We had some time before we left Sudbury so we headed out to Lake Laurentian Conservation Area. The place was abuzz with activity and cars were parked along the road leading up to the parking lot. Looks like hiking is a popular activity in Sudbury.
There were many trails to choose from!
…but it was a hot day and we were a bit tired. We opted for two short sample trails.
First, we climbed up to one of the lookouts situated on top of the hill not too far from the parking lot.
The views from the top did not disappoint.
and we lingered a bit to take in the views
in each direction.
Our next trail was a short loop trail near the nature chalet call the Chickadee Loop.
Just before we got to the trail we saw this sign.
We kept an eye out for bears, not really expecting to see any, but then we saw this.
Then, there was another panel.
To our delight, the trail had an entire Robert Munsch book strung along the trail.
The trail itself was interesting,
but the added interest for children is a wonderful idea that add interest and keeps them looking towards something that they can relate to. Like your Dad being carried away by a swarm of bugs.
it’s and easy and fairly gentle trail,
and we could imagine the excitement and anticipation of a young child chomping at the bit to see the next plate of the story.
And what a fitting story about mosquitoes and blackflies in Northern Ontario in the spring!
On second thought, if you are hiking in the spring or early summer, it’s doubtful that you will be brave enough to stop and read the story.
Still, such a great idea!
And if you are not familiar with Robert Munsch’s stories, you may want to get the book and read the whole thing in order. Especially if you have young children in your life.
This is our last stop before spending the night at Torrance Barrens and heading home. Next we will post this trip’s summary, before moving on to trip number one to Lake Huron.
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I can easily see why this place is so busy. When we visited last week we hiked along the Point Trail and Beaver Pond Loop. I would love to come back and check out some of the other trails, including the Chickadee Loop. That’s so neat how they’ve included all these story panels from Robert Munsch along the trail.
Yeah, I’d love to go back and hike some of the longer trails. I wonder if they have any other creative surprises in any of the other ones?
Love that book! I bought it for my grandkids a few years ago. What a great idea and a nice surprise that I am sure brought a smile to your face. Plus pics of our beautiful country always make my day.
He has so many wonderful books! It did put a smile on our faces!
What a great idea. I’ll bet you would find other interesting surprises on other trails. 🤣 And beautiful views. Thank you 😊
Yeah, I would love to explore them all!
I love original ideas such as this. Having a new page of a story strategically placed along the way is an absolutely brilliant idea. You want to hook a kid’s interest—this would do it.
Isn’t it great! and the kids have double exposure: reading and nature…you can’t go wrong here 🙂
How lovely the scenery is! I also read the panels in French, and I forget that much of Canada has bilingual signs. Thanks for sharing this gem of a place!
Oh, I totally forgot that some people may want to read the French part! I hope I didn’t cut too much of it out!
No worries; you didn’t!
I will keep this in mind. I usually take a photo only of the English side to have it bigger, but I should be a bit more mindful 🙂
I’m a native English speaker, so it doesn’t really bother me whether or not you take photos of both languages or not. But for a bigger audience, that might be a good idea! Ultimately up to you. 🙂
I also vote for bilingualism, it’s always fun to see the nuances of translation between languages, I found the French part a little less formal 🙂
Haha, noted! I will try and remember that next time!
Cute that they did that for kids
I know, right?