Expand Your Mind And Make A New Friend At An ORTA Discovery Night
Discovery Nights give you an opportunity to learn more about the Oak Ridges Trail, the Oak Ridges Moraine, hiking, nature and many other topics that interest hikers. Your new Discovery Night organizers, Diana Smyth and Garry Niece, invite ORTA members and the public to come along and bring a friend to an upcoming Discovery Night!

UPDATED! Thursday March 18: Artistic Impressions of Killarney
Crystal Piche weaves the legendary Canadian painters of the Group of Seven and their associate Emily Carr with the rugged beauty of Killarney Provincial Park, where these artists painted. Crystal then brings us up to date with a look at what contemporary artists are doing today in the park.

Questions? Contact Garry Niece gcniece@yahoo.ca or Diana Smyth hikingdi@sympatico.ca

Fifth Edition of the ORTA Guidebook now available
The new edition of the ORTA Guidebook now reflects the great strides that the trail has made across the Moraine over the last 2 years and that the 3 new maps in this new edition include the termini at both east and west ends of the trail:

• Map 0, Humber Headwaters, illustrates the link-up with the Bruce Trail , just north of Mono Mills.
• Map 11, Northumberland Forest , shows the approved route through the Forest. Please note that the trail route has not yet been blazed. This map also shows the link to Castleton, where there is a southern terminus to the Oak Ridges Trail.
• Map 12, Rice Lake Plains, shows the trail route through to the village of Warkworth, the northern terminus of the Trail.

Peter Attfield has provided extensive notes for the reverse of each of these 3 new maps. For example, the reverse of Map 12 contains a neat explanation about Rice Lake Plains with its tall-grass prairie and black oak savanna. You will also find out about the hog-nosed snake which graces the cover panel of Map 12.

The ORTA Guidebook can be ordered through the Gatehouse or obtained through hike leaders and Discovery Nights. It is also for sale at a number of retailers across the Moraine and at MEC in Toronto. For more information, visit the Guidebook page.

ORTA Hike Leaders Lead the Way to a Great Day Out!
Join the Hike Ontario Safe Hiking and Certified Hike Leader Training Courses:

   Safe Hiking: Sunday, February 28, 2010 *Note date change
   Certified Hike Leader: Sunday, March 7, 2010 *Note date change

PLEASE NOTE: The Safe Hiking Course is a new prerequisite for the Certified Hike Leader Course.

If you are a good hiker but want to get better so you can be a leader, these courses are for you. If you have solid hiking and leading experience and want to get your leader certification, this is the place. ORTA relies on our dedicated, volunteer hike leaders to keep our popular, year-round hike series strong and vibrant to reach all kinds of hikers. So put your boots on and join us! More hike leaders means more hikes!

Over the two days, you will learn:
   -  How to prepare for a hike – as a hiker and a leader
   -  How to execute your hike on the day
   -  What’s in a great first-aid kit
   -  How to plan and 'write' a hike
   -  What makes a great leader
   -  What steps to take for risk management and safety
   -  Who hike 'audiences' are
   -  How to address and work with your hikers with confidence
   -  The dynamics of a hike ...and more!

"Leadership often requires breaking trail to show that it can be done." - Byron Smith, Canadian mountaineer
Contact Diana Smyth at publicity@oakridgestrail.org to register. Please provide 5 examples of your hiking and leadership background and your phone number as well. Location, course fees and other specifics for the course will be shared closer to the dates.

June 19 & 20, 2010 Moraine Adventure Relay
Visit www.moraineadventure.com for more information.

Geocaching in Durham Region
Geocaching is an exciting new sport for outdoor enthusiasts.  Treasure boxes are hidden in secret locations on Durham Region Trails.  Using a Global Positioning Device (GPS) and some clues, adventurers are rewarded by finding the hidden geocache box. 

To increase accessibility to this sport, Durham Lives! partners are initiating a GPS loan program, so that everyone can enjoy this fresh twist on exploring Durham Region Trails. To get started, find the caches planted at the co-ordinates listed in the yellow box.

Take a Walk in the York Regional Forest
YRF Staff host free events monthly. Pre-registration is required in February and November. All are welcome to come out, enjoy & learn. Children under 16 years old must be accompanied by an adult. For more information on York Region Forest events visit the York Region website.

Other Events & News

October 2008 "Connecting With Nature" Book
The book 'Connecting With Nature: Oak Ridges Moraine "artists preserving the moraine with paint"' features original artwork related to the Oak Ridges moraine and was conceived of to create more public awareness of the significance of the Oak Ridges. The book is $20 and is available at the Mill Pond Gallery in Richmond Hill, The Art of the Matter Gallery in Aurora and The Rose Gallery in King. Proceeds will be donated in support of the preservation of the moraine.

January 21, 2008 Hike Ontario's Best Practices Manual now available
Hike Ontario is happy to announce that their Best Practices Manual is now ready for distribution and available for download from www.hikeontario.com.  The target audience is organizations with an interest in creating pedestrian footpaths and organizing hiking and walking activities to pique people's desire for healthy, inexpensive, and accessible activities on them.

TRAIL NEWS

June 14 -15, 2008 Moraine for Life Adventure Relay
The 160km team challenge kicked off in style on June 14 at 8 am from Gore's Landing on Rice Lake with bagpipes. The weather held and the colourful slate of teams that participated paddled, ran and peddled their way over the Oak Ridges Moraine.  The first team in completed the course in an astonishing time of under 11 hours! Visit www.moraineadventure.com for the 2008 race results and a brief slideshow.  Visit our Facebook group for a large gallery of event photos.  Publicity Director's report

June 16 -17, 2007 Moraine Adventure Relay
Results and photos

September 6 , 2006 Official Opening of Rahmani Tract
The official opening of the newest section of the OR Trail, through the Rahmani Tract of Central Lake Ontario Conservation, took place on September 6. Photo    News Release

June 23, 2006 Official Opening of the Purple Woods Trail
The official opening our our trail route through the Purple Woods Conservation Area took place on Friday, June 23rd. View Photo of the event.

October 13, 2005 Western Trailhead of ORT Established
Approximately three kilometers of pathway has been added to the Oak Ridges Trail with the recent establishment of the western trailhead at highway #50 in the village of Palgrave. Starting from the Caledon Trailway kiosk, the ORT now proceeds along the Trailway to the previous trailhead at Mount Pleasant Road. From here, the Oak Ridges Trail swings south and then east.

Photo of the the map board at the Caledon Trailway kiosk on the east side of hwy 50 in Palgrave.

PRESS RELEASES

October 9, 2008
Oak Ridges Trail 3.5km re-route another step towards continuous green link across the entire Oak Ridges Moraine

October 4, 2008
In the National Post "Is the Ontario Greenbelt working? Harold Sellers, executive director with the Oak Ridges Trail Association leads a group of hikers along the Oak Ridges Moraine ... www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=859071

June 10, 2008
The 2nd Annual Moraine For Life Adventure Relay Draws Teams From All Walks Of Life In Support Of The Oak Ridges Trail Association

May 12, 2008
The Oak Ridges Trail Association and the Township of Cramahe have reached agreement on the routing of the Oak Ridges Moraine Trail, which will see the eastern trailhead established in the village of Castleton

April 10, 2008
In the Globe and Mail "Ontario's greenbelt a model for the world: Toronto-are protected zone earns high marks for its vastness and for the strong government support it has"  Full article...

October 9, 2007
The Moraine For Life Adventure Relay, an annual team race event held on the Oak Ridges Moraine Trail, has received a generous sponsorship from Joey and Toby Tanenbaum.

June 27, 2006
Successful “pilot testing” of the Secord Pond section of the Oak Ridges Trail took place June 22 and June 25. [View photo - Two enthusiastic trail users with disabilities test the new Secord Pond Side Trail. ]

May 29, 2006

• Oak Ridges Trail Guidebook 4th Edition Released
• New Tecumseth Trail Opening on June 3, 2006
• Rochester, NY Hiking Group to Visit the Oak Ridges Trail on June 7, 2006
• Cawthra Mulock Nature Reserve Guided Hike on June 10, 2006

April 3, 2006
A major project has been launched on the Oak Ridges Moraine to encourage landowner participation in conservation efforts. The ‘Caring for the Moraine’ Project, created by 23 conservation and environmental organizations working together, has been launched in selected areas of the Oak Ridges Moraine to provide co-coordinated conservation services. More information...

June 21, 2005
Harold Sellers, Executive Director of the Oak Ridges Trail Association and Beth Kümmling, Executive Director of the Bruce Trail Association held a press conference to announce the connection of the Oak Ridges Moraine Trail with the Bruce Trail in Ontario’s Greenbelt area. You can now hike from Rice Lake (south of Peterborough) to either Queenston or Tobermory Bruce Trail. Media Package available.