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Travel the world, learn more about the Moraine and the Trail and catch up on ‘off trail’ socializing. Join us for the Oak Ridges Trail Association’s Discovery Night! ORTA members and the public are invited to come along and bring a friend! Do you or someone you know have a great story to share? You could be an upcoming Discovery Night speaker! Drop a line to publicity@oakridgestrail.org.
Where and When:
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Time: |
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm |
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Location: |
Ballantrae Community Centre, 5592 Aurora Road, Stouffville L4A 7X3 |
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0.8 km east of Highway 48/Markham Road, on the north side (see map) |
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Cost: |
$5 contribution at the door gets you a ticket for some great prizes! Please lug a mug! |
Thursday January 19: Into the Northwest Passage and Beyond
Follow Diane Charlton on this exploratory adventure visiting some of the least travelled regions in the Canadian Arctic - Victoria Island, Prince of Wales Island, Somerset Island, Devon Island, Ellesmere Island and Canada's northernmost community of Grise Fiord. Cruise among icebergs, seeking out polar bears, walruses and whales.
Cross Baffin Bay, tracing the route to the pole until stopped by pack ice, but achieving a new farthest north for a "cruise" ship. Journey south along the Greenland coast with stops at historic sites and an UNESCO World Heritage Site, where 90% of the North Atlantic icebers are born. Resource staff included such convivial travelling companions as Margaret Atwood, Ken McGoogan, Graeme Gibson, Ian Tamblyn and many more.
Thursday February 16: Rouge Park - Going National
Talked about for years, now becoming a reality. Rouge Park is on track to National Park status. This should give a higher level of protection to a fabulous treasure within the GTA and address many concerns that users now have, including environmental, historical and recreational. Get the inside goods from those closely associated with the process and have your questions answered.
In addition, hear about ongoing TRCA (Toronto Region Conservation Authority) projects. As the Oak Ridges Moraine Trail passes through many of their tracts, ORTA works closely with TRCA to develop trails and ensure good stewardship. Thus we will be interested to hear of new developments.
Thursday March 16: Robert Sails the High Seas - Again
Join Robert Baker for another far-reaching sea-faring adventure! Cruise the Baltic on the new ocean liner, the "Queen Elizabeth." After Kristiansand, Norway, we journey to Oslo's historic harbour, see Copenhagen's Little Mermaid, explore palaces, visit Helsinki's Rock Church and head onward to St. Petersberg, Russia, often called the Venice of the North. After a breather, we head southward to Tallinn, Estonia, Ghent, Belgium, and finally disembark in Cunard's home port of Southampton, England.
Discovery Night draw prizes: If you have ‘prize worthy’ items from your travels, or have something hike-related on hand that could perhaps find a new home, or you can make something, let us know at publicity@oakridgestrail.org. It will help keep our variety of draw prizes fresh and surprising!
Join us for a celebration of ORTA's 20th Anniversary, along with the annual business meeting.
Our Association was founded in the Spring of 1992. The name initially adopted was Citizens for an Oak Ridges Trail; CORT for short. A school in Aurora designed a logo with this name.
However, when the founders applied for registration as an Ontario Corporation they were advised CORT implied political adbvocacy, which is not commensurate with charitable status. Thus we were incorporated in 1994 as the Oak Ridges Trail Association - ORTA. It was a simple matter to reconfigure the logo.
The Annual General Meeting on Thursday April 19, 2012 will be a special celebration to which all present and previous members of ORTA are invited. It will be combined with our monthly Discovery Night program.
You can anticipate a pre-AGM hike, an opportunity to mix and mingle, a light meal with a wine and beer donation bar, and feature presentations together with the essential business session. Ballantrae Community Centre, 5592 Aurora Road, Ballantrae, 0.5 km east of Highway 48.
3.2 km Goodwood Side Trail. This is our latest addition in Uxbridge and is currently called the Goodwood Side Trail. It starts in the Goodwood Tract of TRCA, about 75 metres west of Con 3and continues southwest from the main ORMT for 3.2km to the Glasgow Loop Side Trail located on the south side of Webb Rd. Both of the trails should be added to your destintion list as the routes weave through cedar and spruce as well as tamarack plantations, pass through constantly changing wildflower meadows and show signs of early settlement with home and barn foundations. If you are quietly walking through you might even catch sight of deer or pheasants in the remnants of apple orchards or near the wetlands and stream.
The Hollidge Tract in the York Regional Forest has an accessible trail which provides a unique nature experience to all users including those with disabilities. The tract is located in the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville on the east side of Highway 48, south of Vivian Road. The one-kilometre accessible trail loop, passes through a variety of areas including a red pine forest, a lowland mixed wood forest, a young hardwood forest and a wetland area. For more information and a video clip, visit www.york.ca
The 5th Edition of our popular Oak Ridges Moraine Trail Guidebook sold out in the summer, and the new 6th Edition is better than ever. The total distance of the main trail route is now 280 km with 87 km of side trails so there is a lot of new information contained in the 6th edition.
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Map 0, new connection to Bruce Trail
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Map 2, more lands protected along the trail
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Maps 3 and 4, completion of the Nokiidaa Trail through Newmarket
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Map 4, a new 3.4 km Porritt Tract Side Trail and a 1 km accessible trail in the Hollidge Tract
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Map 5, a new 3 km Goodwood Tract Side Trail and a new 2.7 km Glasgow Side Trail
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Map 6, a forthcoming off-road re-route and new side trail
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Map 8, re-route improvements to a side trail
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Map 9, an off-road re-route and changes to several road names
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Maps 10 and 11, mapping of the newly blazed 16 km off-road main trail through Northumberland County Forest
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Maps 11 and 12, mapping of an additional 30 km of Northumberland County Forest trails open for hikers on Map 11; and a trail re-route and directions to the ORTA kiosks at our trail termini in Warkworth and Castleton
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.
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.
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.
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