The Oak Ridges Trail Association (ORTA)

Building Pathways to an Active Lifestyle. Come Join Us on 300 km of Trail!

 Introduction

ORTA is a volunteer based charitable hiking organization with a mandate to build and maintain a public hiking trail system on the Oak Ridges Moraine, off-road where possible. Additionally our mandate charges us with the responsibility of protecting the integrity of the moraine through trail development, maintenance, and increased awareness. To those ends we offer guided hikes of all difficulties and lengths, weekdays and weekends. Some are targeted at families; others are oriented towards adults while others have a strong nature focus. Hike schedules and related information can be found under the 'Hiking' tab. 

ORTA Guided Hikes are a popular way of getting to know like-minded, active people and to learn a little bit along the way!

If you are a current ORTA member and are looking to sign up for a hike, sign into your profile HERE

If you are not yet a member and would like to sign up for a guided hike as a non-member or guest before becoming a member, please create your profile HERE

We engage in partnerships with individual, municipal, provincial and federal landowners to accomplish our goals.
To learn more about the Moraine, please visit the 'Moraine' section. 

ORTA is a member of Hike Ontario. Hike Ontario is a coordinating body for hiking trails in Ontario, Canada. Member organizations have more than 1000 kilometres of hiking trails for you to explore. Hike Ontario also has individual members who share its vision and mission, which is to encourage the development and maintenance of hiking trails and to promote hiking. 

The Oak Ridges Moraine stretches for over 160 kilometres across the most populated area of Ontario. It is the source of 65 major streams or rivers and provides clean, safe drinking water to over a quarter of a million people living on the Moraine. The Moraine forest, wetlands and open meadow are vital in maintaining a healthy ecosystem for Toronto and the GTA. It also provides beautiful space for recreational use. 

Please explore our website to learn more about how you can participate in protecting the Moraine for our enjoyment today and for future generations. 

ORTA's History

ORTA is a non-profit organization that was initiated in 1991 by a group of volunteers. They gathered through the co-operation of STORM (Save the Oak Ridges Moraine), the Metro Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and Hike Ontario and developed the idea of a system of public recreational trails along the full length of the Moraine, from Albion Hills in the west, to the Northumberland Forest in the East. They then formed The Oak Ridges Trail Steering Committee and following a series of meetings, the Oak Ridges Trail Association (ORTA) was officially inaugurated at a public meeting held at Albion Hills in May 1992. 

The main objective of the Association is to develop and secure the Oak Ridges Trail, "....thereby promoting an appreciation and respect for the Moraine's ecological, cultural and scenic integrity, with the aim of retaining a trail corridor in its natural state." - Oak Ridges Trail Guidebook 1997

Efforts to establish a trail along the Oak Ridges Moraine first began in 1973. At present about 275 km of main trail, plus various side trails, have been completed. The trail starts in the west at a junction with the Bruce Trail, southeast of Mono Mills (Hwy #9 & Airport Road), and extends eastward through Peel, York, and Durham Regions and Northumberland County before splitting to two gateways at Castleton and Warkworth.

ORTA is governed by a Board of Directors who have responsibilities for managing the various aspects of the organization. Directors on the Board are elected at an Annual General Meeting. Our Mission Statement is "To build and maintain a public hiking trail system on the Oak Ridges moraine, off-road where possible, and To organize and promote hiking on this trail system, and To encourage responsible stewardship of the Moraine's natural environment."

ORTA offers a membership at nominal cost to those individuals who would like to financially support the organization. ORTA in turn, organizes hikes on the trail and makes available to its members a quarterly newsletter in which activities of the organization are communicated to its members. Non-members are also encouraged to participate in the Association's hikes. We have now grown to over 700 members and ten chapters, namely: Caledon, King, Aurora, Richmond Hill, Whitchurch-Stouffville, Uxbridge, Scugog, Clarington, Hope-Hamilton and Northumberland grouped into three regions. Each chapter is responsible for a section of the trail, and each region has a member on the Board of Directors.

      ORTA acknowledges the support of the Oak Ridges Moraine Foundation and the Ontario Trillium Foundation