Pinery Provincial Park’s longest hiking trail is the 3 kilometre Wilderness Trail. The trail is fairly flat and features some of the park’s oldest forest.

The forest in this part of the park is comprised of Red Pine and mixed Oak. Along the forest floor you will find a variety of ferns, wildflowers and other plant life.

There is a large selection of mushrooms and fungi to be seen along the trail. Turkey Tails and False Turkey Tails are very common.

Pear-shaped Puffball

Pear-shaped Puffballs grow on decaying wood from July to November. Once they mature, a pore will open, as you can see above, and spores will be released.

False Solomon’s Seal (native)

These Pear-shaped Puffball mushrooms had already started to dry and would soon send their pores into the surrounding area.

False Solomon’s Seal was sporting it’s colourful berries. The best way to identify the false species from the ‘real’ Solomon’s seal is by the location of the fruit. Only the false has a cluster of berries at the end of the stalk, as oppose to being along the bottom.I spotted this slug making its way ever so carefully along the truck of a dead, fallen tree. Slugs and snails are actually molluscs with a similar structure to clams and oysters.

Solomon’s Seal (native)

Here is a ‘true’ Solomon’s Seal. Notice the blue berries hanging below the stem and not at the end of the stem?

Moss and mushrooms thrive on fallen trees.

Tall White Lettuce (native)

Fallen trees are the perfect base for some mosses and if you look carefully you can see some small mushrooms making themselves at home too.

Smooth Aster (native)

This is the first year I’ve seen this wildflower at the Pinery, but I’m sure I’ve just missed it blooming before. Tall White Lettuce, or Rattlesnake Root, is a native plant that blooms in August through September. If you were to crush the stem of this plant, it would exude a milky sap.

This Smooth Aster was found in small pockets along the trail. You can find these, and other asters, throughout the park in the summer and the fall.

The trail is narrow in parts which gives the hike a more natural feel than some of the winder, more group friendly trails.

These steps lead to a lookout with great views of the dunes and the beach.

Be sure to stay on the path, especially when crossing the dunes. As the sign says, the dunes are very fragile but are vital to the protection of the ecosystem. Without the plant life that grows on the dunes, erosion from wind and water would cause massive damage which would affect plant and wildlife.

I’m not sure who put this handmade sign up along the trail, but it’s good advice.

Fallen trees have become engrossed with a variety of life. This tree is covered in Turkey Tails, False Turkey Tails, moss and lichen.

The Wilderness Trail is definitely a must if you are hiking the Pinery. It offers a longer hike with a unique forest system not found in most of the park. And if you are looking for mushrooms, this trail will not disappoint.