Townsman, 1991-09, Page 17Saugeen's Headquarters Conservation
unusal sulphur spring.
for kids later when a larger headquar-
ters was built in 1975.
There are spots long the trail that
are wet enough to require rubber
footwear.
The trail starts off at the parking
area and leads past a wildlife enclo-
sure where English fallow deer,
guinea hens, wild turkeys and rabbits
can be seen. A wildlife display build-
ing nearby contains a variety of native
and exotic wildfowl. Around the
administration building are two
arboretums. One, planted in 1978,
represents the trees native to the
watershed. The 1985 plantation con-
tains one white pine (Ontario's provin-
cial tree) for each of the 51
municipalities in the watershed.
A unique part of the trail through
his conservation area is a visit to a
sulphur spring. The trail leads through
a bog and you can smell the sulphur in
the area as you approach the spring.
The sulphur is picked up by the water
Area has
as it passes through an underground
sulphur layer then given off as a rotten
egg odour when the water contacts the
air. The water then flows into streams
and ponds. The sulphur smell is
strong again at rapids and waterfalls
where the sulphur mixes with the air
again.
A wooden "corduroy road" takes
the path on through a wet arca of the
bush until the trail rises to higher,
Corduroy Road
leads hikers
to Rabbit Road
dryer ground that is more open
because of the decline of the elm tree
due to dutch elm disease. The trail
then becomes Rabbit Road where lush
vegetation brings rabbits and other
wildlife that can not only eat the vege-
tation, but find cover from predators.
Deer like this area as well. Piles of
pruned branches provide cover for
rabbits and grouse.
Next comes the Cedar Bog trail,
where the path is lined by white cedar,
tamarack, balsam fir, white spruce and
white pine with the occasional white
and black ash and yellow birch. Along
the path is a one -acre pond fed by
more sulphur springs. The water tem-
perature here, as with the sulphur
spring, remains at a constant 49
degrees F year round although on the
wide surface of the pond it can cool
enough to freeze in winter.
The trail enters the Hardwood
Highland trail, the longest portion of
the trail and takes the hiker into the
brilliant fall colours of maple, ash,
beech, black cherry, bitternut and
ironwood trees. The trail leads
through the hardwood bush, then
down into a hollow thick with ever-
greens then back onto a ridge where
more hardwoods appear again. Final-
ly, it's back on the return road to the
parking lot. The Authority estimates
the length of the walk at one hour and
40 minutes.
For more information on this or
other facilities managed by the
Saugeen Valley Conservation Author-
ity you can write to R.R.1, Hanover
N4N 3B8 or call 364-1255.
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TOWNSMAN/SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 1991 15