Old-Growth Forest Walks: 26 Hikes in Ontario’s Greenbelt

Old-Growth Forest Walks leads readers to some of southern Ontario’s most amazing places: visit 800-year-old cedars on the Niagara Escarpment; a 5000-year-old walking trail in Toronto’s west end; oak trees with musket balls buried inside from the war of 1812, and much more. Each of the 26 sites in the book includes an old-growth forest that’s a short trip by car, bike, or public transit for millions of people in the GTA, including trails along the Don Valley and Humber River. Detailed maps, beautiful photos and a wealth of information will make you want to take it off the shelf to read. Then you’ll be motivated to leave the house and explore, whether it’s a day-long hike or a short Sunday stroll. The introduction also contains the clearest, most concise history of Ontario’s Greenbelt you’re likely to find, and helps answer a question you may not even know you had: what is an old-growth forest?

Michael Henry is the author of Old-Growth Forest Walks. He is a botanist and forest ecologist who has spent over two decades studying, writing about, and working to conserve Ontario’s old-growth forests. He compiled and maintains the list of Ontario’s oldest trees; he designed and constructed the Blueberry Lake Ecology Trails in Temagami; he confirmed that the Jackson Creek forest in Peterborough is an old-growth forest; and he has worked to protect threatened old-growth forests within Algonquin Park, where he and Nate Torenvliet found unprotected forest over 400 years old. He is currently working on a book about old-growth forests in Ontario’s Greenbelt. Michael has also worked as a natural builder and is lead author of the book Essential Natural Plasters: A Guide to Materials, Recipes, and Use.