Hemlock Ridge Trail, at Charleston Lake Provincial Park, is an extraordinary hike. In just 2 kilometres hikers experience the landscape changed several times, as well as the elevation. At the beginning of the trail, visitors can spot Shagbark Hickory, Eastern Hemlock, Eastern Red Cedar before heading down a hill toward a beaver pond. The temperature will dip before you come to the stony ridge and crevices that will astound you. After picking your way up, down and around boulders and over open crevices, hikers will then find themselves in a young mixed hardwood forest.
Chitra and Chloe started the trail with me but Chloe got spooked and wanted to go back to the truck so I was on my own. It was a beautiful day to stroll through such an amazing trail and the filtered light and cool breeze just added to the experience. Ferns were beautifully lit making gorgeous shaped silhouettes on the forest floor.
I came across a tree with some sort of bark disease with some pretty extreme damage. I’m not sure what type of tree it was but I remember hearing about this in Algonquin Park too. Do you know what this disease is?
The trail took me to an old beaver pond that is slowly undergoing succession and someday it will be a full beaver meadow that will then become a new forest. On a previous hike on this trail we spotted a Least Bittern it the reeds, so you might want to bring binoculars.
All of a sudden, while walking up from the beaver pond, I felt a coolness to the air, but it didn’t come from a breeze. It came from the huge rocks that appeared in front of me along the trail. The towering rock cliffs were rugged and covered with ferns, moss and birch trees. Walking between, up and down and over rock crevasses was awe-inspiring.
Charleston Lake Provincial Park has so much to offer and the diversity of its landscapes is amazing. Each trail has been beautiful, fascinating and educational.
