Length of stay: 1 day
Visited: August 2021
Trillium Woods Provincial Park is a nature reserve that is located just outside of Woodstock and is situated on a mostly flat ground moraine that was created by glaciers thousands of years ago. The nature reserve is near the northern boundary of the Carolinian forest region and supports a diverse representation of tree species. Besides offering a single hiking trail that loops through the mature forest, there are no other facilities or activities at Trillium Woods.
We took Monday off of work and planned to spend our long weekend in southwestern Ontario along Lake Erie. We had a bit of a delayed start to our long weekend as we wanted to sleep in and go to the farmer’s market Saturday morning. By the time we finished breakfast and packing up the car, it was shortly after 10:30a.m.
We planned to spend our first night in Wheatley Provincial Park and along the drive we first stopped at Trillium Woods to stretch our legs. Entrance into the park is located along a gravel road on Trillium Line. There is no official park sign, but there’s a small parking lot across from a local maple syrup shop that can accomodate a handful of cars.
After a hundred metres or so the path leads to an official looking sign with more information about Trillium Woods. There is a single short trail that loops through Trillium Woods that totals 1km in length round trip. The trail also provides barrier-free access and the terrain along the trail is relatively flat.
The park also serves as a wildflower sanctuary and is reputed to be especially scenic in the spring when the forest floor is covered in white trilliums. Unfortunately for us, we visited in August when the trilliums were long gone. But we weren’t complaining too much as we had the trail all to ourselves.
There are also a few signs along the way that identify the types of trees that can be found in the nature reserve.
It was a beautiful day outside, but we were happy to be under the canopy of leaves which provided much relief from the sun. We did hear a tree fall down during our hike, which was a bit unsettling though.
Overall it took us 15 minutes to complete the trail. We hopped back in the car and continued our drive towards Lake Erie.
L
My progress on the Ontario Parks Challenge can be found here
Looks like a pleasant hike. No mud, no bugs, no crowds. Just the two of you and the trees! Perfect.
You bet. We had our fair share of muddy trails on our last road trip, so it was nice to actually walk along the trail rather than trying to hop on rocks and roots or along the edge. It’s a rarity to have the trail to ourselves in the summer (or just in general now), so we’ll take those moments whenever we can. It just makes for a more peaceful experience and I don’t have to (im)patiently wait for people to get out of my pictures of the trail.
This looked like a nice detour and stop en route to a destination! You got a beautiful day for a hike on the trail too. 🙏 Too bad you missed the trilliums, that would’ve been a nice sight to see, but there is always next time! Ahh, I miss those nice August summer days.
It’s always nice to break up the drive and stretch our legs, especially when the weather is fabulous. Trillium Woods is a pleasant area and I imagine the trail is beautiful when it’s lined with trilliums. It’s too bad we came late in the summer, but hey, we had the trail all to ourselves so we can’t complain too much. Spring will be here before we know it!
That’s true. And less bugs too! Yes, Spring will be here before we know and can’t wait. I noted that today is 1 exact month till Winters Solstice when our days start getting longer again! 🙏
November is always a tough month to get through. Looking forward to all the Christmas celebrations in December and the Winter Solstice. It’ll be nice to have more daylight.
Crazy mushrooms. They look like a stack of pancakes. That is a lovely forest walk for sure. Thanks for sharing. Have a great Sunday. Allan
Agreed! That’s exactly what they look like!
I find mushrooms so fascinating and I love how they come in such different shapes, sizes, patterns, textures and colours. When we visited Northern Ontario in the fall we saw such a huge variety of mushrooms on the trail. It was great. Thanks for reading. Hope you had a good weekend. Linda
I do like when park authorities make an effort to identify the trees for you as my own abilities are not up to scratch. Sounds like you had a nice and pleasant walk through the forest. Enjoy your Sunday!
Same, it’s nice to combine some education with our exercise. I find the parks in southwestern Ontario do a better job of trying to identify the different types of trees that are found within the area. Maybe that’s because they’re part of the Carolinian zone so many of those trees aren’t commonly found in the province. Hope you enjoyed the rest of your weekend as well.
Even with no trilliums in sight, this looks like a pretty walk. Glad you missed the falling tree!
While the trilliums would have been nice to see, I’ll take hiking without the crowds any day of the week. It was a nice and short trail and it was a great way to break up the drive and enjoy the wonderful weather. And yes, glad we missed the falling tree!
This was a very quick hike! It’s the kind of trail I could walk too, very pretty. ❤️🇨🇦
For sure. You could probably bike this trail too given that the path is relatively flat and there aren’t many rocks or roots along the way.
My E-Bike would handle it, just got it a week ago and love riding again!
I can tell from all your posts about it! It’s always great to be outdoors and get some fresh air whether your walking or biking 🙂
Too bad you missed the trilliums!
I know! I bet the trail looks so pretty when it’s lined with trilliums in the spring. Oh well, I can’t complain too much as we had the traill all to ourselves, which is quite unusual these days, and we had fabulous weather.
Well that’s lovely though!
These areas are terrific. Beautifully set aside and providing a short walk through protected forest and plants is wonderful. Lovely.
It is pretty great that there are a few of these nature reserves in Ontario where their purpose is geared more towards conservation. This was a lovely little area to take a short stroll and just enjoy nature.
That was a quick one to check off the list.😊 I bet the trillium in spring would be beautiful.
It was a nice little detour that was along the drive and gave us an opportunity to stretch our legs and get some fresh air. I guess we’ll just need to return in the spring to see whether the name of the nature reserve lives up to its name!
Gosh it must have been quite unsettling to hear the tree come down so close to where you were, but glad you were safe and sound! Looks to be an attractive short trail.
Someone I work had a tree fall down on their tent while camping a few years ago during a storm. Thankfully they weren’t inside it as it was in the middle of the day and no one was hurt. Ever since then I’ve been a bit apprehensive of falling trees. We could hear the tree fall, but thankfully it wasn’t in our immediate vicinity.
Fun Hiking and discoveries. Love every moment of it. Thanks 🙏
It’s always fun to explore a new provincial park. This is a relatively small nature reserve that offers only a single hiking trail and no other activities or facilities. But it’s a lovely area and it was nice to take a short stroll through the forest.
Hi, Linda 🙂 Looks like you had a beautiful and sunny day for your visit. In Ireland, we mostly have the flowers of old-fashioned fairytales such as bluebells and wood anemones that carpet the ground underneath spreading branches, but I am not too sure if there are woodlands where wild trilliums are found! Thanks for sharing, and have a nice day 🙂 Aiva xx
It’s too bad we visited later in the summer when the trilliums were long gone. They tend to cover the forest floor and line the path in the spring, which looks quite magical. I like the sound of the woodlands in Ireland. I am looking forward to travelling again and Ireland is near the top of my list! Enjoy the rest of your week. Linda
☺️☺️☺️
The mushrooms(?) growing on a tree in the opening picture look like deep sea creatures. Nice, uneventful hike.
Someone else mentioned that they look like a stack of pancakes. Either way the mushrooms looked fascinating. It was a nice short stroll and a good start to our long weekend.
Looks very pretty. Hearing a tree fall during a hike is so scary. Thankfully you only heard it! Love your first photo with the tree fungi. I just watched Fantastic Fungi on Netflix and am now even more excited about everything mushroom.
Hearing a tree fall down was a bit unsettling. A few years ago someone I work with was camping with his family and a tree fell on their tent during a storm. Thankfully they took shelter in their car instead of their tent and no one was hurt. They tent was destroyed though and they spent the rest of their trip in a nearby motel.
I’ll have to watch Fantastic Fungi now. I find mushrooms so interesting and mesmerizing.
That’s a terrifying story. How lucky that they were in their car. Hope you enjoy Fantastic Fungi.
No kidding. I finished watching Fantastic Fungi the other day and very much enjoyed it. Mushrooms are so cool.
I love trilliums…I think it would be lovely to see a whole group at one time. Around this neck of the woods, you mostly search out individual ones.
Julie
Agreed, I bet this area is even more beautiful in the spring when the trilliums are in bloom. I guess this means we’ll just need to return someday to see whether the park lives up to its name and reputation!
The maple syrup shop!!! Sweet. Do you know there’s a maple syrup reserve (yeah, like oil reserve)?! Extra syrup was put on the market from the reserve to respond to the shortfall. Who would have thought eh?!?!
I had no idea that there was such a thing as a maple syrup reserve! Someone I work makes his own maple syrup every spring. It sounds like a lot of work, but maple syrup is delicious.
Yup. When I heard it on the news I literally rolled my eyes 👀
Ha, it sounds very Canadian though, eh?
It sure does!! “Eh” and all 😊
I love trillium. I have it as a house plant. Very nice hike.
Trilliums are beautiful in the spring when they are in bloom. I didn’t know that you could keep them as a houseplant. I’m going to look into that. Thanks for reading and leaving a comment.
I’ve had my plant for several years now. I can’t get it to bloom, but I do like the plant itself. 🙂
The trillium is actually our province’s official flower. I used to have a poinsettia that I kept for a few years, but I could never get it to bloom. It eventually died because I left it in my office while I went away on holiday for a few weeks. Maybe I’ll have better luck with a trillium.
A very large tree has come down making it very difficult to get around it on the path.
It would be very helpful if a chainsaw could arrive and deal with this.
I walk the trail several times a week and this is quite an obstacle to crawl over.
Navigating over, under or around fallen trees on the trail can be challenging (and frustrating). That’s always the downside to hiking in the off-season is that there’s no maintenance on the trails. I would suggest reaching out to Ontario Parks to see if they can deal with the fallen tree.