Cootes Paradise Trails

Established in 1927 for its significance as a migratory bird stopover, Cootes Paradise is RBG’s largest and most diverse sanctuary at over 600 hectares. The area features a 320-hectare river-mouth marsh, 16 creeks and 25 kilometres of shoreline. The surrounding forest is dominated by large oak trees while the marsh is part of a large scale Great Lakes restoration program.

Trail Conditions

27 kilometres of trail include packed earth, crushed stone, asphalt and boardwalks; some sections are steep and hilly. Trails are not plowed or sandy during the winter. During spring thaws and after rains, earthen trails become muddy. Please take appropriate caution.

Current interruptions and Closures:

Trail Destinations

Cootes Paradise is home to lots of interesting trails and lookouts! Here are 5 key destinations marked by number on the pdf map.

1. Burial Grounds

Located on Burlington Heights along York Blvd., the area provides the best views of Cootes Paradise. A memorial marks this site’s historic connections — the War of 1812, immigrants who died arriving by ship in the 1840s and those who died in a cholera epidemic in 1854.

2. Westdale Ravine

Located on the south shore of Cootes Paradise, this deeply incised sand-plain ravine features a spring-fed creek, exposed glacial beach rocks and some of the tallest trees on the property. It is a forest-birding hotspot.

3. Anishinaabe waadiziwin

Native plants provide Indigenous peoples with almost all of life’s essentials. Starting in the Arboretum near the Nature Interpretive Centre, this new trail explores plants used by the Anishinaabe peoples, and their connections to culture, language, ecology and history.

4. Pine Point Lookout

Below the Lilac Dell and looking out towards Hickory Island, this is one of the few locations where White Pine dominates, evoking images of the forests that once covered the area.

5. The Fishway

Located at the outlet of Cootes Paradise Marsh, this seasonally operated structure blocks the entrance of more than 10,000 non-native carp annually, while ensuring the spring migration of native Lake Ontario fish to and from this critical spawning area.

6. Marsh Boardwalk/Spencer Creek Delta

The boardwalk provides an up-close look at one of the largest creek deltas on Lake Ontario. This area is favoured by migratory waterfowl and is the best place to view Bald Eagles. Rat Island is directly across the creek to the south of the platform.

Canada’s Biodiversity Hotspot

Royal Botanical Gardens’ 1,100 hectares is dominated by nature sanctuaries enveloping the western end of Lake Ontario. These form a Nodal Park within the Niagara Escarpment World Biosphere Region and the heart of the Cootes to Escarpment Ecopark System. With more than 750 native plant species, 277 types of migratory birds, 37 mammal species, 14 reptile species, 9 amphibian species and 68 species of Lake Ontario fish, the area is an important contributor to ecosystems that span international borders.

About Cootes Paradise

What’s in a Name?

The site is named after Captain Thomas Coote, a British army officer who enjoyed hunting the abundant waterfowl while on leave from his duties at Niagara in the 1780s. The community at the west end of the marsh was also named Cootes Paradise until the 1840s, at which time the name was changed to Dundas.

Early Residents

People have been drawn to Cootes Paradise for centuries. From AD 500 to 1000 this area was occupied by the Princess Point people, named after archaeological discoveries which indicated they were the first to bring agriculture to the region. Europeans arrived in the 1700s, with the first houses built on the north shore plateaus. One of these sites, Rasberry House, remains today.

Vegetation and Microclimate

Nestled between the Niagara Escarpment and Lake Ontario, the area’s flora is characteristic of the more southern deciduous forest region. Carolinian trees such as Sassafras, oaks and hickories dominate the North Shore, while northern species like Hemlock, Beech and White Cedar are found on the South Shore.

Habitat Restoration

At the inception of Project Paradise in the 1990s, nearly the entire marsh ecosystem had been lost, leaving it a shallow muddy lake. With the exclusion of destructive carp at the Fishway, water lilies, cattails, frogs, fish and birds have begun to thrive again.