This is a List of Ontario Tourist Routes throughout the province, which are designated to highlight places of cultural, environmental, or social importance.
It is currently unknown if the majority of these trails are still listed since many of the provincial highways of Ontario were decommissioned in 1997 and 1998, as the Tourist Trails followed the provincial highways for the majority of their length, although many sections travel along county roads and municipal/local streets as well. Although many municipalities, cities, and counties still sign these tourist routes, others may have chosen to discontinue them with the highways they followed, rendering them as historical footnotes.
African-Canadian Heritage Tour
African-Canadian Heritage Tour logo
The African-Canadian Heritage Tour (ACHT) is a designated trail along several county and city roads, and provincial highways.
The trail starts on Queen Street in the Sandwich neighbourhood of Windsor, Ontario. It turns west at Prince Road, before turning south along Sandwich Street. It curves along Sandwich Parkway to Ojibway Parkway, formerly Highway 18. The trail follows County Road 20 to Amherstburg to County Road 10, which turns onto. It travels east along Middle Side Road towards the community of McGregor.[1]
The route turns north along County Road 9 (Howard Avenue) back to Windsor, Ontario. The ACHT turns east briefly along Highway 3, before turning onto Highway 401 eastbound to exit 28, County Road 25 (Puce Road). From there it travels to the town of Puce. The trail turns east along County Road 22 through Belle River until it meets County Road 42 southeast of the town. The trail turns and follows it through Tilbury, becoming Chatham–Kent Road 2, formerly Highway 2.[1]
The route turns south onto County Road 7 (Merlin Road) through the small community of Fletcher before turning east onto County Road 14 (8th Line). It follows County Road 14 through North Buxton to Highway 40. Upon reaching Highway 40, the trail follows it for 11km (6.8mi) through Chatham. It turns right along County Road 29 (Countryview Line) and heads northeast through Turnerville, turning north at County Road 29 (Lindsay Road). It follows this road to its terminus in Dresden, where the Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site can be found.[1]
The Algonquin Route was a loop north from Highway 401 through Algonquin Park and back. The route started at the Highway 35 / Highway 115 and Highway 401 interchange (exit 436) in Newcastle. At the split of Highway 35/115, the trail follows Highway 35 north through Lindsay and travels along a brief concurrency with Highway 7. It continues north along Highway 35 through Coboconk, Minden, Carnarvon and Dorset to Highway 60. From here, the trail turned east and crosses Algonquin Provincial Park. East of the park, Highway 60 meets Highway 41. The route turned south, passing through Eganville and following Highway 41 south to Napanee. The Algonquin Route was created as part of the Yours to Discover campaign by the Ontario provincial government, beginning in 1980 and continuing through the 1990s.[2][3][4] Signage was no longer posted after 1998.[5]
The Deer Trail Route is a circular route in the Algoma Region of northern Ontario. Though it is circular, it has a "starting" point at the junction of Highway 17 and Highway 108 in Serpent River. It follows Highway 108 for its entire length, travelling through Elliot Lake, until the road becomes Highway 639. At the northern terminus of Highway 639, the road then turns back south along Highway 546 to its intersection with Highway 17 in Iron Bridge. From there it travels back along Highway 17 through Blind River, Algoma Mills and Spragge to Serpent River at a total distance of approximately 184km (114mi).[6]
The route serves mainly as an access route to wilderness recreation areas such as Mississagi Provincial Park. It also serves as a venue for an annual Deer Trail Studio Tour, a regional arts festival in which various venues along the route display and sell the work of local artists and craftspeople.[7]
The Great River Road loops through the northwestern section of the province. It begins in Kenora and travels east along Highway 17 to Highway 71, where it heads south, staying close to Lake of the Woods. It meets Highway 11 in Barwick, branching into two directions: one spur travels west along Highway 11 to Rainy River, while the main route travels east along Highway 11 to Fort Frances.
The eastern branch continues to Highway 502, travelling back up towards Dryden, and looping back west along Highway 17 to Kenora.
One spur continued along the Detroit River on Highway 18, now Essex County Road 20. It followed the northern shore of Lake Erie east to Leamington. It then continued along Highway 3 to Wainfleet, before terminating at Fort Erie. Another spur along Highway 11 met Highway 17, the Voyageur Route east and west to Montreal and Sault Ste. Marie. Much of the original signage is now gone, but a few signs remain on the routes, with one sign in Harrow on County Road 20. Until 1997, there were a few signs along former Highway 3 alignment near the Cottam and Essex areas.
As the route is now mostly county road, signage has been maintained in some areas, removed in some and left to simply fade to illegibility in others. In some areas where the signed route is concurrent with other posted tourist routes, markers for newly designated routes have displaced the "Heritage Highway" wheel. One such example is Trenton where on Highways 2 and 33 the Heritage Highway and Loyalist Parkway run concurrently with other signed tourist routes including a former Apple Route (to Brighton),[11] a segment of the Wine Route (to Picton)[12] and the Hastings County Arts Route (through Belleville).[13]
Recent signage bears a white-on-brown wheel and the words "Heritage Highway - Route des Pionniers", the latter being a version of the French language translation of "Heritage Highways, Sur la Route des Pionniers" used in the original 1972 joint promotional effort with Québec.
Eastern terminus of Loyalist Parkway and Kingston Road 33 in Kingston
A section of Highway 33 between Amherstview and Trenton was designated the Loyalist Parkway in 1984. This designation was made to honour the United Empire Loyalists, who first settled that area of Ontario. The official designation was presided over by Queen Elizabeth II, when she visited Kingston during Ontario's bicentennial celebrations. Highway 33 now ends at Bloomfield, and the Loyalist Parkway continues as Prince Edward County Road 33 toward Stirling.
This route is still signed, Lambton CR 21's name north of Rutherford is "Oil Heritage Road".
Talbot Trail
Talbot Trail logoNew sign standards being erected in Elgin County, Ontario bear this logo
The Talbot Trail is an historically significant overland route completed in the 1820s along the north shore of Lake Erie. The building of the route of almost 500km (310mi) in length was overseen by Colonel Thomas Talbot. It was originally a corduroy road, eventually becoming Highway 3 and several numbered county roads. Its original intent was to provide a continuous land route for settlers and military personnel between the Niagara region and Detroit, aiding in the development of the Talbot Settlement.
The actual 19th century settlement road began in Amherstburg and ended in Canborough, north of Dunnville, where existing settlement roads provided a route to Fort Erie and Niagara Falls.
The Welland Canal Route is designated along provincial highways and Regional Roads in Niagara Region along the Welland Canal.
The trail starts at the Queen Elizabeth Way and Highway 406 interchange in St. Catharines, traveling south to Highway 58 in Thorold. The Welland Canal Route travels under the canal, following Highway 58 to the intersection of Highway 20, Niagara Regional Road 82 (Allanport Road), and Niagara Regional Road 20 (Canboro Road). The route turns onto Canboro Road, crossing back over the Canal towards Highway 406. It then turns south along Highway 406 to Main Street in Welland, where it turns east and passes beneath the canal again. It follows Highway 140 south to Highway 58A, which it follows beneath the canal for the final time. The route turns south at Highway 58 and travels south Niagara Regional Road 3, formerly part of nearby Highway 3 in Port Colborne.
Through the Niagara Region, the route is designated as the Niagara Wine Route, and while well-signed, exists in the form of loops and spurs connecting the various wineries to the communities of the region.[16] The trunk route follows Niagara Regional Road 81, formerly Highway 8 from Grimsby eastward, where in western St. Catharines it diverges into two primary routes.
The first route travels north along Regional Road 34, then turns east, following the shore of Lake Ontario along Regional Road 87 and passing through Port Dalhousie and many of the wineries along the lakeshore. The other route passes along the edge of the Niagara Escarpment and through Niagara-on-the-Lake along Regional Roads 69, 100 and 55. A spur along Fourth Avenue and Ontario Street connects wineries in the west-end of the city and Downtown St. Catharines to the northern route, while another spur crosses through central Niagara-on-the-Lake and the community of Virgil, connecting both routes to the Niagara Parkway. The primary routes reconvene in the Olde Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake where Regional Roads 89 and 55 meet, not far from the mouth of the Niagara River.[17]
Newer signs are purely dark blue with white grapes, with the text "Wine Route" written below.[18] These new signs are seen throughout Niagara Region and Prince Edward County.
Rideau Heritage Route
The Rideau Heritage Route (français: Circuit patrimonial Rideau) links Ottawa with Kingston via Smiths Falls and Perth.[19] The route is found in Eastern Ontario, along the oldest continuously operated canal in North America. The locks work today much as they did when first opened in 1832. They are a National Historic Site of Canada[20] and a UNESCO world heritage site.[21]
The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario linking Toronto with the Niagara Peninsula and Buffalo, New York. The highway begins at the Canada–United States border on the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie and travels 139.1 kilometres (86.4 mi) around the western end of Lake Ontario, ending at Highway 427 as the physical highway continues as the Gardiner Expressway into downtown Toronto. The QEW is one of Ontario's busiest highways, with an average of close to 250,000 vehicles per day on some sections.
King's Highway 58, commonly referred to as Highway 58, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The route is divided into two segments with a combined length of 15.5 km (9.6 mi). The southern segment travels from Niagara Regional Road 3, formerly Highway 3, in Port Colborne, to the Highway 58A junction in the southern end of Welland, a distance of 7.2 km (4.5 mi). The northern segment begins at Highway 20 near Allanburg and travels north and west to a large junction with Highway 406 at the St. Catharines – Thorold boundary, a distance of 8.3 km (5.2 mi). An 18.1 km (11.2 mi) gap separates the two segments within Welland and Pelham. The entire route is located within the Regional Municipality of Niagara.
King's Highway 3, commonly referred to as Highway 3, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario which travels parallel to the northern shoreline of Lake Erie. It has three segments, the first of which travels from the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor to Highway 77 in Leamington. The second portion begins at Talbotville Royal outside of St. Thomas at Highway 4, and travels to the western city limits of Port Colborne. The road is regionally maintained within Port Colborne as Niagara Regional Road 3, but regains its provincial designation at Highway 140. Its third and final terminus is at Edgewood Park, within the Fort Erie town limits. From there, the road continues as Niagara Regional Road 3 to the Peace Bridge, where drivers can cross to the United States. The total length of Highway 3 is 248.9 or 258.2 km, consisting of 49.2 km (30.6 mi) from Windsor to Leamington, 187.9 km (116.8 mi) from Talbotville Royal to Port Colborne and 21.1 km (13.1 mi) from Port Colborne to Edgewood Park.
King's Highway 60, commonly referred to as Highway 60, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The 255.8-kilometre (158.9 mi) highway serves as the primary corridor through Algonquin Provincial Park, where it is dedicated as the Frank McDougall Parkway. East of Algonquin Park, the route serves east–west traffic in the highlands of central Ontario. It begins at Highway 11 in Huntsville and ends at Highway 17 near Renfrew.
Interstate 190 is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway in the United States that connects I-90 in Buffalo, New York, with the Canada–United States border at Lewiston, New York, near Niagara Falls. Officially, I-190 from I-90 north to New York State Route 384 (NY 384) is named the Niagara Thruway and is part of the New York State Thruway system. The remainder, from NY 384 to Lewiston, is known as the Niagara Expressway and is maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT).
King's Highway 140, commonly referred to as Highway 140, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The highway connects Port Colborne near Lake Erie with Highway 406 in Welland, via the Main Street Tunnel. It was constructed in the early 1970s as part of the Welland Bypass project of the Welland Canal, which resulted in the severance of several highways and rail lines. Opened to traffic in late 1972, several months following the tunnel, Highway 140 has remained unchanged since, despite growing calls to resign it as an extension of Highway 406.
New York State Route 104 (NY 104) is a 182.41-mile-long (293.56 km) east–west state highway in Upstate New York in the United States. It spans six counties and enters the vicinity of four cities—Niagara Falls, Lockport, Rochester, and Oswego—as it follows a routing largely parallel to the southern shoreline of Lake Ontario, along a ridge of the old shoreline of Glacial Lake Iroquois. The western terminus of NY 104 is an intersection with NY 384 in Niagara Falls, Niagara County, while its eastern terminus is a junction with NY 13 in the town of Williamstown, Oswego County. The portion of NY 104 between Rochester and the village of Webster east of the city is a freeway known as the Keeler Street Expressway west of NY 590 and the Irondequoit–Wayne County Expressway east of NY 590; from Williamson to Oswego, NY 104 is a super two highway.
King's Highway 20, commonly referred to as Highway 20, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Presently, it is a short 1.9 km (1.2 mi) stub between Highway 58 and Niagara Regional Road 70 in the City of Thorold, but until 1997 it connected Hamilton to Niagara Falls, serving several towns atop the Niagara Escarpment en route.
New York State Route 31 (NY 31) is a state highway that extends for 208.74 miles (335.93 km) across western and central New York in the United States. The western terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 104 in the city of Niagara Falls. Its eastern terminus is at a traffic circle with NY 26 in Vernon Center, a hamlet within the town of Vernon. Over its routing, NY 31 spans 10 counties and indirectly connects three major urban areas in Upstate New York: Buffalo–Niagara Falls, Rochester, and Syracuse. The route is one of the longest routes in New York State, paralleling two similarly lengthy routes, NY 104 to the north and NY 5 to the south, as well as the Erie Canal, as it proceeds east.
New York State Route 18 (NY 18) is an east–west state highway in western New York in the United States. It runs parallel to the south shore of Lake Ontario for most of its length between Niagara County and Monroe County. NY 18, which also passes through Orleans County, acts as a northerly alternate to NY 104, another east–west route that parallels NY 18 to the south on Ridge Road. The western terminus of NY 18 is at a complex grade-separated interchange with NY 104 outside the village of Lewiston. Its eastern terminus is at a junction with NY 104 in an area of Rochester known as Eastman Business Park.
King's Highway 8, commonly referred to as Highway 8, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The 159.7-kilometre (99.2 mi) route travels from Highway 21 in Goderich, on the shores of Lake Huron, to Highway 5 in the outskirts of Hamilton near Lake Ontario. Before the 1970s, it continued east through Hamilton and along the edge of the Niagara Escarpment to the American border at the Whirlpool Bridge in Niagara Falls. However, the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) replaced the role of Highway8 between those two cities, and the highway was subsequently transferred from the province to the newly formed Regional Municipality of Niagara in 1970. In 1998, the remaining portion east of Peters Corners was transferred to the city of Hamilton.
New York State Route 18F (NY 18F) is a 9.80-mile (15.77 km) long state highway in northwestern Niagara County, New York, in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an interchange with NY 104 and the Niagara Scenic Parkway just east of the village of Lewiston. The northern terminus is at an intersection with NY 18 near Four Mile Creek State Park in Porter. NY 18F parallels NY 18 for most of its alignment, taking a more westerly course than its parent. NY 18F is the only remaining suffixed route of NY 18.
The Niagara Scenic Parkway is a 16.4-mile (26.39 km) state parkway in western Niagara County, New York, in the United States. Its southern terminus is at the LaSalle Expressway on the east bank of the Niagara River in Niagara Falls. The northern terminus is at New York State Route 18 (NY 18) at Four Mile Creek State Park in Porter near Lake Ontario. Originally, the parkway was one continuous road; however, due to low usage, a portion of the parkway near Niagara Falls was removed, separating the parkway into two sections. The length of the parkway is designated as New York State Route 957A by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). A 1.16-mile (1.87 km) long spur connecting the Niagara Scenic Parkway to Fort Niagara State Park near Youngstown is designated as New York State Route 958A. Both reference route designations are unsigned.
The Niagara Parkway, formerly known as Niagara Boulevard and historically as the Niagara Road, is a scenic road in the province of Ontario that travels on the Canadian side of the Niagara River from the town of Fort Erie to Niagara-on-the-Lake. The portion north of Table Rock in the city of Niagara Falls is designated as an Ontario Scenic Highway. Niagara Boulevard originally referred only to the section from Fort Erie to Chippawa.
New York State Route 384 (NY 384) is a state highway in Western New York in the United States. It is a north–south route extending from the city of Buffalo, Erie County to the city of Niagara Falls, Niagara County, and is one of several routes directly connecting the two cities. The southern terminus of the route is at NY 5 in downtown Buffalo. NY 384's northern terminus is at the Rainbow Bridge in downtown Niagara Falls. Through its entire course in Erie County, it is known as Delaware Avenue for the street it follows in the city. In Niagara County, NY 384 follows the Niagara River and is named River Road and Buffalo Avenue.
The Lake Ontario State Parkway is a 35.05-mile (56.41 km) limited-access parkway along the southern shore of Lake Ontario in Western New York in the United States. The western end of the highway is at a partial interchange within Lakeside Beach State Park in Carlton, Orleans County. Its eastern terminus is at an intersection with Lake Avenue in the Charlotte neighborhood of the Monroe County city of Rochester. The parkway is internally designated by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) as New York State Route 947A (NY 947A), an unsigned reference route. A short, 0.55-mile (0.89 km) connector between the west end of the parkway and NY 18 is unsigned New York State Route 948A.
King's Highway 55, commonly referred to as Highway 55 and historically as the Niagara Stone Road and Black Swamp Road, was a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario, which connected the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) with Niagara-on-the-Lake, following Niagara Stone Road. The route divided a swath of wineries at the foot of the Niagara Escarpment, passing at an oblique angle to the concession road grid.
The Great Lakes Seaway Trail, formerly named and commonly known as the Seaway Trail, is a 518-mile (834 km) National Scenic Byway in the northeastern United States, mostly contained in New York but with a small segment in Pennsylvania. The trail consists of a series of designated roads and highways that travel along the Saint Lawrence Seaway—specifically, Lake Erie, the Niagara River, Lake Ontario, and the Saint Lawrence River. It begins at the Ohio state line in rural Erie County, Pennsylvania, and travels through several cities and villages before ending at the Seaway International Bridge northeast of the village of Massena in St. Lawrence County, New York. It is maintained by the non-profit Seaway Trail, Inc.
The Great Lakes Circle Tour is a designated scenic road system connecting all of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. It consists of routes for circumnavigating the lakes, either individually or collectively. It was designated by the Great Lakes Commission in 1988.
References
1 2 3 Ontario Road Map (Map). Cartography by Surveys and Mapping Section. Ministry of Transportation. 1997. §§M1–N3.
↑ "Ontario – Yours to Discover". Government of Ontario. June 14, 1980. pp.10, 17, 21, 25. Retrieved May 26, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
↑ Ontario Road Map (Map). Cartography by Cartography Section, Surveys and Plans Office. Ministry of Transportation and Communications. 1980–81. §§C24–H28. Archived from the original on March 6, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2021– via Archives of Ontario.
↑ Ontario Road Map (Map). Cartography by Surveys and Mapping Section. Ministry of Transportation. 1998. §§D11–I15. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021– via Archives of Ontario.
↑ Ontario Road Map (Map). Cartography by Geomatics Office. Ministry of Transportation. 1998. §§N27–Q31. Retrieved May 26, 2021– via Archives of Ontario.
↑ Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation. "Deer Trail Touring Route". Government of Ontario. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
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