Hockley Valley Provincial Nature Reserve

Just 45 min from Brampton this Provincial Nature Reserve offers great trails rated moderate to extreme and good thing they also have free parking just 5 min from the start of the trail.

The Hockley trail is a decent 10 km loop that covers pretty much the whole reserve, there are 4 side trails that can add 5 more kms to your hike.

On an average the increase in altitude is around 350 meters, so it gets pretty challenging. Midst of the trails there is a small lake that has benches to relax.

Great trail. Excellent up and down hills. There are different options to lengthen a hike or take a new way a few different times. This was a winter trips and ice cleats will make it a better day. It’s definitely worth it to come visit many times over all the seasons. A really relaxing way to start or end a week.

Hockley Valley Provincial Nature Preserve

Joined the Toronto Bruce Trail for a 9 km hike after a snow storm. Be prepared and bring your ice cleats as the trail is hilly.

Stopped at the Hockley Valley Resort for lunch. The resort is nice and cozy after the cold hike.

Beautiful. Not too hard of a walk. Not too easy. Lots of gradual up's and downs. And free parking. Lots of fun for the family.

Good walk on the trail. There are different trails at the same location. Also wonderful to see fall colours. Also parking is always available

Parking is a bit of problem. You may park after No-Parking zone. Excellent visit - amazing fall colours walk!

This place is beautiful and perfect for an easy/moderate hike. It can get busy on weekends and the parking lot does tend to fill up.

The Hockley Valley Provincial Nature Reserve offers well over 10 kilometers of trails with trees, streams and a rugged terrain at times. Covering all the trails will take you up and down a series of valleys where the streams are running. Trails are well marked, some sections like bridges are boarded; you probably will want to take a picture of the map at the trail head before hitting the ground, and it's easy to take a wrong turn (I did which made my hike significantly longer!). You can park on a parking lot nearby and hit the trail head from the road just a 2 of minute walking distance on the road.

A very pleasant area to enjoy the fall colors too. Recommended!

Really great intermediate level hiking, also very safe for the dog despite the signs. The terrain changes every 10 minutes of walking or so, and you get some incredibly tall trees and beautiful sunlight peeking through. I recommend bring a small towel if you're going when it's hot, because you will sweat a good deal. I also recommend wearing shoes with proper grip. We took the bruce trail entrance, up through to the Glen Crest fork, then turned around and took Tom East back, solid 7.5km. You can go up even further take the full glen crest + Isabel, and then all the way to Cam Snell but that is a full days hike. Come prepared with at least 2L of water, and have fun!

June 2022
What a gorgeous if not a shorter one. As I said in my last post, this is the time to get out there - temps are moderate, enough breeze to keep the bugs down, and the forests are amazing.

We started off with at the Hockley General Store (highly recommend, and just a short distance from the Shitz's Creek Motel) before hitting the Tom to Glen Side trail loop, part of the Bruce Trail system.

It was only 6k but what a hike. Lots of elevation changes as you go through a beautiful forest. So this is not an easy walk in the woods - except to climb and climb again.

A 4 star rating with many other trails nearby if you want a longer day. Parking lot is on side of highway just before the trailhead - about half click walk.

Hope you get to make it.

Nice trail have some slopes that provides good work out. Saw many people doing mushrooms picking in the summer time

It is a nice trail with a variety of beautiful plants. Since the pandemia it seems more crowded and people forage mushroom (which is not encourage by the province. Fines are in place)

Great hiking! I did a little over 14 km of hiking on the Bruce Trail and a couple of side trails. Easy for the most part but there's some up and downs is some sections and some un even and rocky terrain.

My favourite hiking spot in southern Ontario, without a super long drive from the city. The park is setup for various levels of moderate hiking. From a short 3 km for a nice family outting, to the longer loops close to 20 km round trip.

Fantastic hiking course. You can choose to do the short or long hiking course with beautiful scenery.

It's a very beautiful somewhat challenging hike as there are many steep hills and it's very peaceful and dense forest.

Beautiful foliage, well-maintained hiking trails, easy to challenging courses you can choose from. My usual go-to place for hiking. One star out because there is no proper washroom and mosquito problems during the summer

What a beautiful walk we had. We just finished the Caledon Section of the Bruce Trail #brucetrailcanada of 75 km. Hockley Valley was our starting point in May 2018 - and yesterday and two weeks ago, we connected the dots.

He who goes up, must come down. Beautiful park but be ready for the hills. Took us 4 hours and we left the northern most loop out of our trip.

Nice park for a decent walk. Bruce Trail goes through this park. Trail is not very aggressive in this area.

Must do for a trail lover. Well maintained, marked and clear trails, goes through different terrain. Takes 4hrs to complete full round through Glen cross, Isabel and Tom side trails.

One of the best hiking areas in the GTA, a great mix of beautiful streams, varied woodland and small ponds. All that and achievable as a long ish half day hike (14k). Worth multiple visits!

Love the walking loops here! Absolutely beautiful. Great place for a fairly easy hike where you have some options as to the distance!

The trail system in Hockley conservation area may be a tough one for beginners as it usually takes 4 to 6 hours to finish the loops. If you are comfortable with slopes up and downs in the rugged terrain, this is the one. You need to wear better shoes and bring a set of hiking sticks and a lot of drinking water. There is the highest spot in the middle of the course with 380m elevation. From there, you can pick one of the two loops- left one is harder. There is a free parking lot at the South access on highway 7. No bikes nor horses are allowed:) Meet and truly appreciate the nature here.

Beautiful park with clearly marked trails and a variety of sights in the hilly landscape. Trilliums are out in numbers this week and are just starting to bloom.

Beautiful trails on hilly terrain. Possible to do loops that allow for little backtracking and travel 3-4 hours at a good pace.

Trail markings are clear and easy to follow. Trails are very clean and well maintained. It was like entering a different world. The terrain and elevation keep the scenery interesting and hike challenging!

Perfectly maintained trails. Expect a good workout, there are numerous elevation changes. Very very pretty park.

I simply love nature and this place is all about the beautiful things that nature has to offer. Nice hiking paths and lots to explore!