The
Monaghan Forest Trails are almost in my back yard yet I was unaware
of them for years. This is likely because they are not on any of the
National Capital Commission (NCC) maps nor on the list of City of
Ottawa conservation areas, although an after the fact search
discovered mentions on several bird watching sites. I have a fellow
mountain biker to thank for suggesting I check them out.
The
Monaghan Forest Trails cover a variety of terrain from bush to grassy
areas and includes forest roads, double track trails and even some
technical single track.
The
trails are located in a corner between Old Richmond Road, Fallowfield
Road and Moodie Drive, north of Steeple Hill Crescent and south of a
working quarry. You can access the trails from a parking lot on
Fallowfield Road across from the Valleyview Little Animal Farm. There
is also a parking lot on Alti Place, off of Moodie Drive.
Interestingly
I did notice a few trees with what looked like NCC trail markers on
them that the trees had grown over. They were also higher up the tree
than normal suggesting they moved up with the trees growth. So if
they were once NCC trails that was quite a few years ago.
Rideau Trail
The
Rideau Trail runs through this area and interestingly the other maps
I looked at do not agree on exactly where it goes. Even the official
Rideau Trail map does not match where the trail goes according to the
signage. The map on this website reflects the signage, the orange
triangles used along the rest of the Rideau Trail.
Warning
At
the end of Kyhmer Court where the Rideau Trail enters the Monaghan
Forest Trails there is a trail going northeast in a loop with a spur
off of it. That spur ends at a gravel road that goes around a working
quarry. For some reason there is no fence at that point but the road
clearly is on private property and should be avoided. I understand
the road around the quarry goes dangerously close to the edge of the
pit cliffs in places.
GPS gpx Files
The gpx file for this
trail system (and other trail systems) can be downloaded by clicking
the link below:
If you do download the
gpx file please email me at richardw.woodley@gmail.com and let me
know so that I have an idea of how many people are downloading and
using the files.
Photos
I hope to add photos or slide shows to each of the specific trail
sections above in the future.
Posted 2016-09-03
