This hike is part of the Adventure Report Ottawa Hiking Challenge! If you hike this trail, you’re officially working on the Road Trip Edition!

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Adventure Report Ottawa Hiking Challenge Route Specification: Put all all the loops on the east side together-Eel, Turtle, Heron, Bear, and Snipe.

We’ve hiked all over 1000 Islands National Park. Seriously! I don’t think there’s a single trail in the park we haven’t been on. And if there is, please let me know because I’d like to go check it out.

1000 Islands National Park is so close to Ottawa that it makes for a really great day trip! The first time we went down, we hiked the Landon Bay trail and got some great views. Next up were the trails on the west side of Jones Creek, and then the trails right near Mallorytown landing.

This past weekend, at the end of October, we decided to go back and check out the trails on the east side of Jones Creek. All the trails in the area used to be connected, but in recent years the trail that connects the two sides was flooded. Rumor has it that a group of beavers are responsible.

The trails on the west side of Jones Creek were nice and easy, so we figured these loops would be the same. Planning to put together all the loops on the east side (Eel, Turtle, Heron, Bear, and Snipe), we knew we’d get a nice long walk in the woods.

All the trails at Jones Creek are open year round, and dogs are allowed (but posted signs ask that they be on leash).

Getting There

There are two trailheads for the Jones Creek trails. Since we wanted to hike the loops on the east end, we needed to start at the trailhead just off of 1000 Islands Parkway. You can use these coordinates to get there: 44.489466, -75.821362.

It’s easy to spot the parking lot for the trailhead because there are a few signs along the parkway, and another right at the entrance to the parking lot.

The lot isn’t too big, and only has space for about twenty cars. Since we were there in the “off season” though, there were only a few other cars in the lot.

At the back of the parking lot, there’s a machine where you would have to pay to park in the summer months. It was bagged when we arrived, so we knew we didn’t have to pay. There was also a map posted, and paper maps of the trails available. There was also information about ticks, and my husband found one on himself when we got home. Our first of the season! Yuck!

There was no washroom at the trailhead, but there was a composting outhouse right at the beginning of the Eel Loop.

The trail began just behind the posted map at the back of the lot.

The Trails

We set out on a wide, well-groomed path that was made of gravel. Soon though, we came to the first trail split, and headed into the forest. All of the trails on this side of the Jones Creek hiking area wound through the forest, and were quite easy to traverse. There were some roots here and there, and a few sections with small rocks embedded in the trail, but for the most part we were able to hike really quickly and easily. On a few occasions there were small hills, but they were really gentle.

The trails were well maintained, and in most of the spots where it seemed like it could get wet or mucky, there were solid boardwalks built.

Despite the length of the route we put together, it felt like we kept coming back to Jones Creek. For a lot of the hike, we could see the creek through the trees beside us, and often we got nice views of the colours on the opposite shore.

Trail Marking

Trail marking in the area was done really well. Because of the time of year that we went, there were a ton of leaves down on the forest floor. In most spots we were still able to pick out the trail, but in others we really had to rely on the trail markers. Fortunately, there were enough of them that we almost always had one within sight! Plus, in places where the trail veered sharply in one direction or another, there were little arrows on the markers to help guide us.

At every point on our hike where one trail turned into another, there were signs posted with the trail names so that we knew exactly where we were.

Some of the markers also had distances on them, so we knew how far we had gone on each. The distances seemed to be associated with each particular trail. For example, the distances on the Snipe Loop never got above 4 kilometres even though we had hiked much further than that by the time we finished that loop.

As we traveled from one trail to another, the trail markers changed colour. The colour of each trail marker matched the colour of the trail on the posted maps (so markers on the Eel Loop were yellow, on the Turtle Loop orange, and so on).

Lookouts and Boardwalks

On the trail map, it seemed like there was supposed to be two lookouts- one on the Heron Loop, and one on the Snipe Loop.

The lookout along the Heron Loop was lovely! There was a wooden platform built up on a ledge above Jones Creek where we could look out and see the boardwalk connecting to the other side. There were red Parks Canada chairs on the platform, but a lovely family was stopped for lunch so we didn’t get a chance to test them out. It was definitely a perfect place to stop and rest.

The lookout along the Snipe Loop was… Non-existent? There were a few nice spots along the trail that got us down close to the creek, but there wasn’t anything that signalled to us that these were official lookouts. I guess we had been spoiled by the views on the Heron Loop.

The boardwalk across Jones Creek, connecting the Heron Loop and the Snipe Loop, was also a lot of fun. It was incredibly long, and really well built. When we got to the middle of it, we had beautiful views up and down the creek.

The boardwalk itself, and the lookout on the Heron Loop, are definitely the highlights of these trails!

Trail Splits and Other Things You Should Know

Most of the trails along this section of Jones Creek were quite similar. Flat, with a few roots here and there, and the occasional short rocky section to keep it interesting. So instead of narrating every inch of the trail, I’ll just provide you with some key distances!

0.4 Km. Bear Loop Trail to our left and Eel Loop Trail to our right.

*There was a composting toilet on Eel Loop just after the split

0.5 Km. Posted map. First Eel Loop Trail split (we went right).

0.6 Km. Eel Loop Trail offshoot on the right.

*It brought us closer to Jones Creek but really wasn’t too exciting.

1 Km. The Eel Loop Trail meets the Turtle Loop Trail (we turned right, markers changed from yellow to orange).

1.3 Km. The Turtle Loop Trail meets the Heron Loop Trail (we turned, you guessed it, right… Trail markers changed from orange to red).

1.7 Km. We got lost along the Heron Loop.

*We had followed red trail markers off to our right and found ourselves down by the Creek again, but couldn’t find the trail! We had to retrace our steps and turn right where we originally split (we would have gone straight here if we hadn’t turned before).

2.3 Km. The lookout!

*There was a platform here with nice red chairs to sit in and enjoy the view.

2.5 Km. The boardwalk across Jones Creek over to the Snipe Loop Trail.

2.7 Km. The only split in the trail on the Snipe Loop (we turned left to complete the loop clockwise).

4 Km. The Deer Trail splits off from the Snipe Loop Trail.

*Posted signs reminded us the Deer Trail was closed.

6.5 Km. Back at the trail split for the Snipe Loop.

*Where was the second lookout?!

7 Km. Heron Loop Trail split on the way back (to our left was the way we had come, so we went straight).

7.3 Km. The Heron Loop Trail meets the Bear Trail (we turned right).

*Here, we came across a tall post, like the ones that had trail signs on them at most splits previously. There were no signs up, but directly to our right we saw a blue trail marker and knew we had arrived at the Bear Loop.

8 Km. The Bear Loop Trail meets the Eel Loop Trail (we turned right to head to the parking lot).

Trail Thoughts

By the time we had returned to the parking lot, we had hiked a total of 8.3 kilometres. It took us just over three hours to cover that distance. BUT, we let the baby walk for a while, and she stopped to try and pick up every. Single. Leaf. On the boardwalk. So you can imagine that it took some time for us to get across.

The trails at Jones Creek are very similar all throughout the network, including those on the west side (the Wolf Trail and Hawk Loop Trail). If I had to choose between the two sets, I’d choose these trails, because the boardwalk over Jones Creek was beautiful.

I also like this set of trails because there are so many connections that you could put them together a bunch of different ways, making the hike shorter if you wanted to. But if you CAN make it out to the lookout on the Heron Loop, and the boardwalk over Jones Creek, I recommend it because they’re the best spots on the trail.

Given how easy the hiking was (flat and not too technical), these trails are great for everyone, including young children and hikers who are just starting out.

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