Bruce Trail 4.7

The Bruce Trail is a hiking trail in southern and central Ontario, Canada from the Niagara River to the tip of Tobermory, Ontario. The main trail is more than 890km long and there are over 400km of associated side trails.GeneralThe trail follows the edge of the Niagara Escarpment, one of the thirteen UNESCO World Biosphere Reserves in Canada. The land the trail traverses is owned by the Government of Ontario, local municipalities, local conservation authorities, private landowners and the Bruce Trail Conservancy (BTC).The name of the trail is linked to the Bruce Peninsula and Bruce County, which the trail runs through. The trail is named after the county, which was named after James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin who was Governor General of the Province of Canada from 1847 to 1854.HistoryThe idea for creating the Bruce Trail came about in 1959 out of a meeting between Ray Lowes and Robert Bateman, of the Federation of Ontario Naturalists. Ray Lowes' vision was of a public footpath that would span the entire Niagara Escarpment.On September 23, 1960 the first meeting of the Bruce Trail Committee took place, consisting of four attending members - Ray Lowes, Philip Gosling, Norman Pearson, and Dr. Robert McLaren. Each member became instrumental in building the Bruce Trail.