It has been a wet spring in Ottawa! And that’s putting it lightly. Although, I do remember filling sandbags just a few years ago, so maybe this is our new normal? Either way, at the end of April it was grey, rain, and a super fussy baby for us. So when we finally got a sunny day, we absolutely had to get out of the house!

We were having a hard time figuring out where we wanted to hike, knowing that so many of the trails in Gatineau and Ottawa would be wet or flooded. So, we thought to ourselves that something a little bit south of the city might be the ticket! We had spent a bit of time out at 1000 Islands National Park last year, biking the Waterfront Trail and hiking at Landon Bay. We had spotted the trails at Jones Creek then, but hadn’t checked them out yet. So, we decided to head down there and see if the trails might be drier than our hometown trails. And we were in luck!

We decided to hike the Wolf and Hawk Loop Trails (in the southwest sector). Looking online, it seemed like there were two distinct trail networks in the area. When we arrived though, we discovered they were actually connected at one point.

Dogs, on leash, are allowed on these trails. And the trails are open year round, although a posted “warning” at the trailhead indicates that they are not maintained between Thanksgiving and Victoria Day. There was also a posted warning about there being ticks in the area, because those little monsters are everywhere.

Regardless, without getting too far ahead of myself, we loved these trails!

It had been awhile since we had been on any trails that felt even remotely challenging, so we were absolutely loving the rock strewn trail that we found ourselves on. It didn’t hurt that there was beautiful green moss and grass everywhere. That, combined with the new buds on the trees and the sun shining were giving us life.

Getting There

In order to access this trail network, we needed to find the trailhead for the Wolf Trail. So, we packed up our things, tossed the baby in the car, and off we went.

The Wolf Trail trailhead is pretty nondescript. You could easily drive by and not actually realize it’s a trailhead. But there’s an actual address marker there, making it really easy to find if you’re looking! The address is 51 County Road 5, Mallorytown, ON. But you can use these coordinates to get there: 44.470911, -75.866096.

We drove past it once, then turned around and parked on the side of the road. There was no actual parking lot, but there also weren’t any “no parking signs,” so we were in luck!

The Trailhead

At the trailhead, there was a tiny footbridge leading through a fence into the forest. To our left, there was a posted map. There was nothing else at the trailhead (i.e. no outhouses)- so plan accordingly!

When we hiked at Landon Bay we paid a parking fee, so we brought exact change along this time too. But, there was no place to pay at the trailhead. I’m a bit worried I owe Parks Canada a trail fee…

When we looked at the map posted, that’s when we realized the two trail networks actually WERE connected. But the map also said we were in the St. Lawrence Islands National Park- which I’m pretty sure is what the park was called before the named changed to 1000 Islands. So I wasn’t sure why the information online (which I assumed was more current) didn’t reflect the linked trails.

Regardless! We were sticking with our original plan. So, we set out into the forest.

The Trail

Almost immediately, the forest swallowed us up and the trail became somewhat rocky. The trail was skinny, with only enough room for us to walk single file. This remained true for the entire length of our hike.

We were able to see Polly Creek on our right hand side, while a ridge with big old Pine trees loomed over us on our left. After hiking about 400 metres, we veered away from the creek, winding behind the ridge we had been walking parallel with.

We followed the red trail markers through a forest filled with ridges and valleys, and moss covered stones. After hiking 1.1 kilometres there was a trailmarker with an arrow pointing left. But we were able to see the path winding straight ahead of us, so we weren’t thrown off course.

The trail alternated between being a dirt path, to being a tumble of rocks, and back again as we walked along.

Crossing the Creek

Stepping over a few little garter snakes (okay, not me, I send my husband ahead to scare them off), we started to lose elevation at the 1.5 kilometre mark. This brought us back down closer to the creek again, and we soon reached a long bridge crossing it. There were two viewing platforms built into the bridge, but the water was so low that the view wasn’t as lovely as it might be at other times of the year.

The bridge was fun to cross though, because it had shifted and was on a bit of a diagonal. We got a good lean on as as we crossed to the other side.

300 metres beyond the bridge, we reached the split for the Hawk Loop Trail.

Hawk Loop Trail Signs

At this junction on the trail, the markers switched from red to orange. There was also a posted sign with arrows indicating which direction each trail was in, and which way to the lookout. We wanted to save the lookout for our way back, so we decided to complete the Hawk Loop counter clockwise. To do so, we headed to our left.

Here, the trail seemed to be less traveled. There were tons of oak leaves covering the ground, but if you have a good eye, it can still be easy to pick out the trail when the forest floor is covered.

The trail markers also started noting distances at this point. Distances to what? We weren’t sure at first. We guessed that it was the distance until the next trail split, where the Deer Trail started. Turns out, we were right.

As we hiked along, we were able to hear a train whistle. The noise bouncing off the hills in the forest created a very cool echo effect. As much as we felt like we had hiked deep into the woods, clearly we hadn’t gone THAT far.

Trail Closures

After hiking 3 kilometres, we passed a pond on our left hand side. Immediately after, we were at the split for the Deer Trail. There was a posted sign here with directional arrows and trail names as well.

We had no intention of hiking the Deer Trail, and it turns out that was a good thing. Parks Canada said that the trail is closed, and they’re not sure what the long term plan is for reopening it. They said that they’re working on making a new map for the trailhead that won’t include Deer Trail. Despite this, there was absolutely no signage at this trail junction noting the trail was closed.

We turned to our right to stick with the Hawk Loop trail.

The Lookout

About a kilometre past the trail split, we came across a small bench beside the trail. I snapped a quick picture of it, just to remember that it was there, and we carried on, thinking nothing more of it.

Turns out, that bench was the lookout! There was absolutely no view though. It just looked out into the forest.

We traveled along another ridge, high above the creek. The trail markers noted distances on this section of the trail too- the distances were how much trail was left until we reached the Wolf Trail again.

Heading Back

This side of the Hawk Loop Trail was a bit less rocky, making for quicker hiking on the return. I’ve always been a bit careful about where I put my feet, but I’m even more careful when I’m wearing my daughter.

We stopped for a little break in the middle of the forest, because the baby was getting hungry. She loves facing out so that she can see where she’s “hiking,” but after eating it was about time for her nap. So I flipped her around to face me and get a little bit more comfy. She fell asleep almost immediately once we got going again. Hiking is hard work!

As she snoozed, we headed back towards Wolf Trail. We had hiked a total of 5.9 kilometres before we arrived back at Wolf Trail. We turned to our left to head back to the trailhead, and traversed the now familiar Wolf Trail.

Back at the Trailhead

The baby woke up RIGHT before we arrived back at the trailhead. Perfect timing. By the time we were done, we had hiked a total of 7.8 kilometres. We were able to cover that distance in two hours and forty three minutes. This didn’t include any breaks, except for one to feed the baby. And a few here and there to take pictures!

Despite some rockier footing and a skinny trail, this hike was still relatively easy, because there weren’t too many big hills. It was absolutely perfect for our daughter’s first “long hike,” and just a great spot to get out into the woods.

We decided to stop at the Mallorytown OnRoute just a few minutes away to use the washrooms. Then, we were on our way back home, happy we found such awesome, dry trails. We’re really looking forward to checking out the other trail network in Jones Creek.

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

Gear We Forgot