Riverside Trail is a fairly short and easy trail to walk at the Pinery Provincial Park. It is a fantastic trail to spot wildflowers, turtles and birds. The trail is a must for hikers who are out early in the morning or near dusk, as well as those who want to hike even on a hot day.

On a gorgeous spring day in 2016, Chitra, Maya and I made a day trip to the Pinery to hike and to have a picnic along the Old Ausable River. It was a bright, warm and welcoming day to be outside enjoying nature. It was late enough in the season that the whole park was open so that we had all of the trails accessible to us.

There were over a dozen painted turtles basking in the sun on floating logs on the Old Ausable River. We also spotted quite a few different birds, including an American Woodcock! Other birds that we saw and photographed are the Brown Creeper, Rufous-sided Towhee, Sandhill Cranes, a Marsh Wren and a few others we haven’t identified. We also saw some sort of mole rummaging in the leaves along the shore.