Niagara Escarpment Road

The escarpment edge west of Toronto: orchards below, hardwood above and the only real relief within an hour of the city.

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Why this ride

From Milton it runs 96 km to Ancaster; allow about 1 h 51 of riding. It goes by way of Rattlesnake Point and Mount Nemo. The line favours views over speed.

Roadbook

1. Milton start

   Milton is where the day begins.

2. Rattlesnake Point scenic

   Rattlesnake Point is a cliff, and it is worth being clear about that, because the name suggests something more menacing. It is one of the high points on the Niagara Escarpment in Milton, Ontario, a long ridge of dolomite that curves from the Niagara River all the way up to the tip of the Bruce Peninsula. At Rattlesnake Point the rock drops away in a wall, and from the lookouts you see the farms and woodlots of the plain below, with the towers of the Greater Toronto Area on the horizon.

   The escarpment is genuinely remarkable. In 1990 UNESCO named the whole length a biosphere reserve, partly because of what grows on the cliff faces: eastern white cedars, twisted and stunted by the rock, that are among the oldest trees in eastern North America, some of them more than a thousand years old. The ledges here are also where hawks and other raptors ride the autumn thermals on their way south, which makes September and October a fine time to be on top, and there is a long-standing tradition of rock climbing on the faces. The name comes from the massasauga rattlesnake, which lived in the area once and survives in only a few places in Ontario now.

   The riding around it is pleasant rather than wild. The roads off Guelph Line and Appleby Line wander across rolling farmland, with fruit stands, old stone farmhouses and the odd corner where the escarpment forces a bend or a short climb. It is a very popular area for riders from Toronto, which means that on a sunny weekend you share the road with plenty of others, and so do the police; Ontario takes speeding seriously, with heavy penalties for stunt driving, so keep to the limits and you will have a calmer day.

   The conservation park itself charges an entry fee and closes in the evening, so check before you go in. Milton, four kilometres away, is a big, fast-growing town with every kind of fuel station, cafe and chain restaurant you could want. Spring brings wildflowers in the woods, summer is busy, and the best colour comes in the second half of October.

3. Mount Nemo scenic

   Mount Nemo is a flat-topped outcrop on the Niagara Escarpment, just above Burlington, and it has the kind of view that makes you pull over without deciding to. The conservation area at the top has a lookout over the Nassagaweya plain, a patchwork of farms and woodlots running toward Milton, and on a clear day you can follow the edge of the escarpment into the haze and pick out Lake Ontario to the south-east. It is a good spot at sunrise, when the whole plain below is covered in mist and the rock is warm.

   Geologically the escarpment is a cuesta, a slope with a cliff on one side, formed when softer shale eroded away from under a cap of harder dolomite. The rock here was laid down in warm, shallow seas around four hundred and fifty million years ago, and you can still find fossils in loose blocks if you look. Glaciers shaped the surface later, and meltwater cut gorges and channels. The Bruce Trail, Canada's oldest and longest marked hiking path, runs across the top, and walkers are usually the only other people you will meet apart from the odd cyclist.

   The roads that climb the escarpment here, Guelph Line, Cedar Springs Road and the side lanes, are among the better ones in the region. They rise through woodland in a series of bends, cross the plateau between maples and old farms, and drop down toward the lake in a way that makes the escarpment feel like a real mountain range for a few minutes. Gravel appears on some of the side roads, and farm machinery is a hazard in summer and autumn, particularly during harvest. Burlington, five or six kilometres off, is a large, easy city for fuel and food, with a waterfront worth a stroll if you have time.

   Time the ride for an autumn weekday if you can. The maples colour up from late September, the roads are quieter, and the plateau is at its most photogenic. Spring is pleasant but wet, and winter closes some of the minor roads. The park charges for entry and has opening hours, so do not plan on sunset unless you have checked.

4. Dundas finish

   Dundas closes the day.

Where this sits

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