Recently ATV Trail Rider had the opportunity to ride a unique trail in Ontario, the Hasting Heritage Trail, which is supervised and maintained by the Eastern Ontario Trail Alliance, your ATV association in Eastern Ontario. This trail stretches 156 km from Glen Ross in Quinte West (just north of Trenton) to its most northerly point adjacent to Lake St. Peter, a Provincial Park in Hastings Highlands.

Hasting Heritage Trail is a former CN Rail line, which is used as a four seasons recreational trail that is enjoyed year round; in the winter by snowmobilers, dog sledders and cross-country skiers. In the other three seasons, this trail is busy with ATV enthusiasts, horseback riders, cyclists and hikers. This trail provides ample opportunities for wildlife viewing and is connected to numerous recreational trails in Eastern Ontario, including the Trans-Canada Trail.
 
Let’s get started. Our group of 10 riders consisted of 9 ATVs and 1 motorcycle. We had a two-day trip riding in the north section of this trail. We also had the convenience and security of a support truck and trailer. Day one was sunny with blue skies. We started just south of the town of Bancroft, and we had a long way to go to our destination in Barry’s Bay. We traveled north east through different ATV trails and had a great time with different obstacles that proved to be really challenging. We traveled through the town of Bancroft. It is a good size town and has several services to choose from and there are several places to park your equipment, as well. Bancroft, Ontario, is nestled in the York River Valley, on the southern edge of the Canadian Shield, and the Hastings Heritage Trail runs right through the middle of it. By the way, one can tell you’re riding on an abandoned rail trail, because of the old train station in town. The trail itself is flat, wide with long sweeping corners that one would expect from a rail trail.

When heading north on the Hastings Heritage trail, it doesn’t take long to get to the village of Bird’s Creek and then on to the village of Maynooth. This area is cottage country; one can see a lot of small and larger lakes, where people spend their recreational time. Further up this trail is Lake St. Peter, this is where we stopped to top up on fuel. There is a lot of room to stretch here, so we took some time for a snack to refuel ourselves. The trail in this area is very sandy and tended to get whooped out, that is a series of moguls that never seemed to end. Our group carried further north onto the Renfrew County B Trail that is designated as an ATV trail only.

This trail led us to Whitney. At this point, we were very close to the famous Algonquin Park. That is where we crossed the Madawaska River and then headed east on another rail trail towards Barry’s Bay. There were sections of this trail that was under water, but nothing deeper than 2 feet. Our group had no problems getting through, even the motorcycle. Our destination for our first day was Spectacle Lake Lodge, where we arrived early even before our support vehicle. Most of us walked around in our dirty gear, while others decided to strip down and wear nothing but a towel. Later on, the evening was filled with big stories about the ride and the good times.

After a late night, we woke up to another beautiful sunny day and after a great breakfast, we gathered for a group shot and headed west, back towards the villages of Madawaska and Whitney. We broke off the main trail to side trail, and then headed south. That is a great thing about those trails; there are so many trails with so many different options to take. We took an interesting twist through some tight trails. It was technical, with lots of different obstacles; logs, big rocks and steep terrain. Shortly, we crossed the Hay Lake Dam; that was difficult for the two wheelers, as this dam had fast running water, over a flat wooded surface that was covered with green slime. It was greasy even for 4 wheels. There was a park like setting on the other side of the dam that made a great place for another pit stop.

Our group was having a great time and at this point, one could tell that this is what ATVing is all about! Good times, good weather, great trails with friends who enjoy riding. In the afternoon of day two, we were blasting down the trail, when Chuck’s Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI blew a belt. He knew something was wrong with all the noise coming from his engine compartment. He told us: “Don’t worry, this has happened before and I have a spare!” It didn’t take long before we were back on the trail, continuing on with our journey. This area may seem to be way deep in the bush, and it is. But the point here is that there are always services close by. Most of these trails are close to the roads and this makes for an easier time if things do go bad. Riding in this area is a lot of fun and offers a lot of different recreations for all types of riding. There are several different things to see and different points of interest. No matter what your interests are the Hastings Heritage Trail has much to offer.

The trails in Eastern Ontario offer a variety of interesting features for the day tripper or for those who want a multi-days adventure. Wandering from north to south and east to west, this land goes through an array of changes, as the granite shield of the north and then the trails run into the limestone base of the old Ontario Lake bed to the south. One will also find many old and new bridges that are in good shape for the ATV enthusiast to explore.

For more information on this trail and other trails in the Eastern Ontario area, check out their website: www.thetrail.ca