While camping at MacGregor Point Provincial Park we often go for day trips in the area. One of the places we like to spend time at is Owen Sound’s Harrison Park. The park offers a lot of things for visitors including trails, playgrounds, canoe rentals, picnic areas, a pool, a bird sanctuary and even camping.

For us we like to hike the Harrison Park loop which is only 1.5 kilometres long but the it is actually part of the Bruce Trail. The path is easy to traverse and isn’t a challenge but it is beautiful and cool on a hot sunny day. Along the trail we saw a variety of hardwood trees, luscious ferns and some mushrooms.

The trail follows the Sydenham River and in the fall we have spotted salmon swimming upstream to their spawning areas!

There are a couple of decent places to cool off and Maya enjoyed looking for rocks and sticks while cooling down in the stream. There isn’t a specific swimming area but the banks aren’t steep to get into the river. There are quite a few rocks and in the summer the river isn’t really deep enough for a dog to swim but they can get wet and have fun.

There are several bridges that go over the river and they were nicely maintained. We spotted several different bird species along the river and some fish in the shallows.

There is a Freedom Trail in the park which commemorates the first black settlers to the area. Owen Sound was the northern most “station” of the Underground Railroad, so the park features several plaques and ‘monuments’.

The park also has a restaurant that is open year-round since there are many winter activities that you can enjoy here as well. For maps and information on the park, check out their brochure and then check out the park.

And if you are in the area long enough, there are lots of other things to do and see. There are several other trails you can hike and just upstream is Inglis Falls (entry fee). If you love waterfalls there are several others in the area worth seeing, including Jones Fall and Indian Falls.

Owen Sound Trail Brochure, including waterfalls.

Harrison Park Brochure