Ferris Provincial Park

Ferris Provincial Park is located next to the Trent River in Campbellford and offers just over 10km of trails through the forest, open meadows, and along the river, which provide nice vistas of the Trent River Valley. Ferris is typically open from mid-May to mid-October. While the main entrance into the park is closed during the off-season, there is a small secondary parking lot at the Ranney Falls Generating Station that is open all year round and is plowed in the winter.

We’ve been to Ferris twice:

Hiking Trails

Ferris offers three hiking trails, all of which originate from the main parking lot.

(1) Drumlin Trail System consists of three interconnecting looped trails: Blue (1.2km), White (2.5km) and Red (2.5km). Drumlins are small teardrop-shaped hills that were formed by glaciers that covered this area thousands of years ago. Ferris features three drumlins, with two along the Drumlin Trail System. 

(2) Ranney Falls Trail (1km, rated easy), which follows the original roadway to Ferris Provincial Park before looping back along the river. There’s also a scenic lookout that provides a nice view of the Ranney Gorge Suspension Bridge and Ranney Falls.

(3) River Gorge Trail (3.5km, rated easy) – the trail is marked with yellow markers on trees and forms a loop through the forest. It’s main highlight is the the Ranney Gorge Suspension Bridge, which provides sweeping views over the Trent River.

Other Activities and Attractions

There is a Giant Toonie at the the Old Mill Park in Campbellford, which is located a few minutes from Ferris. The monument was built in 2001 in recognition of the effort of a local artist, Brent Townsend, who created the polar bear that is now featured on the $2 coin. 

Camping

We only stayed at Ferris for a few hours the two times we visited, however, the park offers car camping on over 150 sites in two campgrounds: Valleyview and Bedrock. The Valleyview Campground is set atop a forested drumlin, with some campsites providing a view across the Trent River Valley. The Bedrock Campground has some electrical campsites.