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Heritage Trail - Sixteen Mile Creek - East Bank Trail

If you coming from the south along Sixth Line, head West along McCraney past Roylen and Oxford Ave., keeping an eye out for the parking lot entrance to the sixteen mile creek trail as McCraney ends and curves to become Old Upper Middle Road.

Head through the parking lot, past the barrier, and follow the path to the creek lookout. Head north (right) along the trail.behind the backyards on the east and Glen Abby Golf Cource across the creek on your left. Continue along the path as it heads up to Middle Rd. At Middle Rd, cross over on pedistrain bridge to the north side. Pause and read the history of Gen Abby and the sunningdale area history. Instead of going down the steps to access Middle Rd, continue along the bike path as it curves east to follow Shannon Creek.

Follow the trail until it comes up to Munn's Ave and keeping on the same side, follow the sidewalk to the north side of Shannon creek and double back (don't decend under Neyagawa Blvd unless you re following the Shannon Creek trail) heading west just behind the houses. At the (sitting rock) junction you can descend down to the inner valley east trail / West trail junction (its a very steep grade down) or curve north and continue along the East Bank trail. Follow the trail through the woods and along side Orange Creek unit it junctions.

Turn west to continue along the East Bank Trail across the wooden platform bridge over Orange Creek (If you had continued north the trail curves and becomes the corss town pipeline trail.

I was confused about the orientation of the trails until a friend pointed out that the 'East Bank Trail' often diverts along creeks that feed into sixteen mile creek, cross them, and double back to sixteen mile creek. Some the time you think youu're heading north beside sixteen mile creek and you're actually cycling east along side Shannon or Orange Creek.

Cross Orange creek over the wooden platform bridge as it heads back west to sixteen mile creek behind the backyards and woods until it comes to where it parts (don't follow the ridiculously steep pipeline footpath) and the mian trail continues, dancing into the woods then running back up beside the residential street end-circles, then back into the woods. At the next main branch turn west (if you continue north you'll end up on Riverbank but you can still join the east bank trail by heading west along Forrest Manor Gate).

The East bank trail continues north unit it exits and joins with the end of Forest Manor Gate only to re-enter and cross over to the Lions Valley Park Road as it quickly descends then curves under the old iron Dundas Street bridge and into the Lyons Park auto parking lot.

Here, at the top of the sixteen mile creek trail, you can cross over the creek to it's west bank and follow the creek south on the West Bank trail or you stay on the east bank and turn back south through the parking lot and through of what remains of the old Dundas Bridge and follow the inner valley trail south until it joins back up to the eastern upper trail..

The inner valley trail does have some stairs to climb up the embankment but a Oakville and the Herritige trail organisation did install a 'v' bike guide rail to make the stair climb easier. There are though, some steep climbs from the inner valley trails upto the East bank trails!

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.