Hockley Valley Provincial Park
April 19, 2011
The Nottawasaga River in Hockley Valley Provincial Park.
Hockley Valley Provincial Park is located approximately ten minutes from Orangeville, Ontario, Canada. The park is at the convergance of the Nottawasaga River and the Niagara Escarpment. A day-use only park, Hockley Valley has no facilities on site (washrooms, running water, roads). The park also has no fees.
There is one parking lot directly on Hockley Road across from the Hockley Valley Ski Resort. There is another smaller, lesser known parking lot on third line with a back trail entrance to the park.
Orangeville is located 45 minutes to an hour from the Greater Toronto Area. The town of approximately 30,000 is thirty minutes northwest on highway 10 from Brampton.
The Provincial Park’s greatest asset is its hiking trails. The Bruce Trail dissects the park from south to north. The Bruce is one of North America’s most recognized long distance hiking trails. The trail begins in the south at Niagara-On-The-Lake, a short distance north of Niagara Falls at the intersection of the Niagara River and Lake Ontario. The Bruce culminates at Tobermory at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula.
There are a handful of side trails stemming off the main trail within the park, providing several hiking options. It is not hard to spend hours hiking at Hockley Valley Provincial Park without much backtracking.
The Nottawasaga River and a few of it’s tributaries run through the park. There is no fishing allowed but fish can be viewed in the clear water. Salmon can be spotted during the spring run.
