Ganaraska Conservation Area (Ganaraska Millennium Conservation Area)

The Ganaraska River runs from the Oak Ridges Moraine south to Lake Ontario at Port Hope, and along its course the Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority looks after a string of small conservation areas that give walkers, anglers and families a taste of the landscape without a long trip. The Ganaraska Conservation Area is not one large park but a group of modest sites near Port Hope, each with its own character. Together they offer woodland, water and quiet, in settings that range from a mill pond to a viewing platform over the valley.

Several names appear among them. Ball’s Mill Conservation Area has a pond created by an earthen dam, a remnant of the days when the site powered a grist mill and sawmill, and a short walk from the parking area leads to a view over a Provincially Significant Wetland in the Baltimore Creek system. Garden Hill is another small area, with a pond and a modest trail, and Sylvan Glen and Richardson's Lookout add woodland walking and a platform looking out over the river valley. The sites are small, with limited trails and few facilities, and the activities are mostly passive: walking, watching birds, photographing the scenery and sitting beside the water.

The river is the star of the region. Each autumn, Chinook and coho salmon and rainbow trout migrate from Lake Ontario up the Ganaraska to spawn, and the sight of big fish leaping against the current at the fishway in Port Hope draws crowds in September and October. Anglers come for the run, and observers watch from the banks. The wooded valleys also shelter deer, foxes, wild turkeys and many songbirds, and spring brings wildflowers and migrating warblers.

The areas are free to enter and open from dawn to dusk, but the gates at some sites are closed from mid-October to May, because winter maintenance is not provided, so winter visits may involve a longer walk in from the road. Visitors will find the rules simple. Camping and open fires are not allowed, and visitors should carry out all rubbish, keep dogs on a leash and stay on the trails.

The larger Ganaraska Forest lies to the north and offers many more kilometres of trails, while in Port Hope itself the Ganaraska River Trail runs through the town. The conservation areas suit those who like unhurried outings, and the warmer months give the most reliable conditions.