Forest City living up to its name: London's top four hikes, parks and trails

As October is coming to an end and school starts to get a tad stressful, the perfect way to ease your mind and get some exercise is going for a hike, and students should be happy to know that the forest city has lots to offer. London has an abundance of popular trails and parks – all open and free to public access.

Fanshawe Conservation Area

With 30 kilometres of trails to walk on, and another 20 kilometres of biking trails, Fanshawe Conversation Area will leave you breathless, in an active and accomplishing manner. Fanshawe Lake Trail offers full mature forests, large open meadows and plenty of long roadways that stretch for miles. Three major loop-trails have been made for fellow hikers and walkers, covering about 8.5 kilometres. Tamarack, marked with blue blazes over the total of 1.5 kilometres. Meadows, which spans over three kilometres with green blazes marking the way. Finally, there is Lookout, which has yellow blazes leading individuals on a four-kilometre excursion. Space is also provided for fishing, boating, picnicking and playgrounds. This conservation area can be found at 1424 Clarke Road. 

Springbank Park

One of the more famous nature packed routes, expanding over 300 acres of land, this park truly helps to earn London the title of “the forest city” as it comprises of plenty of natural woodlands, garden vistas and family favourites such as the Storybook Gardens with flower displays and landscape gardens. Springbank is stroller, cyclists, roller-blade and skateboard friendly, with scenic trails taking visitors through quite the journey over 30 kilometres of pathways. This park is located at 1085 Commissioners Road West.

Westminster Ponds

This Wellington site is one of London’s favourites with all the beauty and wild nature it has to offer. Hills, wildlife, plants, flowers, and wildlife make up over 200 hectares of nature trails. Visitors can be sure to bump into one of the five large kettle ponds during a solo trip, or alongside dogs, as this is a pet-friendly location. Westminster is reported to be home to over 200 species: birds, turtles, salamanders and beavers are just some of the animals you could see. As a heads-up, bicycles are not permitted into the pond area. These ponds are located at 696 Wellington Road.

Medway Valley Heritage Forest

Medway Valley is more than just a forest; surrounding the heritage creek, this trail is the ideal site for swamps, marshes, valley slopes and communities of plants. Both sides of the stream are lined with over 10 kilometres of yellow blaze marked trails. This area situated between Windermere, Fanshawe Park, Western and Wonderland roads, is an “E.S.A.”, an environmentally significant area. It is a closely monitored and protected to ensure the preservation of wildlife throughout the area.

So throw your running shoes and athletic wear on, and get ready to take on being active through the not-so-hidden gems of London. With the abundance of beauty that the city has got to offer, there is an endless amount to explore and see to help you relieve any school stresses.