Blair to Hespeler, Cambridge

After crossing the bridge, continue on Morningside Dr the roundabout (5) at Fountain St S, in the Village of Blair, Cambridge.  Take the 3rd exit onto Fountain St S.  Ride to the Shantz Hill Rd intersection.  There is a multi-use trail for the first 1.5 km.  Then use caution as the road is narrow and busy, with a narrow sidewalk but no cycling facilities for about 850 m, to the traffic lights at Fountain St S.  Turn R and continue on the multi-use trail beside Fountain St S.  Turn R on the multi-use trail onto King St S.  Cross the road at the next traffic lights and enter Riverside Park.  

Take the park road which branches off to the R, following the Speed River (the Grand River’s largest tributary) upstream.  After 800 m there is a pond on the L.  Just past the pond, take the multi-use trail on the R, which eventually turns into a boardwalk.  When the boardwalk divides, take the R hand branch and cross the bridge over the Speed River.  Stay on the trail to Beaverdale Rd, crossing Speedsville Rd and passing in a tunnel under Hwy 401.  Turn L onto Beaverdale Rd and cross the Speed River again.  Immediately after the bridge, take the trail to the R.  Follow the trail, for 2.3 km along the banks of the Speed River to Guelph Ave in the Village of Hespeler (6) where there are several restaurants.  To continue your ride, turn L on Guelph Ave.  

Resume your ride by travelling north on Guelph Ave (busy road with no cycling facilities).  Ride up the hill for 1.5 km to Blackbridge Rd and turn R.  Continue on Blackbridge Rd, which turns into Roszell Rd and then Forestell Rd (all paved country roads), for 7.3 km, crossing Wellington Rd 32.  Turn L on Side Rd 10 N (paved country road) and continue to Laird Rd W (paved country road).  Then turn L onto Downey Rd (busy road with gravel shoulder for 650 m to Hanlon Creek Blvd, then bike lanes), as you ride into the city of Guelph.  

The Grand River, Blair, Cambridge (Courtesy of Ontario by Bike)

Guelph

Ride up Downey Rd and L onto Ptarmigan Dr.  At the end of Ptarmigan Dr take the off-road multi-use trail to the corner of College Ave W and Stone Rd W.  Go straight ahead, and ride along College Ave W.  At Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute, turn L onto the 2nd driveway of the high school, just before Vanier Dr.  The Royal Recreation Trail comes off from the driveway to the R.  Follow the trail alongside the school building, passing beside the school and proceeding north (note that the trail divides at Centennial Park.  Keep L on the Royal Recreation Trail).  Turn L on Municipal St.  At the end of the street continue straight back onto the Royal Recreation Trail, and ride along the banks of the Speed River, crossing Edinburgh St and continuing to Gordon St.  The trail passes behind McCrae House, at 108 Water St,  home of Col. John McCrae MD, who wrote the poem, “In Flanders Fields the Poppies Blow” before he was killed in WWI.  At the end of the trail at Gordon St, turn L and cross the bridge over the Speed River (busy road with bike lanes and sidewalk).

Immediately after crossing the Speed River, turn R into the driveway of the Boathouse Restaurant and Speed River Paddling.  The two establishments are open seasonally.  Rent a canoe or kayak and paddle the Speed River and its tributary, the Eramosa, for an hour or two and then take a break for ice cream or a traditional afternoon tea.  

To resume your ride, continue on the Boathouse driveway.  Turn R onto the trail on the other side of the Guelph Lawn Bowling Club and cross the covered bridge.  From here you can get great views of the confluence of the Speed and Eramosa Rivers.  At the other side of the bridge, turn L taking the trail across York Road Park to York Rd.  Turn L and at the end of the street, take the trail behind the houses to Wyndham St S.  Turn L and cross back over the Speed River on Wyndham St S (very busy road, walk on the sidewalk over bridge to the traffic lights at Wellington St E).  To get to the centre of Guelph where there are numerous restaurants, continue on Wyndham St S for 500 m.  In the evening, catch an event at the River Run Centre.  

To continue your ride, cross Wyndham St S at the traffic lights at Wellington St E and take the Downtown Trail beside the river to Speedvale Ave E.  (At Earl St, the trail switches to the other side of the train tracks.)  Turn R onto Speedvale Ave E and cross the Speed River again (busy road with sidewalk).  The trail resumes on the other side of the bridge.  To safely cross Speedvale Ave E, there is a pedestrian crossing in front of the fire station, just 50 m beyond the start of the Speed River Trail.  After 600 m, cross back across the river on the pedestrian bridge and enter Riverside Park.  Continue on the trail, past the Riverside Park Concession (seasonal snack bar) to Marilyn Dr.  Follow Marilyn Dr to Woolwich St.  Cross the road and enter Woodlawn Memorial Park.  Keep to the trails on the L and follow the edge of the cemetery to the trail leading up to Woodlawn Dr W/Hwy 6.

Paddlers on the Speed River

West Montrose, Elmira and St Jacobs

Turn L onto Woodlawn Dr W/Hwy 6.  Walk 100 m to the lights at Nicklin Rd and cross to the other side.  Ride along the multi-use trail on the N side of the road for 1.5 km to Wellington Rd 39.  Turn R and ride up Silvercreek Parkway N/Wellington Rd 39 (busy road with gravel shoulder) for 2.5 km to the trailhead for the off-road Kissing Bridge Trailway, a section of the Guelph to Goderich Trail. Turn L onto the rail trail and ride to Township Rd 58.  The railroad bridge over the Grand River was removed when the rail line closed. To continue on the rail trail, there is a steep staircase with a narrow metal bicycle ramp, from the rail trail up to Katherine St, where the trail detours through West Montrose.  To avoid the staircase, turn R onto Township Rd 58 (unpaved country road)  Then L onto Tribe Rd/Township Rd 59 (unpaved country road).   Turn L onto Katherine St (busy road) back to the top of the staircase. Otherwise, continue another 2 km on the rail trail to Katherine St and climb the staircase pushing your bike up the ramp.  Turn L onto Katherine St.  Continue on Katherine St (busy paved road) for 700 m and turn R on Rivers Edge Dr.  In 1.2 km, the road continues through the West Montrose Covered Bridge (8), Ontario’s only remaining covered bridge. Stop for a picnic at Letson Park, on the L just before the bridge.  The best spot to take pictures is from the south end of the bridge.  Ride through the covered bridge on Covered Bridge Dr, past Lost Acre Variety which sells snacks, ice cream and local baked treats.  Continue on Covered Bridge Dr to Line 86.  Cross this busy highway with care and continue on Middlebrook Rd for 280 m to where the Kissing Bridge Trail crosses the road.  

Turn L back onto the Kissing Bridge Trailway (if you turn R, you can continue on the Trailway to the edge of the Grand River and view the remaining piers of the railroad bridge, before returning to Middlebrook Rd).  Continue west on the Kissing Bridge Trailway. The trail passes the town of Elmira (9), which is famous for its annual Maple Syrup Festival in spring.  There are numerous restaurants in Elmira, which you can visit by turning L onto Arthur St (busy road).  The main business section starts in 450 m after Arthur St crosses Church St.  Otherwise, continue on the Kissing Bridge Trailway to Wallenstein.  The trail passes through Mennonite country, where you may see farmers ploughing their fields with horse drawn equipment, or families out for the day in their buggies.

Turn L onto Yatton Sideroad (paved road).  After 300 m, the road crosses Wellington Rd 86/Line 86 (very busy road).  Cross the road with care, noting the Wallenstein General Store on the south side of the intersection.  Continue south on Hergott Rd/Hwy 10 (busy paved road with gravel shoulders).  After 1.5 km, cross the road carefully and turn L onto Temperance Rd/Township Rd 28 (unpaved country road) and continue to Broadway St/Township Rd 11A (paved country road).  Turn L and continue to the T-junction at Steffler Rd and Hemlock Hill Dr/Township Rd 22.  Turn R and continue on Hemlock Hill Dr/Township Rd 22 (paved country road), running beside Conestogo River, one of the Grand River’s main tributaries.  At the top of the hill, turn R onto 3 Bridges Rd/ Township Rd 21 (paved country road).  Continue on 3 Bridges Rd, noting the Conestoga Mennonite Meeting House and Cemetery on the R.  The road returns to the Conestogo River and follows it to a low bridge (sometimes closed when water levels are high, especially in the early spring).  Cross the bridge.  On the other side of the bridge, take the Mill Race Trail which runs beside a mill race once used to bring water to power the St Jacobs Mill.  Continue for 1.4 km to where the trail passes under the railway bridge over the Conestogo River.  The trail is closed here, so turn R onto the trail running beside the railway line for 240 m to Spring St in St. Jacobs.  

Continue on Spring St for 300 m to King St N, the main street in the Village of St Jacobs (10).  There are numerous restaurants and gift shops up and down King St N.  Turn L and continue north for 180 m to the historic 19th century St Jacobs Mill, beside the Conestogo River.  Be sure to visit the shops in the mill buildings, which sell handmade pottery and other items.  

After you visit the mill, return south on King St N for 90 m to Albert St  and turn L.  Continue on Albert St until it turns the corner at Water St.  Instead of turning, go straight ahead and cross the St Jacobs Public Parking Lot to the start of the multi-use Health Valley Trail at the back of the parking lot.   Take the Health Valley Trail beside the Conestogo River.  Just before the trail goes under the highway, turn R.  There is a very short but steep section that you may need to walk up, to the trail back to the St Jacobs Market.  At the top of the hill, take the L hand fork and ride for 3.5 km along the trail, which overlooks the highway.  The trail eventually meets a farm laneway.  Turn L and take the lane to King St N in Waterloo.  Cross King St N and Farmer’s Market Rd at the traffic lights and continue on the multi-use trail on the left hand side of Farmers Market Road, back to the start of your adventure at the St Jacobs Farmers Market (1).

Cyclists on the Kissing Bridge Trailway

West Montrose Covered Bridge