Meadow Mouse and Mayer’s Marsh Interpretive Trails

Two trails, the Meadow Mouse Trail and the Mayer’s Marsh Trial, were part of a three-year initiative with costs funded largely by the Canada Trust Friends of the Environment Foundation and officially opened in the Fall of 1999.

The Meadow Mouse Trail is located adjacent to the Willow Creek Canoe Access on County Road 28, approximately two kilometers south of the Town of Minesing. This low-impact footpath will take the average hiker thirty minutes to walk a 2 km in and back route. Interpretive signs describe the history of the area, and the flora and fauna that are present. Before you leave the parking area, view the map of the Minesing Wetlands, read about the Ramsar Convention and update your wetland facts at the Information Kiosk which was expanded in the fall of 1999.

The Mayer’s Marsh Trail is a short detour off of the North Simcoe Rail Trail north of Snow Valley Rd and just east of Vespra Valley Rd. This 1 km low-impact walking trail is designed to focus visitor traffic on a smaller area and give the visitor an inside glimpse of the type of habitat present in the more remote portions of the wetlands. Take time to read the sign at the viewing platform which outlines trail highlights.

SPONSORS

FOMW appreciated the many hours of work by Kyle McKinnon and Jessica Roat who were hired as students through the Summer Experience Program to work on these trails.
On October 21, 1999, Dr. Joseph MacInnis, Chair of the Canada Trust Friends of the Environment Foundation, was present to cut the ribbon to officially open the Meadow Mouse Trail and Information Kiosk at the County Road 28 Canoe Route Access. Dr. MacInnis was joined by Canada Trust Branch Manager Dwight Drobig, FOMW Chair Byron Wesson, NVCA Chair Don Bell, and Springwater Mayor and County of Simcoe Warden Helen Coutts. It was rewarding to welcome Dr. MacInnis to the site, and his words on conservation were inspirational. Friends of Minesing Wetlands appreciates the efforts of the Barrie Chapter of Canada Trust Friends of the Environment for coordinating the event.