I found myself in Woodstock last week, and being the avid runner that I am, I had to hit up one of the local trails. I’d already explored a few trails in this town, so I did a Google search to see if there was a new one I could try.

The Pines is a mountain bike trail and I knew that going in, but I was sure they could share the trail with one solitary runner.

At this point, the trail looked just like any other nature trail.

It was a beautiful spot, surrounded by water, away from the hustle and bustle of the big city, and I felt at home running down the trail.

Just as the trail made its way into “The Pines,” I came across this sign. It looked liked these trails were solely for bikes, but there since there was no icon specifically banning hikers or runners, I pressed on.

The trails were very well marked by colour and these signs were at every junction.

As I got further in the woods, I noticed how narrow these trails were. In the above photo, you can see that the dirt has been groomed to allow cyclists to take this corner at a high speed by arching up the bank.

The trails really twisted and turned as well. You can see the S-shaped trail here that was pretty indicative of green route that I ran.

I didn’t bump into anyone else on my twenty-seven minute trail run, and I was glad. I was sure that I was trespassing. These trails were made specifically for mountain bikes.

I’ve seen plenty of trails groomed for mountain bikes in my other runs, but I have never come across a dedicated one like this, that is so well kept. If I was a biker, I would love to come to this spot again and again, but as a runner, I think that will be my first and only trail run here. Too bad, it was such a beautiful run too!

More tours . . . 

• Photographic Tours Archive (over two dozen trails profiled)
• Springbank Park (paved trail, along the water in London, Ontario)
• Princess Point (one of my favourite trails ever in Hamilton, Ontario)