Mono Cliffs Provincial Park
We planned on leaving to Mono Cliffs at 10:00, but Adam didn’t wake up until shortly after 10, so our day started off slightly delayed. It took just over an hour to get to Mono Cliffs (including a 10-minute stop to appease Adam). When we got to the parking lot, we were a little underwhelmed. We had assumed there would be a visitor centre or something similar. It is just a gravel parking lot with really foul-smelling bathrooms and a map at the start of the trail. We ended up borrowing an SUV to go on this trip since we brought our sister and cousin along. We never realized how convenient this type of car would be. The trunk served as an amazing activity and change table – getting the bug and sun cream on Adam has never been so easy!
We started the trail on the Carriage trail, turned right onto the Spillway trail, turned left and joined the Walter Tovell Trail for a very short distance until we reached the Cliff-Top Side Trail. On this trail there is a set of metal stairs which bring you to the famous Jacob’s Ladder. This was pretty cool, but VERY short. The photo essentially captures this portion of the trail in it’s entirety.
Getting back on to the Cliff-Top Side Trail, shortly after the stairs to Jacob’s Ladder, there is a really pretty lookout point where you have an unobstructed view of the greenery for miles.
Unfortunately, these were the highlights of the hike, and they all occurred within the first 45 minutes of the hike. However, we continued our hike, following the Cliff-Top Side Trail until the end where it meets up with the bottom of the Walter Tovell Trail. The markings for the Cliff-Top Side trail are the markings for the Bruce Trail (white marks), so we followed those. We did have the option of connecting back on to the Carriage trail and heading back faster, but we opted for the longer hike. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any natural place to stop and take a lunch break along the hike, so we decided to sit on the floor in the shade along the path of the Cliff-Top Side Trail to feed Adam and have a quick bite ourselves.
After joining the Walter Tovell Trail, we followed the trail until we hit the Southern end of the Spillway Trail, which we followed to the Carriage Trail, which is the same portion of the trail we used on the way in, to get back to the parking lot.
The entire hike took about 2.5 hours and was somewhere around 7-8 km long. The elevation was pretty gradual so the hiking was not strenuous at all. The path is shared with mountain bikers and horses, but we only saw a couple bikers and two piles providing evidence that horses were there. There are a few ponds along the trails so the bug and mosquito population is a little heavy, but the bug spray kept the bugs away for the most part.
This park was a great day activity. The trails are very clearly marked, there are lots of options for extending or shortening your trail. However, the facilities are not great and we had higher expectations for the scenery (unjustifiably so).
Overall, we would recommend this trail as a great day trip from Toronto!