Forest Bathing shinrin-yoku on Hiking Trails in Uxbridge Township, Ontario
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As we contend with a ferocious third wave of Covid, our collective mental health is strained as we deal with the threat the pandemic poses to our physical health. As the name suggests, shinrin-yoku is a Japanese therapeutic technique that encourages people to ‘bath in the forest’, to help gain the restorative benefits of being in nature to help heal one’s psyche.

In Canada I was told by a friend who lives in northern Ontario . . .

“We just call it taking a walk in the bush”

Call it what you may, a short trip to a forest can help distract one from the dreariness of the times and maybe put a little pep in your step.

Most Canadians live within a short trip to some kind of outdoor experience – even those of us who live in the GTA – the most populous part of our huge country, can access hundreds of kilometres of trails to experience nature. The best-known trail is the Bruce trail system – a sixty-year-old network of clubs, associations and conservancies that spans the length of the single largest landform feature in southern Ontario – the Niagara Escarpment. A newer, but no less significant system is the Oak Ridges Trail Association (ORTA) – another string of properties and trails that seeks to connect the Oak Ridges Moraine – the second largest landform feature in southern Ontario. The association trail guide covers 280 km of trails linking the moraine, and 80 kms of side trails.

The Oak Ridges Moraine is a 160 km long pile of debris deposited between two retreating ice sheets during the end of the last ice age some 13,000 years ago. Up to 400 metres deep and 30 kms wide, this pile of sand and gravel is an important reservoir of freshwater, and the source of water for dozens of rivers and creeks. The hilly, heavily forested moraine is also covered with ancient glacial lakes, ponds and wetlands and therefore supports an impressive diversity of plants and animals.

The human history of this moraine is as predictable as it is troublesome. Local First Nations communities valued it as a source of shelter, food and medicine but were shunted aside once the first European explorers and settlers arrived. Initially prized for the oak and pine trees that were pillaged to help build ships, farmers soon followed in the vain hope of trying to make a go of domesticating this sandy ridge. Trees were felled and fields were created by those who tried to tame this place – but the sandy soils bankrupted even the most resourceful of farmers and the rampant deforestation was eventually linked to disastrous floods downstream from the moraine.

Ontario’s Conservation Authorities were created as a result of this flooding – forming land and water management agencies organized by watersheds. Large scale reforestation followed, as did the acquisition and donation of land parcels set aside for flood mitigation, education and recreation purposes. Now there are dozens of trail associations creating webs of trails that permit people in the GTA and beyond to get out and enjoy this important element of southern Ontario’s landscape.

In covid times there are the predictable barrage of public health regulations regarding safe conduct in these conservation areas – but there are so many trails that it is quite easy to avoid people and engage in a wide range of activities. Walking, cycling, horseback riding, cross country skiing and snowshoeing are just a few ways these places can be enjoyed. Strolling through the forested hills of the moraine is an ideal way to recharge and enjoy the outdoors. I have stood quiet in some of these places and been amazed that I was surrounded by boundless forests in hilly, silent terrains just one hour’s drive from the CN Tower.

A good place to start is in and around the town of Uxbridge – which claims to be the ‘Trail Capital of Canada’ and is located about twenty minutes north of Pickering and an hour northeast of Toronto. The town’s website lists nineteen trails in and about the south of Uxbridge Township, not including the Great Trail (Trans-Canada Trail) or the Beaver River Rail Trail. You can head out to the Atlantic, Arctic or Pacific Ocean if the desire strikes, or simply enjoy the moraine and surrounding water features.

Some conservation areas are very popular with the mountain bike crowd, and Durham Forest in particular boasts a web of well-signed trails designed to challenge cyclists. Walker Woods is another parcel that has some cyclists in it, but there are kilometres of trails weaving around this forested site that also includes some aging farm structures that speak to that futile part of the moraine’s history. A relatively short trail is the ‘John McCutcheon Way’ – a 2.5 km route along the old Toronto-Nipissing Railway that includes a restored and upgraded trestle bridge that affords a good view of the Uxbridge Brook.

There are literally dozens of trails situated in many parcels of land that can provide an outing regardless of ability. The town of Uxbridge also offers all amenities – though with limitations depending on Covid restrictions. The small hamlet of Goodwood in the southwest corner of the township was one of the main filming sites for the super popular series Schitt’s Creek – and is worth a trip to see it. Annina’s Bakeshop, situated right in Goodwood, is an extremely popular spot due to their mouth-watering baked goods and coffee.

Regardless of where you live in the GTA, if you have a car, and depending on what kind of travel restrictions are in place, you can access dozens of trails to escape the city, and the mental burden that is Covid. Uxbridge Township is only one of many municipalities that stretch along the moraine from Kitchener-Waterloo in the west, to Trenton in the east.

Take this opportunity to engage in some shinrin-yoku, and bath in the restorative balm that is nature.

Please make sure to check for any COVID-19 restrictions or requirements while planning any trip, especially one between regions.

Resources:

The Oak Ridges Trail Association is a volunteer-based charitable hiking organization with a mandate to build and maintain a public hiking trail system on the Oak Ridges Moraine. The ORTA encourages an active lifestyle on their 300 kms of Trail.

Hike Ontario is focused on the representation and promotion of pedestrian-based trails and their benefits.

The Ganaraska Hiking Trail is an association of local clubs that maintain the trail.

The Great Trail now consists of more than 27,000 kilometres of multi-use trails linking Canada and Canadians.

The Beaver River Rail Trail is built upon the flat, wide bed of the historic Toronto and Nipissing Railway (T&NR) dating back to the late 1800’s when it supplied the Toronto Distillery District with wood and wheat.

Annina’s Bakeshop & Café in Goodwood Ontario is a favourite stop for fresh, homemade desserts and meals.

See other stories by Brian Robert.

The Land Between