Local Adventures with IFF Discover
By Co- Founder Helena McKinney
We all miss adventure right now. This travel blog offers you some sweet little, local gems to go check out. These are 3 places we have been going to escape the city, not feel so limited by lockdown, satisfy our travel bug and explore freely. We have discovered so many local Ontario hiking trails on the AllTrails App. If you don’t already have it on your phone you should download it for sure. It is free and gives great information on every trail, rates its difficulty level, shares reviews and photos. It’s really tough to write a travel blog when all of Southern Ontario is still in lockdown but be open minded to the little outlets of adventure you can find right in your city. We are our most creative when we are outside; we engage in inspiring conversations and come up with our best ideas. So bundle up, dress for the weather, bring a warm beverage and get outside. Clear your head and do things to support your mental health and well being.
Beamer Memorial Conservation Area Trail, Grimsby, Ontario.
We love adventuring and hiking in the Niagara Region and we find ourselves heading this way more and more. Beamer Memorial Conservation has been a trail we continue to revisit throughout the fall and into the winter. It is most known for its amazing view of Grimsby and you can even see Lake Ontario. The hike is fairly moderate and you don’t need to be an experienced hiker to access it. The path is clearly marked and mostly smooth. There is also a side trail to see a waterfall but we have yet to see water actually falling because we had such a dry summer. It is a short hike that has a loop, maybe 40 minutes in total if you are taking your time. Best of all, we love when there is a designated area for parking! Side note: this trail tends to be a bit busier on weekends so it might be better to head there during the week for better social distancing.
Mountainview Conservation Area Trail, Lincoln, Ontario.
We recently discovered this trail simply because we wanted to try something new. The Mountainview Conservation Area Trail runs along the Bruce Trail and is in the heart of wine country. So, basically when the warm weather hits and wineries are open again we can imagine an amazing afternoon of wine tasting and hiking. This sounds like an ideal day to us. This hike doesn’t have a loop, so at some point you can either turn around and go back to the parking lot or continue along the Bruce Trail if you are making a whole day of it. This hike was a little more vigorous, which we liked. It had some elevation, a rocky terrain, beautiful mossy rocks and was really quiet. We hiked for at least 2 hours and only saw a few other people exploring. There is a sneaky little parking lot on the side of the road but Google Maps got us there perfectly. We will definitely do this hike again soon.
Van Wagners Beach, Hamilton Ontario.
We are 100% beach girls! We can’t wait to be on the beach in our bathing suits soaking up the sun but it is still enjoyable to have our winter boots in the sand. lol. Even though we can’t dive into the water for a refreshing swim (well, we could but that isn’t a very intriguing idea at the moment) we walk the beach skipping stones, searching for beach glass or other fun treasures we might come across washed up on the shore. Van Wagners Beach is close to home and also has a walking promenade if you’d prefer to walk on a smooth surface. For a few moments, we catch the sun and breeze on our face and we can envision a soon to be summer vibe. It is also so satisfying to be near the water. Maybe it’s the sound of the waves and happy memories associated with being at the beach.
Keep following along with our IFF adventures! We are using this quiet time to plan up some exciting trips for the spring. We are crossing our fingers and toes that this lockdown is lifted soon so we can get back to exploring Ontario and supporting all the local shops and tourist destinations. Until then, please be safe, walk in nature and be well.
Much Love,
Helena & Meag
