Orchard Trail

A classic Rouge Valley hike, the Orchard Trail features young forests mixed with wetlands and traces of early European settlement, including remnant orchards, residences and an old mill. The trail can be accessed at two places: the north trailhead is located at the bottom of Zoo Road on the south side of the road, a short 5-minute walk from Zoo Road Day Use Area at the top of Zoo Road; and the south trailhead is accessed via Twyn Rivers Drive.

Location	North trailhead Bottom of Zoo Road Lat: 43.822444, Long: -79.166444 Google Maps South trailhead 55 Twyn Rivers Drive, Toronto Lat: 43.813916, Long: -79.154161 Google Maps
Difficulty	Moderate
Distance	2 km (one way)
Time	1 hour
Washrooms	Portable toilets are available seasonally
Parking	Parking is available at Zoo Road Day Use Area from 7:30 am to 9 pm. Street parking is not permitted, and illegally parked vehicles will be ticketed and/or towed.

Trail Features

• Wetlands – The bottom of Zoo Road is becoming increasingly well known for its beautiful human-made wetlands, which buffleheads, painted turtles and swans are known to frequent at various times throughout the year.
• Orchards – Dormant apple orchards can be found about midway along the trail, calling back to the area’s use as settled farmland supporting local families for hundreds of years.
• Cultural history – The ‘avenue of trees’ near the south end of the trail is a nod to the area’s past as a settled residence and active mill. Watch for the rows of trees planted in the new growth forest. From the south trailhead at Twyn Rivers Drive, you can see an old ski hill and the pieces of an old concrete dam that was once used to back up the river for swimming when a hotel stood on the site.