April 22, 2018
Springwater Conservation area is located off of Springwater Road in Aylmer, Ontario. It consists of a large pond which is surrounded by a 600 acre forest. Visitors to the conservation area can enjoy use of the beach, campgrounds, picnic areas and many hiking trails through Springwater Forest.
Click here to view a map of Springwater Conservation Area
When I got to the Conservation Area I parked my vehicle at access point #1 and began my hike by walking past the end of the pond looping around towards the observation deck stopping for a moment to take in the view before entering the forest. It was a beautiful afternoon for a walk through the forest and every so often I could hear the sounds of woodpeckers off in the distance.
As I approached the boardwalk on the trail I was overwhelmed by the sounds of frogs singing so loudly that you could hardly hear the birds calling out over top of them. The frogs were all located in the marsh area on the far end of the pond closest to the boardwalk which connects the trail to the rest of Springwater forest.
After I re-entered the forest I could not get over how well the trails were groomed. They were well packed and easy to navigate with clear markings on the trees. A trail fee of $2 is required for each entrant but it is definitely worth it because the conservation area is excellently maintained.
It was at this point in my hike that I started to see chipmunks running around the forest floor. I was able to take a couple of photos of them when they stopped for a second before running off out of my sight. There were so many of them as I could hear them all moving through the brush of leaves still carpeting the forest.
I reached the end point of the trail back at access point #1 where I got a good view of the pond and forest in the background so I took a quick photo and exited the the trail and walked to my vehicle to head home. I will definitely return to this area in the future as it is one of the nicest conservation areas I have been to.
Below are the photos I took during my visit.
