Enjoying the Beautiful Hiking Trails at Terra Cotta Conservation Area

Terra Cotta Conservation Area, one of the parks that are part of Credit Valley Conservation west of Toronto in the GTA, can be visited year-round for outdoor fun and a healthy dose of nature.

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About Terra Cotta Conservation Area

Terra Cotta Conservation Area, situated on the Niagara Escarpment, was designated as a conservation area in the mid-1950s and the first to be owned by Credit Valley Conservation. The park was a popular recreational area until 1995 when the focus was changed to protection of this ecological gem.

Today visitors can enjoy this 485-acre park in the Niagara Escarpment year-round to get outdoors and explore a variety of picturesque trails that wander through mature forests and past streams and ponds as well as the wetland area. In the winter there are groomed trails for cross-country skiing or snowshoeing and skating on a frozen pond. My husband and I recently visited for the first time and had a great afternoon walking, soaking up the fall sunshine and enjoying the beautiful fall leaves.

The park is known for its wildlife including birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals. If you’re lucky then you might spot a white-tailed deer on your walk but we mostly saw birds and squirrels on our visit.

The park is also a popular picnic spot with picnic shelters and open sites that can be booked online in advance.

Fall Colours at Terra Cotta Conservation Area – Fall is an excellent time to visit Terra Cotta Conservation Area if you want to view fall foliage. You can check the progress of colours online before planning a visit as the park’s website shows an approximate percentage of leaf change, how close the leaves are to peak and a percentage of leaf fall.

Popular events held in the park include:

• Ignite the Night – Saturday nights in winter when the park is lit up with unique displays.
• Maple Syrup in the Park – maple themed experiences in March and April.

Read 10 of the Best Maple Syrup Festivals in the GTA

How To Get To Terra Cotta Conservation Area

Located 20 minutes north of Mississauga, the entrance to Terra Cotta Conservation Park is at 14452 Winston Churchill Boulevard in Halton Hills (north of Highway 401 and west of Highway 10). Parking is available.

Park hours may vary by time of year. Currently (late October) the park is open 7 days a week after sunrise to before sunset.

Planning a Visit to Terra Cotta Conservation Area

Visitors to Terra Cotta Conservation Area must purchase general admission tickets online seven days a week using the CVC online reservation system or by phone. Reservations are not available. You will need to create a Credit Valley Parks account to purchase a ticket. A ticket purchased online can be used for any one date in 2024 and will be scanned upon entry to the park.

Current Entry Fees (HST included): Adult (15-64) $7.75; Youth (6-14) $3.50; Senior (65+) $6.25; Child (0-5) Free. CVC Parks Pass holders have free admission.

The Terra Cotta Conservation Area website includes Park Advisories which provide up-to-date information prior to park visits. Park Advisories cover status of the park, park hours, availability of facilities, trail status, activities available, fall colours and Tales on the Trail exhibit information.

Dogs are welcome at Terra Cotta but must be kept on-leash at all times. Some sections of trails might not be suitable for pets, however, so be sure to check the trail descriptions before heading out.

There is a Park Store at Terra Cotta Conservation Area which is open seasonally. There are also indoor washrooms available next to the Park Store but hours are reduced outside of busy season. Washrooms are currently (late October) open 8:30 am – 3:00 pm Monday – Friday. There is also a port-a-let available in the parking lot during the park’s opening hours.

Tips for Hiking at Terra Cotta

• When hiking at Terra Cotta Conservation Area or anywhere else, arrive suitably prepared for spending time outdoors.
• Be sure to wear appropriate footwear as the trails may have obstacles such as rocks and tree roots and will be affected by recent and current weather conditions.
• Bring water with you. If you’re hiking with kids then you will definitely want to bring along snacks as well even for a short hike.
• Stay on the designated trails at all times and do not cut new trails for your own safety and to prevent soil erosion.
• Exercise caution on the trails (and supervise young children). Trails and boardwalks can be quite slippery when wet particularly when covered with fallen leaves.
• The park is generally much quieter on weekdays than on weekends.
• Observe wildlife from a distance. Do not follow or approach wild animals and never feed wildlife.

Hiking Trails at Terra Cotta Conservation Area

There are eight hiking trails of varying distances and difficulties at Terra Cotta. On our recent visit we hiked Terra Cotta Lane, the Wetland Trail and Forest Meadow Lane and spent about an hour and 20 minutes walking with numerous stops to take photos. Forest Meadow Lane is easy to add to a Terra Cotta Lane walk as it’s a short out and back partway along the trail. We added the Wetland Trail on at the end of our walk as it is a short loop trail near the Park Store/ Washrooms and parking lot.

Terra Cotta Lane

Terra Cotta Lane is a 2km loop trail that begins and ends near the parking areas following an old campground road around Wolf Lake and passing through the sugar bush. The trail is rated easy with an estimated hiking time of 30 minutes. The trail is fairly flat and is considered stroller friendly.

It was a beautiful sunny fall afternoon for our visit and we had an enjoyable walk through the park. It was particularly lovely along the lake with the reflection of the trees in the water. The leaves were a bit past their peak for our visit as it was late October and the ground was covered with them but it was still quite beautiful.

Near the end of this trail approaching the Park Store, there is an interesting set-up of a Madoodiswan (Sweat Lodge) and a colourful painted canoe. There’s an interpretive panel that provides some information on the Sweat Lodge which is one of the oldest indigenous ceremonies on Turtle Island (North America).

Forest Meadow Lane

Forest Meadow Lane is a .8km trail that connects Terra Cotta Lane to the Forest Meadow pavilion. It is also rated easy and considered stroller friendly with an estimated hiking time of 15 minutes. This is a lovely trail through the woods with a lot of fall leaves on display that we opted to take to extend the length of our walk a bit.

The Wetland Trail

The Wetland Trail is a .4km trail through a restored wetland that is home to diverse plants and animals. Part of the trail is crushed stone and soil and there are boardwalk sections through the wetland as well. This trail is rated easy and considered stroller friendly with an estimated hiking time of 10 minutes but it will likely take you longer than that because you will want to stop to observe the wetlands for any birds or wildlife and to read the Tales on the Trail panels.

Terra Cotta Conservation Area has partnered with local libraries to create an interactive experience that promotes both literacy and recreation using Tales on the Trail storybook panels installed along the Wetland Trail. The current exhibit on display is ‘With Our Orange Hearts‘ by Webstad and Emily Kewageshig which is a book about the origins of Orange Shirt Day.

Additional Trails

The other trails at Terra Cotta Conservation Area are:

• McGregor Spring Trail – a 1km trail through mixed deciduous forest. Rated difficult with an estimated hiking time of 15 minutes.
• Vaughan Trail – a 1.6km trail that starts at McGregor Spring Trail, connects in places with the Terra Cotta Lane Trail and ends at the Graydon Trail. Rated moderate with an estimated hiking time of 25 minutes.
• A.F. Coventry Trail – a 1.5km trail that starts near the Outdoor Education Centre and meanders through the forest – includes stairs. Rated strenuous with an estimated hiking time of 25 minutes.
• Escarpment Trail – a .4km trail that is part of the main Bruce Trail route and includes a steep climb through a sugar maple forest and views from the top of the Niagara Escarpment. Hiking experience is recommended. Rated moderate with an estimated hiking time of 10 minutes.
• Graydon Trail – a 2.6km trail that follows the main Bruce Trail and is rugged and isolated in parts. Rated moderate with an estimated hiking time of 40 minutes.
• Forest Meadow Loop (Winter Trail) – a .9km seasonal groomed trail for skiers, snowshoers and hikers. Rated moderate with an estimated hiking time of 15 minutes.

Credit Valley Conservation Parks

Credit Valley Conservation is a community-based environmental organization that is dedicated to protecting, restoring and managing the natural resources of the Credit River Watershed. Established by the provincial government in 1954, CVC is one of 36 Conservation Authorities in Ontario.

CVC Parks include: Belfountain Conservation Area; Elora Cataract Trailway; Island Lake Conservation Area; Ken Whillans Conservation Area; Limehouse Conservation Area; Rattray Marsh Conservation Area; Silver Creek Conservation Area; Terra Cotta Conservation Area; and Upper Credit Conservation Area.

Admission fees apply at some CVC parks (Terra Cotta, Belfountain, Ken Whillans and Island Lake). Admission is free to Credit Valley Parks passholders and Conservation Park members. Rental fees apply for the use of some facilities.

A Credit Valley Parks Pass provides unlimited access to CVC parks as well as Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) parks thanks to a partnership between the two.

A one year Individual Membership is currently $78, Family (up to 6 people in one registered vehicle) is $144, Seniors (65+) and Individuals with Disability are $62. Membership also includes free parking, discounted admission to special events and discounted equipment rental.