Forks of the Credit Provincial Park
Many years ago, when I just started getting into hiking and exploring, I paid a visit to Forks of the Credit Provincial Park with some friends for a leisurely fall day out and about. The park was great and had a lot of interesting features. There were old ruins, waterfalls, rivers, lakes, hills and cliffs, everything you want when you’re out enjoying nature. One of the things I remember most about that day was the sheer amount of people parked at the side of Forks of the Credit Road enjoying the fall colours along the river. It was packed! It was quite the contrast to my visit last weekend as I drove through two blizzards to enjoy a cold, brisk hike through the park. But, the thing is, it was still great!
Forks of the Credit Provincial Park is located about 20 minutes northwest of Brampton, just off highway 10. It’s really convenient that such a nice park is so close to the GTA. The first thing you’ll notice when you visit the park is the parking lot is really rough! There are quite a few large potholes on the dirt road in and they require a bit of manoeuvring. Once you’re finally past the potholes the parking lot requires a payment but the meter only accepts coins. The meter was broken for our visit but it seems to be about $11 for the day. The parking area also has a number of washrooms but you’ll want to have your hand sanitizer with you as there didn’t appear to be anyplace to wash your hands.
The trails all head out into the park from the parking lot in the same direction, but you’ll quickly reach a fork in the path. Following the Trans Canada Trail (green) along the south edge of the lake you’ll have the option to connect with the Bruce Trail near the middle of the park and follow the Credit River. If you take the Meadow Trail (red) you’ll swing up along the northern edge of the lake and head towards the waterfalls. The choice is yours, as both trails are about the same difficulty, but even if you change your mind the trails connect and overlap at multiple points throughout the park. It’s really easy to get yourself around.
I really enjoyed the trails along the Credit River, I found them to be the most interesting. The water level was very high and waterfalls were roaring. Overall the terrain in the park is really simple, hardly any rocks or roots, but there are many deceptive hills that will get your blood pumping. The southern area of the park is a lot steeper than the northern part, which might make going counter-clockwise around the trails a bit easier. Either way I think the hike is great!
After this last visit I feel like I really reconnected with Forks of the Credit Provincial Park and will not be waiting so long to return. It’s the ideal location to get in a great hike after work and there’s an image of the lake I have in my head that I really hope to capture. If you’re looking for a surefooted hike that has it all, I highly recommend Forks of the Credit Provincial Park.
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