Today we explored a section of the trail along the Seine River. We picked the path between John Bruce Road and Bishop Grandin Blvd. We heard that this could be a busy trail, so we are trying midweek in January hoping for lighter foot traffic. Parking was easy to find on John Bruce Road. We started our walk from the parking area, first crossing a foot bridge over the Seine River to the path marked Louis Riel Sr. Route.
Fortunately there is more nature to see than graffiti. This time of the year you get a good view of the Seine River from the main path.
The end of the first leg of this walk is at Bishop Grandin Blvd. From here you can continue down Bishop Grandin Blvd following the Greenway path. We decided to head back to John Bruce Road. For the walk back, we took the trail along the Seine River bank.
We came across a set of steps that led back up to the main path.
The walk for us two seniors took about an hour. We took time to explore and a little bench rest half way through. Our step counter said we traveled 2.2 km, I am thinking that is pretty accurate. The trail along the river was twisty and rolling and it followed the river closely. We did not see any deer today, we did see several birds and squirrels, none that wanted to pose for pictures sadly, next trip maybe. We are looking forward to doing this walk again when there is a full green canopy.
We took a short walk down Louis Riel Sr. Route today, the first week of June. The trail has a different feel now that it has a full canopy of leaves.
We made it back to the Louis Riel Sr. Route today, mid morning early July. We decided to start with the path along the Seine River and end with the higher paved pathway. Knowing there were more places to rest on the paved pathway and expecting to need one or two by the time we reached that point in our walk, seemed to make the most sense for the soon to be warming day. A set of stairs built into the path makes the climb down fairly easy to start our walk. It is not every day you get to walk up on deer, no more then a dozen feet a way, today we saw two and across the river a mother with two young. We also came across a little guy digging in the muddy water. It looked like he was having a snack and then took a little time for a clean up.
Louis Riel Sr. Route
Gabriel Dufault Trail
Gabriel Dufault Trail starts at John Bruce Road at a small park area with a tribute sign and a bench and a grass and trees space. The trail has the Seine River on one side and residential and businesses on the other. The trail is short, it will offer some nice views of the river and there are several benches along the trail for rest stops. The trail ends at the Riel Mill Historical Site.
Bois-des-esprits Trail
Bois-des-esprits trail has odd starting points. The one we chose was the one nearest to the foot bridge on John Bruce Road and the parking area. The trail starts about five houses down from the foot bridge, there is a large sign and it is easy to find. The trail is gravel covered and wide, with plenty of room for two way traffic. We passed lots of cyclist and joggers this morning and several others dogs walking there owners. From our starting point, we are close to the Seine River and get several opportunities to view the river. The trees are teaming with birds and they serenade everyone on the trails with their songs. The main trails were crossed with bike trails and dirt paths leading into the trees. In middle of the trail is a branch off path call Spirit Trail, there is a 75 year old Spirt Tree with a Spirit Carving on this trail. On our first hike into Bois-des-esprits trail we were able to complete half the trail, we’re looking forward to coming back to finish the last leg of the trail.
A last minute change in plans brought us to Bois-des-esprits trail for our morning walk today. Mid January, blue sky, a nice day for a walk. We were surprised to see that the Seine River hadn’t completely frozen over. We saw a lot of deer this morning and a Downy Woodpecker hard at work, that didn’t seem to mind an audience.
Arriving at the John Bruce Road Foot Bridge today we found a couple of artists painting the the walkway.
Today we explored the trail that ends at Shorehill Drive and started for us not far after the Spirt Tree Path. We found a few more tree carvings on this trip. The Bois-des-esprits trail continues along the Seine River and provides many opportunities for a bench rest and scenic views. While we were resting on a bench near the end of the trail a visitor popped out of the trees for a snack. We enjoyed it’s company for about ten minutes before it moved on, further into the forest and we continued our walk.
Off The Bois-des-esprits trail is a path that runs along the Seine River, this is where we explored today.
Today we explored the trail from the Shorehill Drive to Creekbend Road. Unfortunately, this is the first time that I will be trail exploring without Brandy, we lost her recently she was almost sixteen. Sadly, she was not able to finish the trails. I do have Lisa with me today, she will be great company. We will do our best to finish exploring the trails for her.
This section is well groomed, and the trail is packed with limestone. I have to say the one negative I have for this section of the trail is that a large section runs next to condos, schools and apartments. A plus is the trail also runs along the river and there are lots of twists, turns and changes in elevation, ideal for bike riders, not so great for those with bad knees.
We had hoped to see more wildlife today, mostly what we saw was pretty small in size. We were lucky to see the same deer twice at different spots along the trail. If you are like me and need rest spots, this trail has few benches and there is a long stretch with no bench for a rest. The trail is well traveled by joggers, hikers, dog walkers, cyclists and even segways.
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