This is not a "blog" in the sense of a daily journal but a place for me to post GPS trail maps of mountain biking and hiking trails, particularly but not exclusively, in the western Greenbelt in Ottawa, Ontario.

Hybrid & E-Bikeable Routes and National Capital Region Cycling Routes and Resources are also included on this site,

Date codes do not reflect actual posting dates but are manipulated to allow me to order the posts in a thematic order.

20001130

Trail 27 Trail System

These trails used to be designated as Trails 27 & 28 but the NCC has renumbered some trail systems and combined Trails 27 and 28 as Trail 27, and used Trail 28 as the designation for the trails near the Wild Bird Care Centre.

These are the trails that I got an MTB Kanata group ride lost on, Luckily we ran into Duncan who knew the trails and managed to lead us back to the other group. I wonder where Duncan, The Spaceman, and The Dish are now.

 (Map Updated May 2016 to Include NCC Intersection Waypoints)


These trails are accessible from across from parking lot P11 on West Hunt Club Road and from parking lot P13 beside Bell High School on Bruin Lane, which is off Cassidy Road and Cedarview Road. They are also accessible from a trail beside D. Aubrey Moodie School that has no parking but is not far from the back end of the Old Quarry Trails adjacent to Bells Corners. I am usually riding these trails after doing Jack Pine and accessing them from across from P11.

This trail system also includes more unofficial trails than official ones and includes quite a few interconnecting loops. Most of these trails, particularly the official ones, are easy and non-technical.

However you will notice some narrow interior trails that are more difficult to navigate because they are narrow and twisty. As well, the trail that goes south along West Hunt Club Road includes some rocky and rooty sections, as well as a section that can get very muddy during the spring and after extensive rainfalls. Some of the unofficial trails closer to Bell High School are also somewhat more difficult.


It was not till I walked the trails taking photos that I realized just how much there is in there, particularly the twisty inside trails. There really are two trail systems, an outside easy system and an inside intermediate level system. There certainly are enough trails for anyone to tool around on for quite a few hours doing different loops in different directions. These are also shared trails but not nearly as heavily used by pedestrians as Jack Pine, except when you get close to Bell High School.

GPS gpx Files

The gpx file for this trail system (and other trail systems) can be downloaded by clicking the link below:

GPX files - Google Docs

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.

Slideshow of a Typical Trail 27 Ride

 
Viewing Slide Show Full Screen Recommended

Posted 2009-06-22
Updated 2018-06-04


20001125

Bruce Pit Trails

This is one of the most extensive trails systems I have ever mapped. Even though there is very little on the official NCC map (below), other than the official Trail 29, there is an extensive system of unofficial undocumented trails.

There is a wide variety of types of trails in this system from paved and gravel paths to wider dirt trails and very narrow twisty singletrack with rooty sections and lots of fallen logs. The trail system includes some interesting sections following creek beds.

I started mapping these trails in 2010 extensively tracking and marking waypoints to follow all the intersections. When I started mapping the Dog Walking Area it got so complex that I left it for a year and went on to mapping other trail systems

When I returned to the project this year I decided to not include the Dog Walking Area, as my maps are mainly intended for mountain bikers and although bikes and dogs can co-exist we usually avoid the Dog Walking area while riding. This made finishing up the project easier.

I hope to add photos of these trails at a later date.

GPS gpx Files

The gpx file for this trail system (and other trail systems) can be downloaded by clicking the link below:

GPX files - Google Docs

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.

Posted 2012-10-13

20001120

Hazeldean Woods Trails

The Hazeldean Woods Trails is a small but fun trail system in the Hazeldean Community in Kanata, roughly bounded by Hazeldean Road and Castlefrank Road in the southwest and Kakulu Road and Shearer Crescent in the northeast.



The trails are located within two City of Ottawa parks, the Hazeldean Woods Park and the Glen Cairn Reservoir (Forest) adjacent to an underground water reservoir. The trail system is within close riding distance from the Old Quarry Trail System across from the Hazeldean Mall. The total parkland is about 19 hectares (47 acres) with about 5 kilometres of distinct trails.

Although there is not a lot of distance to the trail network it seems longer than it is because of the different loops you can do riding around in it and because of the variety of terrain from easy double track to some really interesting rock gardens and a few challenging climbs (at least for me). This is a local trail system but on both a late Sunday morning and early after supper evening we had no conflicts with other trail users only meeting a few friendly dog walkers and local youngsters on their bikes.



GPS gpx Files

The gpx file for this trail system (and other trail systems) can be downloaded by clicking the link below:

GPX files - Google Docs

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.

Posted 2012-06-12

20001115

Trails 20, 21 & Untrails Trail System

Dedicated to the memory of Andy (FaustCan) who introduced me to The Untrails


These trails are accessible from Parking Lot P4 on Haanel Drive, although I usually ride to them on the Trans-Canada Trail (TCT). I would describe these trails as being at the low end of intermediate level trails, except for portions of the The Untrails that are more technical. The terrain is varied including a climb from the TCT up to P4. Trail 21 includes board walks over wet areas and forested areas, as well as sections over grassy areas.


Trail 21 used to be divided into Trails 21 (west of Haanel Drive) and Trail 22 (east of Haanel Drive) but they were combined into one trail a few years ago when the NCC consolidated trail numbers and transferred some to trails without numbers. Trail 22 does not seem to have been used anywhere else.

Trail 20 is very wet and not rideable for most of the riding season. It normally does not dry out until late July or August and then does not recover well from rainfalls during the fall. I usually avoid it.

A loop of Trails 20 and 21 is one of our favourite winter cross-country skiing routes, starting at P4 and going down the south side of 21, taking the Trans-Canada Trail (TCT) to Trail 20 and along it, then looping back along the TCT to the north side of Trail 21, and then adding in a loop of the upper portion of Trail 21.

The Untrails

The Untrails are a group of unofficial trails west of Trail 20 and north of Trail 21. A wide section of trail connects Trail 20 to Trail 21 after which you can go straight across and connect to the Old Quarry Trail system across Robertson Road.

However the most interesting part of The Untrails are the single track trails west and north of the wide trail section. These trails were referred to as The Untrails because originally they were very rough and, to me at the time at least, not particularly fun to ride. The trails have now become worn in and were actually quite enjoyable to ride when I rode them to track and add to the trail system map. The portion closer to 28C at the southern end is more technical.

An interesting feature along the wide portion of The Untrails are the ruins of an old homestead (see map), While this does not seem to be preserved in any official way please be respectful of it and other such ruins that are located along the trails in the Greenbelt.

Untrails Updated Summer 2020

I have been aware of trails in the northwest corner of Haanel and Timm Drive for quite awhile but have not been able to find them till I saw them recently on another map. This 2020 update includes those trails. There are some very technical sections on these trails, including one along a cliff. Unfortunately I neglected to take photos for the slide show of this technical section as I was distracted by concentrating on the trail.

Also note that the last portion of this section that leads to the parking lot at Timm Drive “peters out” near the end and you lose the visible trail as Timm drive comes into view and you have to ride “cross-country” across the field to get to the parking lot. 

Postscript 2023

Over the last few years while hiking the Untrails I have noticed quite a few new offshoots from the trails that I never had the chance to check out or map. Now that I have retired from mountain biking I will no longer be updating the trail system maps (but I do plan to continue adding E-Bikeable routes to this site). However I have noticed that Open Street Map based maps, despite their name, have excellent trail coverage. While I cannot personally verify the accuracy of their Untrails maps their coverage of the Old Quarry Trail System, which I am most familiar with, is excellent. Therefore I am including my latest (2020) map of the Untrails with the current (2023) OSM Topo (4UMaps) map as the background.

 


I will be soon adding a separate section to this site on Open Street Map and GPS Visualizer.

 
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.

Slide Show of Trails 20, 21 and Untrails Trail System


 Posted 2016-08-27
Updated 2023-10-06

20001110

Trails 11 & 12 Trail System

Trail 11 is the only Greenbelt trail that I cannot ride all of, due to a rocky uphill section known as the “creek bed”. This puts this trail system in competition with the Lime Kiln Trail for the most difficult and technical Greenbelt trail.


This trail system is accessible from NCC parking lot P3 on Corkstown Road. It is also accessible via a very short ride on the road from the adjacent Trans-Canada Trail, as well as from the municipal camp ground on Corkstown Road.

This system starts with Trail 11 which involves a lot of climbing, with quite a few up hills and down hills, including the infamous very rocky and technically difficult ”creek bed” section.

Trail 11 Altitude Profile


At the top Trail 11 joins Trail 12 which is a simple loop on the official map. However there are a large number of interconnecting and criss-crossing unofficial trails as well, including a few that go down the hill and reconnect with Trail 11. The trails at the top are probably best described as intermediate level as far as technical difficulty is concerned.


This trail system is unique in the Greenbelt for its climbs and is an enjoyable challenge to ride.

GPS gpx Files

The gpx file for this trail system (and other trail systems) can be downloaded by clicking the link below:

GPX files - Google Docs

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 From Trails 11 and 12 Trail System




























Posted 2009-08-29
Updated 2011-10-04

20001107

Trail 10 Trail System


This is the last trail system in the western Greenbelt that was left for me to map and surprisingly I was able to do it in one session with one track. Thanks to the high-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver there is not much variance in the overlap where I rode some sections several times as I connected up all the trail sections.

I knew there were some trails in this system not on the official NCC Map but it wasn't until I went looking for all of them to map that I realized how many there were in the eastern portion of the system. However many of these are very narrow through tall grass or with bushes tight to the trail, quite interesting to ride.

This trail system is not very technical but fun to ride anyway with some side trails providing great views of the Ottawa River.


GPS gpx Files
 
The gpx file for this trail system (and other trail systems) can be downloaded by clicking the link below:
GPX files - Google Docs
 
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
 
These are a few photos taken with my GPS the day I tracked (mapped) these trails.


Posted 2013-07-29

20001105

Carling Place (Former Nortel Networks Campus) Hybrid Rideable Paths and Trails

This is somewhat different than most trail maps posted so far, in that these paths and trails are all easily rideable on a hybrid and were mapped while riding my hybrid.


This pathway trail system is 12 km in total distance (one way, all sections). These paths and trails are across Carling Avenue from Trail 10 (NCC Parking Lot P2) and the pathway to Shirley's Bay. They are between the Watts Creek Pathway and Carling Place, the former Nortel Networks Campus which will be taken over by the Department of National Defence (DND). I usually ride through sections of it on my rides from Bridlewood to Britannia.

Please note that some of these trails have been closed off, but are now easily accessible and no attempt seems to have been made to re-close them. They are noted on the map as "unauthorized trails" and I believe they are on public lands (NCC and/or City of Ottawa).

GPS gpx Files

The gpx file for this trail system (and other trail systems) can be downloaded by clicking the link below:

GPX files - Google Docs

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.

Posted 2011-11-18

20001010

Stittsville Trail System

These are the trails that were hiding right in front of my eyes as I biked past them on my hybrid always wondering where they led to. Finally I decided to check them out and this is the result.


Stittsville is a suburb, that used to be a village, on the southwest edge of Ottawa's urban boundary. These trails lead off of a pathway/trail that goes from the Trans-Canada Trail to Hazeldean Road and runs behind the houses along the urban boundary.

This is not an official trail system and no official parking lot exists. I parked along the road at the end of Thresher Avenue, but there are parking lots serving businesses along Hazeldean Road, including the shopping centre at Jackson Trails, that are close enough to ride from.

The southern section of trails includes sections that go over open grasslands and are not that interesting but, as anyone who has rode on grass will know, can be hard pedaling. The most interesting trails go into the forest where some sections are marked with coloured ribbons. However, most of the trails do not have any ribbons or markings.

At the northern end of the trail system are a couple of trails that go into areas where there are wooden structures and large 4X8 wood sheets. These look like they may be set up for paint ballers to hide behind except that there are no signs of spilled paint, so maybe they are just play forts.

In the middle section is a long trail heading towards Hazeldean Road which deteriorates until it is no longer a trail but just deer tracks in the middle of dense bush.

There are some really interesting features within this system, including a trail that runs along a creek, and a real interesting causeway/bridge over the creek with another alternative narrower more technical/difficult bridge a few feet further along.

There are quite a few sections where trees are lying across the trails and tree branches are growing into the trails. There are also some wet/muddy sections that could do with some trail work.


This land is outside the urban boundary of Ottawa and from what I can tell from the Ottawa Zoning Map is partly zoned RU (Rural Countryside) and partly EP3 (Environmental Protection). I do not know who owns the land but there is certainly potential for a really fun greenbelt-like trail system here with a little/lot of work.

GPS gpx Files

The gpx file for this trail system (and other trail systems) can be downloaded by clicking the link below:

GPX files - Google Docs

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 From Stittsville Trail System


























Posted 2009-06-05
Updated 2011-10-04

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Richard W. Woodley was born in Sudbury, Ontario in 1950. He earned an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Laurentian University where he was the News Editor of the student newspaper Lambda and active in student politics. He was active in the New Democratic Party and Waffle in Sudbury and Kanata, as well as Kanata municipal politics. He was a member of the Bridlewood Residents Hydro Line Committee (BRHLC) and creator of the now archived Bridlewood Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs) Information Service. He worked on Parliament Hill for 33 years indexing the Debates of the House of Commons (Hansard) and it's committees. Richard has been an outdoorsperson and environmentalist for most of his life and a life long cyclist who also mountain bikes.