Carol_40

I was wondering if anyone has cycled the Water Front Trail. It starts in NOTL and ends somwhere past Trenton (?) Every year two friends and i (35-40(ish) take a bike trip, and this year we thought we'd try this trail. We plan to start in either Grimsby or Burlington and wonder if anyone knows of any B&amp;B's or campgrounds along the way...I know there is a book out there but have not been able to locate it. ANy help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!<BR>Carol_40

BAK

From Burlington to the east side of Oshawa, the lakeshore is almost all urban, and I have no recollection of any campgrounds.<BR><BR>Other than bums livingunder bridges, but I don't think that's your plan.<BR><BR>There are hotels near the lake for the whole distance, ranging from a small place in Oakville that used to be a tavern the the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto.<BR><BR>You realize this is mostly an urban trip, don't you?<BR><BR>BAK

Carol_40

actuallly i don't know what to expect from this trip &quot;water front&quot; just sounded so .....peaceful. Have you traveled the trail? and if so, should we start somewhere else to make it not so &quot;urbany&quot;...we are really just looking for a nice trail to take, where we can end up having a nice dinner and a place to sleep...just time away from husbands and kids.

ron

I had never heard of this trail til I had read your question, but I would think that the trail east of Toronto to the Bay of Quinte would not be that urban. There are some really nice historic towns like Port Hope and Cobourg that should have great B&amp;Bs, and I can think of no finer places to camp at than at Presqu'ile Provincial Park and Sandbanks Provincial Park. Darlington Provincial Park is also on or near the route, but I don�t know it.

LJ

I think that &quot;peaceful&quot; is not a word most would use to describe the 25 miles of this trail that I know (the Toronto portion). It is VERY urban and, while great fun and interesting, this is more like cycling NYC than the sort of B and B/campground style you seem to be hankering after.

kodi

HI Carol,<BR>Here is a website I found ...<BR>http://www.waterfronttrail.org/docs/traildoc/trail.html<BR>Lots of info on this website.<BR>It seems that it doesn't go all the way to NOTL yet.<BR>The Hamilton section does have a campground somewhere near the Confederation Park. I've hiked along this section and it does go all along the lake and is quite pretty.<BR>This site also gives a discription of each section....so you can perhaps choose a good section.<BR>Good luck.

BAK

Teh web site mentioned if fairly old informtion. It says, for instance, &quot;A decision by SuperBuild is expected in Fall 2001.&quot;<BR><BR>We're a long way past fall 2001. And, if things move at their normal pace, probably not much has happened since then.<BR><BR>You could spend a couple of nice days cycling in the Niagara Falls and Niagara on the Lake area. tehre are nice hotels and B&amp;Bs int eh area, lots of restaurants in all price ranges, and many vineyards and wineries to visit. Gift shops in the small towns, art galleries, shops with good quality products (plus some tourist junk), and excellent fudge to keep up your energy.<BR><BR>A friend was telling me last week that he biked from Burlington to Oakville, and it was not pleasant, not interesting, and not all that safe, I gather.<BR><BR>On the other (east) side of Toronto...<BR><BR>I shot the photogrpahs for a book called Architectural Walking Tours of Ten Ontario Towns, and three of them are along the shore of Lake Ontario. Although the web site says there's soem sort of trail gap in Port Hope, it looks to me like this is a bicycle-friendly communmity. it's a nice town, lots of interesting places to look at, and reasonably flat land from it to nearby Cobourg, which has similar positive qualityies. Both, as Ron suggested, have nice B&amp;Bs, good restaurants, friendly locals, decent roads, etc.<BR><BR>Further east, near Belleville and Trenton, is Prince Edward County, wqhich is, in fact, an island, but is not THE prince Edward Island.<BR><BR>Earlier in the messages Ron mentioned Sandbanks Provincial Park. I think it has the best beaches in Canda that are not on the ocean. Picton is the main town in Prince Edward County, it was in the book, and it too has small hotels, nice B&amp;Bs, good restaurants...<BR><BR>Toronto has The Martin Goodman Trail, but its very urban, although interesting, and goes through municipal parks and railyards both.<BR><BR>BAK

last_mango

The lakeshore between Newcastle and Port Hope is well travelled by bikes....motorized and non-motorized. It's very scenic.