Location | Brampton |
---|---|
Coordinates | 43°44′31″N79°47′42″W / 43.742°N 79.795°W |
Website | trca |
Heart Lake Conservation Park (HLCA) occupies 169 hectares (418 acres) in the Etobicoke Creek watershed, within the City of Brampton, Ontario. It is owned and managed by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA).
HLCA’s diverse ecosystem includes Heart Lake, the headwaters for Spring Creek, a wetland complex, one of the largest individual blocks of forest in the Etobicoke Creek watershed, and surficial geology of glacial till and river deposits. [1]
HLCA offers many activities to the public, including hiking, fishing, swimming, Treetop Trekking and more. The conservation area is open to the public from the end of April to Thanksgiving weekend, weather permitting.
The opening of a Medicine Wheel Garden was celebrated May 20, 2010. It came as a vision from a male elder of the Anishnawbe Nation. [2] Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, Peel Aboriginal Network, Heart Lake Community Action Area Group and the City of Brampton, created the Medicine Wheel Garden (Gitigaan Mashkiki). [2]
Heart Lake Conservation Area is home to five hiking trails, with 11 km of trails in total. Pokemon Go stops have been added to TRCA parks including Heart Lake. [3]
These include:
Trail | Length (km) |
---|---|
Peel Trail | 3.8 km |
Terry Fox Trail | 3.2 km |
Rayner Trail | 0.7 km |
Heart Lake - Esker Trail | 2.8 km |
Connector Trail | 0.6 km |
In spring 2017, a new fitness trail was added with strength training and enhanced stretching. [2]
Heart Lake is the main focus of HLCA, offering users many water-based activities including fishing, boating and canoeing.
HLCA offers visitors the ability to fish lakeside or from boats.
Heart Lake is stocked with rainbow trout, raised by TRCA at Glen Haffy Conservation Area’s Fish Hatchery each year. Other fish found in Heart Lake include bass and sunfish. During the summer, Heart Lake is one of the hosts for the Learn to Fish Program. [4]
Visitors at HLCA can enjoy boating activities on Heart Lake. HLCA offers boat rentals on-site.
The ROPSSAA Cross Country Championships are hosted at Heart Lake annually towards the end of October.
In 2012, Heart Lake was the location of the OFSAA Cross Country Championships.
The Wild Wetland Splash and Pool Facility at HLCA includes an 840 sq metre, beach-entry swimming pool, with the deep end being 8 ft. in depth. Along with a heated swimming pool, the water facility also includes over thirty wetland-themed water features. [5]
Treetop Trekking Brampton is an aerial ropes and zip-line course located within HLCA. The course offers visitors 6 aerial courses, 7 zip lines and over 65 aerial games to enjoy. [6]
The course became a part of HLCA in 2013.
The Humber River is a river in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is in the Great Lakes Basin, is a tributary of Lake Ontario and is one of two major rivers on either side of the city of Toronto, the other being the Don River to the east. It was designated a Canadian Heritage River on September 24, 1999.
Etobicoke Creek is a river in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. It is a tributary of Lake Ontario and runs from Caledon to southern Etobicoke, part of the City of Toronto. The creek is within the jurisdiction of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.
Mimico Creek is a stream that flows through Brampton, Mississauga and Toronto in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. It is 33 kilometres (21 mi) long, is in the Great Lakes Basin, and is a tributary of Lake Ontario.
The Scarborough Bluffs, also known as The Bluffs, is an escarpment in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. There are nine parks along the bluffs, with Bluffers Park being the only one with a beach. Forming much of the eastern portion of Toronto's waterfront, the Scarborough Bluffs stands above the shoreline of Lake Ontario. At its highest point, the escarpment rises 90 metres (300 ft) above the coastline and spans a length of 15 kilometres (9.3 mi).
The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) is a conservation authority in southern Ontario, Canada. It owns about 16,000 hectares of land in the Toronto region, and it employs more than 400 full-time employees and coordinates more than 3,000 volunteers each year. TRCA's area of jurisdiction is watershed-based and includes 3,467 square kilometres (1,339 sq mi) – 2,506 on land and 961 water-based in Lake Ontario. This area comprises nine watersheds from west to east – Etobicoke Creek, Mimico Creek, Humber River, Don River, Highland Creek, Petticoat Creek, Rouge River, Duffins Creek and Carruthers Creek.
Rouge National Urban Park is a national urban park in Ontario, Canada. The park is centred around the Rouge River and its tributaries in the Greater Toronto Area. The southern portion of the park is situated around the mouth of the river in Toronto, and extends northwards into Markham, Pickering, Uxbridge, and Whitchurch-Stouffville.
The Claireville Conservation Area is a suburban conservation area located on the border of Peel Region and Toronto in Ontario, Canada. The major part of the area is located in Brampton. The park is a 343 hectare parcel of conservation land located on the west branch of the Humber River. It is one of the largest tracts of land owned by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA). Claireville contains significant natural and cultural heritage features, and has recreation, tourism, and educational facilities and programs.
Humber Bay Park is a waterfront park located in Etobicoke, part of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The park consists of two landspits situated at the mouth of Mimico Creek. The park is south of Lake Shore Boulevard West, near Park Lawn Road. Humber Bay Park East is 19 hectares, while Humber Bay Park West is 120 hectares.
Little Buffalo State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on 923 acres (3.7 km2) in Centre and Juniata Townships, Perry County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is a historical destination as well as a recreational destination. Visitors to the park can cross a covered bridge and observe a restored and operating grist mill. The park is also home to Holman Lake a popular fishing lake in Perry County and several hundred acres are open to hunting. Little Buffalo State Park is a mile southwest of Newport just off Pennsylvania Route 34.
Marsh Creek State Park is a 1,705 acres (690 ha) Pennsylvania state park in Upper Uwchlan and Wallace Townships, Chester County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is the location of the 535-acre (217 ha) man-made Marsh Creek Lake. With an average depth of 40 feet, the lake is stocked with fish and is a stop for migrating waterfowl. Marsh Creek State Park is 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Eagle on Pennsylvania Route 100. Park road hours 8:00 am until sunset. All other access open 24 hours.
Warriors' Path State Park is a 950-acre (3.84 km2) Tennessee State Park in Colonial Heights, Tennessee, an area within the city of Kingsport. It is named for the Great Indian Warpath that was used by the Iroquois in war raids with the Cherokee and other tribes. The park is located around the Fort Patrick Henry Reservoir and Duck Island on the South Fork Holston River. This land was acquired from the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1952.
The Toronto ravine system is a distinctive feature of the city's geography, consisting of a network of deep ravines, which forms a large urban forest that runs through most of Toronto. The ravine system is the largest in any city in the world, with the Ravine and Natural Feature Protection Bylaw protecting approximately 110 square kilometres (42 sq mi) of public and privately-owned land. The ravine system has been presented as a central characteristic of the city, with the size of the ravine system leading Toronto to be described as "a city within a park".
Loafer's Lake is a lake in Brampton, Regional Municipality of Peel in Greater Toronto Area region of Ontario, Canada. It is in the Great Lakes Basin and lies on Etobicoke Creek.
Petticoat Creek is a stream in the cities of Pickering, Toronto and Markham in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. The creek is in the Great Lakes Basin, is a tributary of Lake Ontario, and falls under the auspices of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. Its watershed covers 26.77 square kilometres (10.34 sq mi), and the cumulative length of all its branches is 49 kilometres (30 mi). Land use in the watershed consists of 52% agricultural, 27% protected greenspace and 21% urban.
Marie Curtis Park is a public park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the mouth of the Etobicoke Creek on Lake Ontario in the Long Branch neighbourhood. Marie Curtis Park was built after the devastating floods of Hurricane Hazel in 1954 destroyed 56 homes and cottages on the site, leaving 1,868 persons homeless and 81 dead. It is named after Marie Curtis, the reeve of Long Branch at the time of its construction. Long Branch at the time was a separate village; it's now amalgamated into the City of Toronto government.
Albion Hills Conservation Area (AHCA) is located in the Town of Caledon within the Regional Municipality of Peel. AHCA is located eight kilometers north of Bolton, off of Highway 50 at 16500 Highway 50, Palgrave, Ontario. It is owned and managed by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA). AHCA sees about 120,000 visitors each year, who visit the conservation area for mountain biking, camping, swimming, special events, cross-country skiing and more.
Bruce's Mill Conservation Area (BMCA) is a conservation area located off Stouffville Road in the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville, Regional Municipality of York, Canada. The conservation area is about 108 hectares in size. BMCA is home to a diverse ecosystem, including 1.2 hectares of wetlands and 44 hectares of deciduous, coniferous and mixed forest. It is owned and managed by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA).
Lake Bardwell is a lake in Ellis County, Texas. The lake was constructed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in 1965. Lake Bardwell is not used for military operations, and is accessible to the public for recreational purposes; it has seven facilities, but the state public ramp is closed.
Duffins Creek is a waterway in the eastern end of the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada. The watershed of the Duffins Creek is part of the Durham Region and the York Region.