Hendrie Valley

Had to go out to Burlington a few weeks back and opted to walk home through an area that, for some unknown reason, I haven’t been through very much. A 50-hectare marsh lies in Hendrie Valley where the lower portion of Grindstone Creek drains an area of 90 square kilometres, most of it from above the Niagara Escarpment in Flamborough, into Lake Ontario. The area is a very productive, shallow wetland, and provides spawning, nursery and adult habitat for many native fish as well as food and shelter for a variety of birds, mammals, amphibians and insects. The slopes of the Valley are comprised of mixed deciduous forest. Its sheltered, southerly exposure provides a reasonably warm, dry microclimate, creating unique habitat that is home to several rare and uncommon plants and animals including many Carolinian species. The Hendrie Valley is managed by the Royal Botanical Gardens, and another portion of the trail, called the Hidden Valley is managed by the City of Burlington.

The first time I went it was an overcast day with snow on the ground. Partially hard and compacted and icy, but that had started to melt and was slushy. Made for a tiring walk.

Before I even got to the trail I walked past a minivan near Aldershot GO station with a geocaching sticker on it, and saw two people walking in a field. At the entrance to the Hendrie Valley I saw the same minivan, but never encountered anyone. As I left the actual Hendrie Valley and was crossing the Valley Inn Road bridge, I saw the same minivan again, but this time saw a couple obviously looking for something.

“You must be the geocachers.” I told them about encountering them in three spots. We chatted for a while and they asked me if I was into geocaching.

“I’ve been intrigued by it from the first time I heard about it years ago, but alas I don’t have a GPS yet. Too many interests, not enough money.”

The cache they were looking for was somewhere around the bridge, and I helped them look for it, but we all came to the conclusion that perhaps this was one that should be looked for when everything wasn’t covered in snow.

Grindstone Creek in the Hidden Valley.

The area covered in snow, overcast and with dusk an hour or so away...

...and the same area with all the snow gone, not a cloud in the sky and in the middle of the day.

Lots of chickadees flitting about.

Quite a few honkers about too.


I will be going here more often in future, and look forward to watching the area transform from drab brown to verdant green in the next few weeks.