Our day trips have changed as Maya has gotten older. She can no longer walk for hours on end so we have had to adapt our adventures to her needs. This fall we went on a day trip to three different places south of Petrolia. She could rest during the drives between the various places and a few times, because it was cool enough, she could have a nap while we took a short hike ourselves.

Our day started with making lunch, packing snacks and boiling hot water for the thermos. We love taking a big thermos with us because it means we can have a Cup of Soup, tea or a dehydrated meal anytime and any where we want. We also always pack a few Nalgenes of water each.

For Maya we have food, water, treats and her medicines already in the vehicle. We make sure there are towels, jackets and a blanket in the truck, so that we are prepared for anything. Oh, she also has her raincoat and toys to play with. Did I forget to mention the beds that she has to relax on? She loves the truck and that hasn’t changed since we first adopted her.

Skunk’s Misery

We set up before lunch for Skunk’s Misery and the Mosa Forest area near Newbury, Ontario.

There are quite a few different trail entry points to the trail system. We parked at the entry point that has the trail sign, which is located at 1231 Concession Drive. From there we took a picture of the trail map that includes all of the trails in the area. We have yet to find a useful downloadable version of the map.

Skunk’s Misery Trail System.

I took quite a few close-ups for future reference.

After we had ate our lunch in the truck we set off for a 1 kilometre hike down the trail in front of us. 1 to 1.5 kilometres is about all Maya can do now without limping a lot. The weather was absolutely spectacular and we couldn’t have asked for a nicer day to spend outside.

New oak sapling.

Trail started through a pine plantation.

Chitra has started to learn to identify trees so we spent some of our time looking at bark, leaves and needles. I am also always on the lookout for mushrooms, fungi, ferns and wildflowers to photograph.

After we completed our hike with Maya we drove to a different access point off of Centreville Drive. Soon after getting on the trail we heard something and turned around to spot a white-tailed deer sprinting off down the trail.

White-tailed Deer

Some of the trails are obviously well used by ATVs and by locals on horseback.

Family on horseback.

Wardsville Woods

Next we set off to find Wardsville Woods, near Wardsville.

This plot of land and associated trail is just west of Wardsville on Longwoods Road. The parking lot is on the north side of the road and there are several signs. The property is owned by the Thames Talbot Land Trust and you can download a fact sheet about the property. Unfortunately they are in the middle of some trail restoration so they had a detour while they did the maintenance.

Trail currently closed, 2016.

The trail went through a prairie area instead of the forest. There were so many grasshoppers on the trail that it was surreal to watch them hop out of the way on masse.

We only went as far as the edge of the forest, again because Maya only has so much walk in her at 14.5 years of age. She was doing great this day though and it was so nice to spend such a beautiful day with her.

Big Bend Conservation Area

Our next, and last stop in the area was to the Big Bend Conservation Area which is located between West Lorne and Wardsville.

As you can see on the map above, it is surrounded by a winding Thames River. You can download their brochure for more information.

The conservation area has no entry fees and we only saw a few other people while we were there. This late in the season, there were no facilities available, except for a very clean privy.

The drive from the main entrance to the one short trail was along a lovely road where the trees created a covered bridge or tunnel effect, and the fall colours were spectacular.

Large Cottonwood trees.

Thames River

From the end of the park you could see huge Cottonwood trees and views of the Thames River.

After giving Maya a drink and snack we all piled back into the truck and drove home for dinner. It was a fantastic day that wasn’t overly tiring, nor was it too much driving.

There are so many places that you can go and explore for a day with friends, family and pets. Other than our site, there are many resources online to help you plan your next day trip in Southwestern Ontario. We’d love to hear about them!