Hikes and Hops Discover South Shore Footpath

📝 📸 Lesa Berec

On Friday, June 13, the local walking group Hikes and Hops joined us for a guided hike along the first official section of the South Shore Footpath. Twenty-one enthusiastic walkers came out to explore this unique landscape.

Our afternoon trek led us through open grassland, rare alvar habitat, and along the rugged beauty of a rocky Lake Ontario shoreline.

For many, it was their first introduction to the south shore—and to alvars. These rare ecosystems, defined by thin soil over limestone and extreme exposure to both flooding and drought, support plant and animal communities found nowhere else.

We were lucky to see several alvar “indicator species” in bloom: Hairy Beardtongue, Bluets, Red Columbine, and the striking Teacup Lichen. Marshy pockets, while beautiful, were clogged with Summer Snowflake—a European native from the Amaryllis family that has made itself a little too much at home.

Hairy Beardtongue

Bluets

The lake was at high water that day, so we had to climb around towering willow roots that reached right into the waves. But the group embraced the challenge. We paused to admire wild honeysuckle, soak in the sweeping views, and … clean up the shoreline.

Inflatable balloons, plastic bottle caps, straws, and even shotgun shells littered the beach. Every single piece was collected.

Hats off to this spirited crew. They came for the hike, discovered a new corner of natural wonder, and left the place better than they found it.