Merritt Trail (Mountain Locks Park)

It’s time for another photgraphic tour. This time we are going to the Merritt Trail located at Mountain Locks Park in St. Catherines, Ontario.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started off on my trail run this weekend. It looked like the trail ran alongside a road, but I was hoping it would make its way through the woods as well.

When I saw this sign, I knew it would. There is a small trail marker that shows this trail connects to the much larger Bruce Trail that runs along the Niagara Escarpment.

This plaque shows some of the history of the park. This used to be the site of the Second Welland Canal.

As I started putting this blog post together, I did some research and found this detailed trail map.

You can find out about all of the historical highlights by visit The Old Welland Canal’s Field Guide.

But I didn’t know all of that as I was running. All I knew is that there was a new trail for me to explore and that I was going to have fun.

Yes, a nature trail. That’s so much better than running alongside a road or through a open park.

The white trail markers were really easy to follow.

The trail followed beside the old canal with lots of fast moving water. 

The trail came to an end at a road but since there was a trail marking on the lamp post, I decided to run down the street as well.

I’m glad I did. I had to cross a street but I ended up on the Bruce Trail. I love when trails are this well-marked and easy to follow.

The Bruce Trail runs along the Niagara Escarpment for 800 kilometers and has over 200 kilometers of side trails. Needless to say, I only ran two kilometers down the trail before turning around and finishing back off at Mountain Locks Park.

That was a great run. Hopefully, I will go back and run it again one day.

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