South March Highlands Conservation Forest

Fabulous trail to hike in Ottawa proper. Just watch your step and keep an eye out for bikers who allow us to hike there. This is their trail!

Very nice trails, with easy access. The pedestrian trails are shared with the bicycle. Must contribute to the association to keeping this beautiful place.

Make sure you navigate to one of the parking spots! The best rough-terrain hiking spot I have found near Ottawa. Make sure you plan for a long hike if you plan on taking on the black diamond trails.

Take a picture of the map as well; it is very easy to get spun around and lost. The markers (poles) are mostly trashed, which is a bit disappointing.

The trails are very adequate for hiking and dog walking, however not as much for the initial audience (cyclists) anymore. Over the past decade of riding them, the soil has packed down and there has simply been a lot of erosion. The trail has always been listed as fast and technical on the OMBA website, but the fast sections are very few and far between now as every root and rock is exposed. I'd be interested to find any cyclist who enjoys Rockhopper in its current state as I can only find hikers on this section now. Frankly the trail network has limited the audience to only those that would run the advanced trail. This isn't productive in encouraging newer riders to visit or encourage volunteer support. Even the easy sections of the trail are simply a teeth chattering experience. Other trail users that we passed shared the same thoughts. Unfortunately, this opinion was brought to the attention of the OMBA president and was shrugged off. It's sad to see a trail so close to home fall on deaf ears.

Beautiful spot, amazing biodiversity. But be prepared for ticks, they are plentiful!

Beautiful trails for walking, great rest spots beside small bodies of water (and new species on Seek!). Get there early to avoid clogged trails.

Very interesting hike. Did about 10 kms. It is a rocky trail and sharing with mountain bikers.