Since moving to Muskoka, I had been hearing about this place called Torrance Barrens Trails and Dark Sky Reserve. I knew it was a great place to go for night viewing of stars, meteor showers, etc, but had no idea that there were hiking trails there as well.
My dear friend Nicole came to visit me in Port Carling. I was so happy she was here with me and we decided to go for a hike. I wanted to go somewhere I’d never been, so I checked out some places online in preparation.
I found the above information and after a quick discussion, we decided this would be a great place to explore.
We dressed nice and warm as it was very cold out and hoped to get some pretty fall color views.
Fall peak had hit our area last weekend but the leaves were hanging on and I hoped there would still be enough color to get some good photos.
We started on our hike as a bit of rain fell. The sky was dark and dreary but it didn’t dampen our spirits.
This trail is taken care of by Muskoka Lakes Trail Association, an organization I have come to love since moving up north.
It was possible to camp here and we saw a few spots that might’ve looked like they’d make a good site. I was enjoying exploring here so far and couldn’t wait to see the rest of the trails!
The fall colors were all around us and I was so happy to be out hiking in them!
There were vibrant colors all around, lots of interesting plants and mushrooms!
I have recently started researching mushrooms and was enjoying all the different varieties I was finding here.
My eyes felt drunk from all the beauty they were seeing. It was truly gorgeous here today!
Along with cool plaques that filled us with knowledge, the trails also had a lot of bridge and boardwalks, my favorite!
We continued on the trail, excited to see what else would be in store for us.
As per the description we found online, we discovered lots of cairns (inukshuks) on the routes, pointing us in the right direction.
And also continued discovering many cool varieties of mushrooms.
We came across many small waterfalls on the way, although I’m not sure if many of them are here all year round, as some were very tiny, but still very pretty.
There was a lot of water on the trail we were on and I was glad I was wearing my Keens as they kept my feet nice and dry!
We came across this neat sign and thought it’d make a great pic.
We again, came across a lot of water that I don’t think is always here, but it looked really nice with the colors reflecting in it.
This bridge was one of my favorites as it has a few inadequacies in it. I thought it was cool that it wasn’t totally perfect. Not everything in nature is.
We had to be careful not to step through the boards. I walked along where the nails were put in, as I knew underneath was the crossboard that would keep me from falling through. It added a bit more adventure to the hike!
We found another boardwalk a bit further along. Some went over water, some went over mushy ground and some seemed to go over nothing at all.
Then we discovered that the trail we had been on was temporarily closed. We had no idea. We must’ve gotten on it in a round about way where there was no sign, but we found it on the way out. I apologize for using a closed trail, I honestly didn’t know, but it was pretty and I’m glad I got to see it accidentally.
We arrived at a neat area full of inukshuks. I added my own version! Thanks to Nicole for taking the shot!
Which way to go????
We were hiking for about 2 hours now and were still a bit chilly and hungry, so we decided to take the trail to the parking lot.
We had more amazingly pretty views on the way. Then we came up to an area that was under water. We did our best to navigate our way through, without getting wet feet.
We continued on and found a tiny waterfall. It was so pretty and sounded so calming. I just love the sound of water and it made my day to see this cute little waterfall!
Soon afterwards, we could see the parking lot and the car.
We piled our backpacks into the back, then drove back down the lovely fall colored road and out towards the town of Torrance.
And as I’d heard they were closing at the end of October, and we were all pretty hungry, we stopped at Pie for our own delicious pizzas!
What a treat!
Thanks for hiking along with us at Torrance Barrens! I hope you enjoyed the beautiful fall colors as much as we did! Thanks to Nicole for coming along even though I know you were freezing! Hope the pretty colors and yummy pizza made up for it!
If you have any questions, comments or just want to say hi, please leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as I am able to!
Happy Hiking!
Camper Christina
Was there last week. Great spot to hike. Like you, we didn’t know the Pine Ridge loop was closed until we came to the area with the cairns, and saw the closed sign. One of our favourite go to places. Looks like thou had a great time.
Great write-up!
Thanks so much Glen for the comment and the kind words! We were wondering why it was closed? Any idea?
Great post, love the images and writing, thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much Carl for taking the time to check out my post and for the great comments! Have a great day!
Only thing I can think of is the poor condition of the boardwalks.
Yes, they are not in the best state. i asked Muskoka Trails Council if they were looking for help but they said at the moment they are reorganizing. I would definitely donate some of my time and a bit of money to fix some of them up. I am curious though, ‘how’ they got into such a state. They don’t all look super old?
[…] had been there in the fall with some friends, and another time in the summer, and really enjoyed the […]