Niagara River Recreation Trail

The Niagara River Recreation Trail is a beautiful trail running all the way from Niagara-​on-​the-​Lake to Fort Erie, past the botanical gardens, wineries, fruit stands, historical houses, art galleries and of course, the incredible Lake Ontario and Niagara Falls. While staying at Harbour House Hotel on a recent vacation, I was able to utilize this trail to continue my training for an upcoming race. The trail begins at Ricardo Street and Nelson Street (directly across from Nelson Park, a TINY waterfront park) and continues along a mostly flat path, all the way to the falls {there is one major hill right before the Botanical Gardens!} The trail is paved and mostly shaded once you get past Fort George and is a 22.6km walk/​run/​bike to the Falls. FYI: the Botanical Gardens are a much more manageable feat if you’re looking for a nice bike ride, about 15.2km (takes about an hour from the start of the trail)!
The trail gets busy during the day, but is quiet in the morning, although you will regularly see bikers/​runners and dog walkers even at early hours, but a much lower ‘nosy’ crowd. There are lots of picnic tables, grills and you’ll even find some parks along the trail with bathrooms. I didn’t see any water fountains. The trail has kilometer markers every km, which makes for a convenient way to track your distance. There are many small parking lots along the trail with free parking (occasionally you’ll see a paid parking lot, this is most likely in conjunction with a historic house, just go a little further down the road, and you’ll find a free spot in no time!) I highly recommend checking out this trail if you’re a runner, biker or just looking for a beautiful walking trail while in Niagara-​on-​the-​Lake.

If you’re looking for an active afternoon out in one of the most beautiful settings imaginable, why not cycle the Niagara River Recreation Trail? It’s perfect for novices and experts alike and there are fruit markets, wineries and even the Falls along the way.
The full trail runs 56K from Niagara-​on-​the-​Lake to Fort Erie. The ride towards Fort Erie is more of an uphill ride and the ride toward NOTL is a little more downhill. However, if you jump on the trail in Chippawa, the ride is flat to Fort Erie.
We did the ride from NOTL to Niagara Falls (42K there and back) and it was a great combination of adventure and fitness. Check out the Buddhist Temple in the Falls and the Laura Secord Homestead for Ice Cream. It’s also really fun to pack a picnic in your pannier and disembark at one of the parks along the river to enjoy the scenery and cool off. This ride can be as active or as leisurely as you like.
What are you waiting for? Get outside and enjoy this ride! If you don’t want to tow your own bicycle, rentals are available $ 20 for 3 hrs and $ 30 for the full day.