Fall is hiking season finally here. I love getting up early and heading out on a cool, crisp morning, enjoying a hike, and stripping off layers as you warm up along the way. I also love having a nap in the afternoon when I get back home. My father in law sent me a list of hikes to check out in the greater Hamilton area, so this weekend we decided to try the Chedoke Radial Trail in Hamilton to see some fall colours.
This hike is a mix of urban and trail paths and starts out beside a golf course. As the leaves have just started to turn we had a contest for the prettiest tree of the hike. This pretty orange tree won! We also decided to see how many types of wild flowers we could spot (8), dogs we'd see on our journey (15), and said we'd award a quarter for each fallen leaf that could be caught mid-air as it was released from a tree onto the ground. There is no charge for parking, but arrive early. By the time we were leaving late morning people were circling the lot like sharks anxious to get our spot.
The trail is said to be just over 5KM each way as an out and back trail, but it isn't easy to navigate when you come out into certain streets. We did some side trails and ended up in the middle of a soccer field at some point, but still enjoyed our meander which took us about an hour and a half. I really wish this trail was better marked because I was hoping to explore all of it.
While the majority of the trail is easy and flat, the Dundurn Stairs (giving you a beautiful view of Dundurn Castle are not). Much to our surprise our dog Ted was happy to climb the metal stairs with us, all 326 of them. There were some fitness buffs who had come exclusively for stair running.
You can see Dundurn castle and quite a few green trees from the top of these stairs. I'm not going to lie, this was a tough climb.
I just love this picture of Molly patiently waiting for a leaf to fall so she can earn 25 cents. She managed to catch her first falling leaf of the season midair today and was rather pleased with herself. This was a fun hike overall, with the stairs as a definite highlight and a nice way to stretch our hiking legs and see the start of autumn colours. We enjoyed this hike, but I wouldn't put it on my list to do again unless I was in the area anyway, particularly because it was so poorly marked.
Have any hike suggestions in Ontario? Please send them my way!
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