About Ontario Bike Paths

I started this site because I kept running into the same problem: I wanted to find a good bike ride in Ontario and couldn't get a straight answer. The official tourism sites bury trail info under layers of marketing. The cycling forums are helpful but scattered, and half the posts are five years out of date. Review sites focus on ratings but skip the practical stuff, like whether the parking lot has room for more than four cars or whether "mixed surface" means packed gravel or loose sand.

So I started writing it down. After riding trails across the province for years, from the Georgian Trail to the Ottawa River Pathway, I had notes on most of them anyway. Trail surfaces, distances, where to park, what the road crossings are like, which sections are worth riding and which ones you can skip. This site is where those notes live now.

What This Site Covers

The focus is on recreational cycling in Ontario: paved bike paths, rail trails, gravel routes, and the quieter roads that connect them. I write about routes I've ridden or that I've researched enough to describe accurately. Each route page includes surface type, distance, parking info, and an honest assessment of who the trail is suited for.

I also put together regional guides and hub pages for different types of riding. If you're looking for something specific, the family-friendly rides and scenic rides pages are good starting points.

How I Approach It

I ride a gravel bike for most of these routes, which handles everything from paved multi-use paths to rough rail trail surfaces. I'm not a racer or a bike mechanic. I'm a regular cyclist who likes being outside, prefers trails to roads, and values a good coffee stop at the turnaround point.

The writing here is meant to be practical. I describe what you'll actually find on the ground, not what a tourism brochure says you'll find. If a trail has a rough section, I'll mention it. If the scenery is ordinary, I won't pretend otherwise. The goal is to help you pick a ride that matches what you're looking for, so you spend your time riding instead of wondering if you picked the wrong trail.