Discover Pickering

When choosing a destination, culture, nature and activities on the water can carry different weight. Pickering offers several distinct points of reference: the Waterfront Trail, Pickering Museum Village, Altona Forest and water sports on Frenchman's Bay. You can use these themes to guide your travel plans and first decide whether you are more interested in a long waterfront route, local history, an ecological designation or an activity on the water.

Waterfront Trail: Overall Route and First Nations Trail

The Pickering Waterfront Trail is part of the 900 km Waterfront Trail, which runs along the shores of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River from Niagara-on-the-Lake to the Québec border. The 900 km figure refers to the entire Waterfront Trail.

The First Nations Trail is a 3.5 km section of the Pickering Waterfront Trail, running from the Rouge River to the west shore of Frenchman's Bay. Compared with the 900 km of the entire Waterfront Trail, it is a clearly defined section. So when considering a specific route, the name First Nations Trail and its two endpoints are the appropriate points of reference; the overall length describes a different scale.

Pickering Museum Village: History and Location

Pickering Museum Village is a living history museum. It collects, preserves and interprets artifacts and social culture from 1810 to forty years before the present. These functions bring together material evidence and social culture, giving the museum a clear historical focus.

The Pickering Museum Village site in the hamlet of Greenwood includes 15 historic buildings and 27 acres of land. The number of buildings and the land area complement each other: one describes the historic structures, while the other indicates the scale of the grounds. You can therefore consider the museum's institutional focus and the specific description of its location as distinct points of reference for your interest in history.

Altona Forest: Area and Designation

Altona Forest covers 53 hectares and was designated an Area of Natural and Scientific Interest in 1982 because of its ecological and historical significance. The area and the reason for its designation provide different points of reference: the area figure describes its extent, while the reason explains the significance that led to its designation. Unlike the museum, the focus here is not on collections and historic buildings, but on an ecological designation with a historical basis.

Water Sports on Frenchman's Bay

At Nautical Village, visitors can head out onto Frenchman's Bay by canoe, kayak or windsurfing sail. The activities listed differ in type: canoeing and kayaking involve paddling, while a windsurfing sail is for windsurfing. This answers a different travel-planning question than the trail information: it concerns the type of water activity, not the length of a route. If you are prioritizing your trip according to specific interests, you can consider these water sports as a separate focus.

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For the broader travel overview: Regional Municipality Of Durham.