan Valley Park trail.

Sheridan Trail

The Sheridan trail exits into a small parkette at the bottom of Edgeware and Fleetwood. Here the trail has a branch west, down stairs to the creek and back up on the other side to Lakeview drive. If you don't mind the stairs you can cary the bike down to the creek for a short pause and a look, but you'll have to return back up the stairs as the main trail in the parkette heads northward behind the houses above the creek. Continue north along the trail until you come to another small parkette with a children's play area. Here the trail continues a short distance further north to end at Upper Middle Rd. Since Upper Middle Rd is a very busy street, only adults should use it as a route to join up to Morrison Valley trail west of here. Back at the small children's play parkette you can follow the path west until it exits onto Grovenor.

Cross Grovenor onto Lancaster and a short distance on Lancaster, on the south side is the re-entrance to the trail. It opens up on a large sports field with several path branches. Follow westward a short distance where the trail exits back onto Lancaster Dr. Head down Lincon Gate to the 8th Line and turn south on 8th Line until Grand Blvd. Turn west on Grand, then take the first street north, Forest Glade, where you enter the Morrison Valley trail.

Morrison Valley Trail

This trail begins just south of Dundas St. on the east side of Trafalgar, and heads behind the Trafalgar Ridge shopping center south ward under Postridge through adjoining parks south to Glenashton. The trail continues south through Lauralwood and Grenville parks southward to cross Upper Middle Rd.

Continue south to the Forest Glade walkways where we pick up the branch from the Sheridan Trail loop. Head south as the trail continues through the woods, but keep your breaks ready for the short downhill run to the creek. From here the trail winds south through the woods crisscrossing the creek a few times until it exits to the bridge across the diversion channel and completing the loop.

Nipigon and other trails

There are other trails in Oakville. The Nipigon runs just south of Dundas on 6th Line and Glenashton, past Sheriden College where it becomes the McCraney trail and exits just west of Trafalgar and a little north of the Wedgewood Diversion trail. There are many other shorter, unconnected, walking trails spread across Oakville, but none provide a safe bike trail across the QEW to the Lakeshore.

Notice as you're crossing the creeks their names seem to be counting down towards Cootes Paradise. Sixteen mile creek, twelve mile creek and the same out in Stony Creek. Were the creeks used as mileage markers on a trek from York (Toronto) to Newark (Niagara on the lake)? You read in days gone by, how a Minister or Judge would serve a large area and would walk that distance over a season stopping in each village along the way.