Why Is It Called the Upland Side Trail
The Upland Side Trail, on the Riverside Woods Nature Reserve, is an easy walk. It remains on the high ground for its 1.2 km length. Don’t miss the viewpoint, (with bench) that offers a sweeping view of the far countryside.
The Bruce Trail Conservancy purchased this land from Scouts Canada in 2023. Both parties to the purchase and sale were heartened that the Bruce Trail Conservancy would be preserving nature on this site. Since the purchase, the Conservancy has started to return field portions of the property, adjacent to the Upland Side Trail, to native grassland.
Indigenous Peoples inhabited and travelled along this area for centuries.
In the early 1800s, Upper Canada sought to secure more land to settle British immigrants. The number of settlers was growing significantly. The settlers were clearing the land for agriculture.
During this time, the Indigenous Peoples, including the Chippewa, experienced hardship suffering infectious diseases and colonization of their hunting and fishing grounds.
In Oct 1818 the four Chiefs of the Chippewa (Ojibway) nation – “Musquakie, or Yellow Head, Chief of Rein Deer Tribe, Kaqueticum, Chief of the Cat Fish Tribe, Maskigonce of the Otter Tribe, and Manitonobe of the Pike Tribe” – signed Treaty # 18 with William Claus, Superintendent General of Indian Affairs, selling 1,592,000 acres of land to the Crown. This treaty covered an area extending from the shore of Nottawasaga Bay (part of Georgian Bay) south to approximately Orangeville. When negotiating Treaty 18, Chief Musquakie requested that the colonial government provide them with a doctor. None was guaranteed in the treaty text.
The land that the Upland Side Trail traverses was settled by the Dodds and Foster families. The eastern portion of the trail is on land that extends to the 2nd Line where James Dodds built a two-storey stone house in 1857 – 10 years prior to Canadian confederation! Carved into the date stone above the front door are the words: “Erected AD 1857 by James Dodds”. (On private land, the house is still standing and has a historical designation.) James’s wife was Mary Foster and her family originally farmed the land that carries the western portion of the Upland Side Trail.
James and his 3 brothers worked on the Welland Canal to achieve their start in Canada and two of his brothers also settled in Mono.
It was not unusual that immigrant families settled close to relatives and friends from their home country (in this case Ireland). Mutual support aided survival and the possibility of prosperity in a new country.
As you walk the Upland Side Trail you will note that the land slopes off steeply to the north – evidence of the Nottawasaga River valley – a key geographical feature of Riverside Woods.
If you wish, you can make it a 3.2 km loop hike, including the Goodyear Memorial Side Trail and option to add on the 210 metre Rushing River Side Trail down to the Nottawasaga River. These trails cover the descent & ascent through the Nottawasaga River Valley so be prepared for more ups & downs, as compared to the Upland Side Trail which largely remains on flat land.
Enjoy your time under the pine trees and in the meadows on the Upland Side Trail and cast your thoughts back to the many peoples who traversed this land over the centuries and to the Bruce Trail Conservancy that is preserving a ribbon of wilderness, for everyone, forever.