HIKING AT KELSO SUMMIT CONSERVATION AREA

Me and some friends and family decided about two weeks in advance that we were going to safely take advantage of the beautiful weather and get active! We went on to www.parkvisit.ca and checked out the available hiking grounds in the surrounding areas. We decided to check out Kelso Conservation Area from the Summit Entrance!

The Kelso Conservation Area is located not too far out of the GTA, in the Halton Region. When booking the reservation we were made aware that we had to pick a 2 hour time slot, so we decided to start around 10 am! Arriving and parking was very easy, there was a booth with an individual checking your reservation to ensure you were in the right place at the right time, there is a huge parking lot with lots of space to park comfortably and social distance.

Upon starting the hike we decided we wanted to take the long way up to the lookout points, we began on the turkey shoot trail and it was very beautiful! It had many turns and twists that lead out to different view spots. It took us around 30 mins to meet the cross point on Old Farm Lane and head to the lookout points! From there, we continued on the Escarpment trials, which were definitely the highlight of the hike! There are three labelled lookout points, 2 that have railings and stone work and one lookout point that is a huge flat rock formation!

If we had entered from the main entrance the major lookout with the flat rock formation would be the first lookout point we saw, however from the Summit entrance it was the furthest lookout point! It was definitely worth the hike, just be sure to plan your time accordingly as you only have a 2 hour time slot! We were moving quite quickly and got out of the park right at the 2 hour mark! On our way back from the lookout points we took the quicker trails back to the parking lot, we took the Wizard’s Way Trail to Bell School line that connected to the parking lot!

Overall we all had a great day at the conservation area! All of us, me, my sister Abigail, our friends, Dylan, Diane, Vikash and Nandeeta agreed that it was one of our favourites hikes! We’d visit again and you should visit too!

Sincerely, Celine!