What a beautiful sunny weekend we just had! We decided to take advantage, and check out the South March Highlands Conservation Forest. I’ve known about this trail network for a long time, but looking at the map (created by the Ottawa Mountain Bike Association), I always found the network kind of intimidating. I like to be able to pick out a cohesive route, and looking at the map, the options in the South March Highlands always seemed a bit overwhelming!

It didn’t help that when I went online to ask people who had spent time in the area how long the “Rockhopper Loop” was, I got answers that ranged from 3 kilometres to 18 kilometres!

Taking a good, hard look at the map though, we decided to go for it on a sunny Saturday. We weren’t disappointed! It was very clear to us that the trails there were not just maintained, they were LOVED. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen such fantastic trail work.

The trails at South March Conservation Forest are open year round, and although they’re super popular for mountain biking, hikers are welcome too. Oh, and dogs!

The Ottawa Mountain Bike Association (OMBA)

The Ottawa Mountain Bike Association is a not for profit organization that was formed in 2005. Their goal was (and is) to support the continuation of mountain biking in the South March Highlands Conservation Forest. Today, the trails in the forest are mostly maintained by OMBA volunteers, although the City of Ottawa does provide some support at times. The OMBA is a member of, and maintains the trails in accordance with the standards set out by the International Mountain Bike Association. Basically, that means they do a really great job.

The OMBA also hosts group rides on Tuesday nights. If you’re interested in finding out more, you can check out their Facebook page or their website.

Getting There

Wanting to complete the Rockhopper Loop, we decided we would start at the Klondike Trailhead. Foolishly, we thought if we plugged “South March Conservation Forest” into Google Maps, it would get us where we needed to go. It didn’t, and since we weren’t paying too much attention at first we ended up way west of the forest. We had better luck when we punched the actual intersection in. The Klondike trailhead is at the junction of Old Second Line Rod and Klondike Road. You can also use these coordinates to get there: 45.346299, -75.946353.

Since Klondike Road is off of March Road, we had lots of options for coffee on the way, and got our caffeine fix before we hit the trails.

There was a city of Ottawa sign at the side of the road announcing our arrival.

The Trailhead

The Klondike Trailhead lies right beside a suburban neighbourhood. While there wasn’t a designated parking lot, the shoulders at the side of the road where wide enough to allow for parking. There also didn’t seem to be any “no parking” signs on the more residential streets, so finding a spot was pretty easy.

We hung out in the car for a bit because our daughter had fallen asleep, and watched people on their way to the trailhead. There were lots of people out to walk the trails, and a few mountain bikers (although they had been asked to stay off the trails until they dried up, in order to not damage them). It was clear that these trails were very much shared among hikers and bikers.

With a good nap under her belt, our little one woke up. After a quick diaper change, a rejected bottle, and a sunscreen application that was NOT well received, we were on our way! We met up with my mother-in-law at the trailhead o that she could join us.

There were signs at the trailhead with information about the trail network, and a map of the trails. There was also a bike repair station and tire pump, courtesy of the Ottawa Mountain Bike Association.

Posted warning indicated that there would be wild parsnip in the area in warmer months. There were no posted warnings about ticks, but we kept an eye out anyways.

The Trail

Starting out, the trail was wide and flat. There were signs on our right hand side indicating that the forest there was private property. We had walked only 200 metres when we came to a split in the trail. To our left was the Beartree Trail. This was also the point where we saw our first posted trail sign. It had the name of each trail, and arrows pointing in the direction we had to take if we wanted to follow them. It also had a posted number that corresponded with numbers on the map.

We walked straight ahead, sticking with the Klondike Trail, which would take us to the Rockhopper Loop.

Immediately after this split, the trail thinned out. We walked through an open field, and then a few hundred metres later, a grove of Sumac. Just past the grove we crossed over a huge beaver pond. It looked like the original dam was built right beside where the boardwalk was, so that was cool to see. The view over the pond was lovely as well.

Water levels were high, but we walked right through the puddle that pooled beyond the boardwalk, making sure to Leave No Trace.

Trail Markers (None)

When we had hiked about 500 metres, the trail meandered over open rock face. There was a lot of rock stacking going on to our left. This is kind of a pet peeve of mine. It’s largely an eyesore. On unmarked backcountry trails, cairns can serve a purpose. On a trail 500 metres from the road, I think it just ruins the natural beauty we’re lucky to have so close to home.

As we hiked along, we realized there were no trail markers on these trails. Instead, there were just the posted signs that corresponded to the map.

However, the trail was still really easy to follow because it was so well worn into the dirt. In some spaces, like Gatineau Park or Bruce Pit, hikers and bikers go off trail all over the place, and eventually end up making unofficial trails, which can make it trickier to decide which is the main one. We didn’t see much evidence of that in South March. It was great to see people respecting the environment and sticking to the trail. And extra great that it helped make the trail so easy to follow!

The Rockhopper Loop

We arrived at the split for the Rockhopper Loop having hiked 600 metres. There was a sign here as well, pointing us in the two directions that the Rockhopper Loop went. We decided to complete the loop counter clockwise, and headed off to our right.

The trail immediately became skinnier and rockier as we started the loop. A few hundred metres later, the trail split and there was no sign. Looking at our map and how the trail was worn, we assumed that the trail off to our left was an unofficial shortcut. Keeping a little to our right/straight, we confirmed this when we reached “Point 29” about fifty feet down the trail.

The Lookout

We really hadn’t been expecting any views on this trail. So after hiking 1.2 kilometres we were pretty excited to see a lookout over the wetlands near the trail. Right near the shore, there was a big rock, the perfect spot to sit and enjoy the view.

After taking a good look, we carried on. The trail alternated between dirt single track and rocky trail as we hiked through the forest. We reached “Rachel’s Garden” (a trail feature on the map) after hiking 1.75 kilometres. The trail beyond this point was extra rocky, with lots of roots winding their way across our path.

A few hundred metres later, we reached the trail junctions for “Point 21 and “Point 23.” Turning right at Point 21 would have taken us way deeper into the forest on the North Dogsled Trail, and away from the Rockhopper Loop.

But the trail split at Point 23 as well. One path led down the hill to our left, and the other up the hill to our right. Taking a quick peek at the map, we sorted out that either trail would work for us, as they joined up not too far from where we were. It seemed the trails were designed this way so that bikers could avoid the “Deerdrop” feature on the trail.

The Northeast Side of the Loop

We headed downhill, and reached “Point 19” at the 2.1 kilometre mark. Here, the two trails became one again. We passed over a skinny boardwalk that brought us through a swampier section of the forest, and reached “Point 17” not long after.

Heading to our right would have brought us to the Porcupine Trail. We stayed left to stick with Rockhopper. Behind the sign for Point 17 was the most beautiful little hill I’ve ever seen. The forest floor was absolutely covered in wildflowers, and they were starting to bloom. The gentle slope of the hill just looked really whimsical, and was a perfect sight on a beautiful spring day.

Here on the northeast side of the loop, we could really start to see the work that had gone into this trail.

We crossed over the first of many little rock bridges on the trail, and began to notice more and more strategically placed rocks. There were even a few “corners” on the trail where rocks had been used to create bends along the edges that bikers could use to their advantage.

Getting Back

The trail continued to alternate between dirt path, rocky trail, and open rock face as we ambled along. At one point, a group of kids (at least I hope it was kids!) had constructed a very rudimentary shelter beside the trail. We passed this structure after hiking 2.6 kilometres. The stunning trail work continued, and before we knew it, we were back at the split.

We quickly retraced our steps, and returned to the trailhead having hiked a total of 3.6 kilometres. It took us an hour and thirty-five minutes to travel that distance. But, we did stop for a bottle break. And with a very distracted baby, that can easily take twenty minutes!

We really enjoyed the Rockhopper Loop, and were really impressed with the amount of work that went into building and maintaining it. There were a few gentle hills along the trail, but nothing very strenuous. Although some parts of the trail were dirt, there was enough rock, root, and different terrain to ensure we had to keep our eyes open. But it wasn’t too challenging, and I still felt very comfortable carrying my baby as we hiked along it.

It took us awhile to get out to the South March Highlands Conservation Forest, but we’ll definitely be back to tackle some of the longer trails!

I hope this trip report has enough info to get you there too. Let me know in the comments, or share and tag a friend to start planning your next adventure!

Map and Elevation Gain

Whenever I’m hiking somewhere new, I tend to wonder about who was on, and who took care of that land before me. I’ve enjoyed using this website as a place to start learning more about the indigenous people whose land I’m on: Native-land.ca.

Gear We Brought

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