Sideways Badge

The Sideways Badge can be earned in one of two ways.
Updated December 16/2024

Sideways Badge
Sideways Badge

 

Sideways Badge Loop .PDF Download (Updated 12/31/24)

The Sideways Badge can be earned in one of two ways.

Method One: Log 40 kilometres of hiking on Caledon Hills Side Trails.

Method Two: Complete and log the five prescribed loop/“in and out” hikes. The hikes include eighteen different side trails. (There are many other side trails that are not included in these five hikes.)

The hikes can be done independently, on organized group hikes, or in combination.

Include dates and locations on your log. You can also include other information, such as hiking companions, the weather, the condition of the trail, photos, or special memories. Refer to the “Badges” section on our Club Website, for badge requests and payment options. http://caledonbrucetrail.ca/hiking/club-badges/

Prescribed Hikes

Fun Facts

  • In 1968, Caledon created the first loop trail in the Bruce Trail Network.
  • The first Caledon Hills Sideways badge was earned in 2014.

Hike One

Forks of the Credit Area (map 14)

The hike is approximately 10.0 km. The terrain is hilly with a few steep climbs.

Park at roadside parking on the east side of Creditview Road, immediately north of the Grange Sideroad intersection. Google Map Coordinates: 43.791491, -79.975229

Directions: From ON-10, head west on Old Base Line Road to Mississauga Road. Turn right and drive north to the Grange Sideroad. Turn right and proceed to Creditview Road. (Note: During winter months, the Grange Sideroad is closed to vehicular traffic between McLaren Road to Creditview Road. Access parking via Creditview Road.)

Fun Facts

  • Due to a long term construction project on Dominion Street, many of the trails in the area of the Forks of the Credit were reconfigured. On March 21, 2023, 17 volunteers worked on this extensive reblazing project. One of the major changes involved the switch of 3.7 kilometres of main Trail to the Devil’s Pulpit Side Trail.
  • The Trimble Side Trail is named after Caledon Hills Club founding members, Roy and Eleanor Trimble. This conservation-wise couple dedicated over 30 years of service to the care of the Trail.
  • Named after the Crow’s Nest Quarry which operated in the early 1880s, the Crow’s Nest Side Trail follows an old quarry road. Whirlpool sandstone used for the Ontario Legislature Building came from this location.
  • The remains of the ring-shaped kiln found on the Ring Kiln Side Trail have been left to return to nature for over a century. In 2007, the side trail opened, but not before a 25 ft drop into the chimney was safely covered. On January 26 of that year, an enthusiastic team of volunteers watched, as a local pilot gently lowered an 800 pound grate over the hole. Imagination, perseverance, and cooperation made an impossible task possible.

Hike Directions: Follow the blue blazes north on Creditview Road. Continue along an unopened road allowance. Cross Caledon Mountain Drive to the escarpment edge. Carefully descend the Devil’s Pulpit. Continue past the Ring Kiln Side Trail to Forks of the Credit Road. Turn left and follow the road to the beginning of the Trimble Side Trail at Dominion Street. (2.3 km)

Follow the blue blazes of this side trail to its end in the Belfountain Conservation Area. Retrace your steps to the junction of the Crow’s Nest Side Trail on the left. (2.1 km to the end, return to the Crow’s Nest Side Trail for 1.0 km)

Loop around this short trail. (1.1 km)

Once back at the Trimble Trail, turn left and return to where the side trail meets the Devil’s Pulpit Side Trail at the corner of Dominion Street. (1.1 km)

Continue straight along Forks of the Credit Road. Turn right at Chisholm Street and begin the climb back up the rugged escarpment. (0.6 km)

Watch for the Ring Kiln Side Trail on the right. Hike in and explore the historic ruins of the Hoffman Lime Kiln. Retrace your steps back to the main Trail. (1.2 km)

Hike Two

Hockley Valley Provincial Nature Reserve (map 18)

This hike is approximately 11.5 km. The terrain is hilly with some steep climbs.

Park just east of km 61.3, at the Hockley Road parking lot on the north side of Hockley Road at the Hockley Road Side Trail. Google Map Coordinates: 43.972857, -80.056330

Directions: From ON-10 turn east onto Hockley Rd/Dufferin County Rd 7. Drive for 5.1 kilometres.

Fun Fact

  • The Tom East, Isabel East and Glen Cross Side Trails form the Bruce Trail “Jeju Olle” Friendship Trail. It is twinned with Route 2 of the Jeju Olle Trail in South Korea. In September of 2011, this trail became the first of the nine Bruce Trail Club International Friendship Trails to be unveiled.

Hike Directions: From the parking lot, turn right onto the Hockley Road Side Trail and hike a short distance to the main Trail. (0.25 km)

Turn right onto the main Trail. Follow the white blazes to the Glen Cross Side Trail junction. (4.1 km)

Turn right onto the side trail. Follow the blue blazes. (1.4 km).

Veer right onto the Isabel East Side Trail. Continue to the main Trail. (1.9 km)At the main Trail, turn left and take the trail to the junction of the Tom East Side Trail. (0.9 km)

Turn left onto the side trail. Take it back to the main Trail. (2.5 km)

Once on the main Trail, continue straight to Hockley Road. (0.2 km)

Turn left and return to the parking lot via Hockley Road Side Trail. (0.25 km)

Hike Three

Hockley Valley South (map 18)

This hike is approximately 9.5 kilometres. The terrain is hilly.

Park north of km 52.0, at the BTC parking lot on the east side of 5th Line EHS, just south of Hockley Road. Google Map Coordinates: 43.993572, -80.014057

Directions: From ON-10 turn east onto Hockley Rd/Dufferin County Rd 7. Drive for 9.4 kilometres. Turn south/right onto 5th Line EHS. Drive for 100 metres.

Fun Facts

  • Barred Owls can often be heard and occasionally seen in May and June, along the Hemlock Ridges Side Trail. The owls nest during this time and are the only owl species with dark eyes.
  • In the early 1970s, the Griffith family welcomed the Bruce Trail onto their land with a handshake agreement. A portion of this land has since become a BTC Protected Natural Area. Over the years, the main Trail was rerouted to higher grounds. Part of the original route was never abandoned. It is now the Griffith Ravine Side Trail.
  • It is believed that the ridges and valleys in the area around the Glacier Valley Side Trail were created by meltwater from the glaciers toward the end of the last ice age. As the glaciers melted, they broke into huge chunks, and sediment was deposited by meltwater in the cracks between the chunks. These ice-contact deposits are always very steep sided. The valleys or ravines between the ridges are the places where the last remnants of the glaciers sat.
  • The full distance of the Hockley Heights Side Trail is just under seven kilometres. Only 400 metres is covered in this hike.

Hike Directions:
Locate the Hemlock Ridge Side Trail trailhead at the east end of the parking lot. Take the side trail up to the main Trail. (0.61 km)

Turn right onto the main trail. Follow the white blazes to the second access to the Griffith Ravine Side Trail.  Watch for the side trail on the right. (4.4 km)

Make a sharp right turn onto the side trail. Continue along this trail to the main Trail. (0.9 km)

Continue straight and retrace your steps to the junction of the Glacier Valley Side Trail on the right. (2.2 km)

Take the side trail to where it meets up with the main Trail. (0.58 km)

Turn left. Hike past the Hemlock Ridge Side Trail to the Hockley Heights Side Trail. (0.4 km)

Turn right and descend to the parking lot. (0.4 km)

Hike Four

Hockley Valley South (map 18)

This approximately 10 kilometre hike has some hills. In the winter, please follow the alternate route signage and respectfully stay off the cross country ski trails.

Park at the BTC parking lot located off 7th Line immediately east of Airport Road. Google Map Coordinates: 43.960477, -79.979773

Directions:From Airport Rd/Peel Regional Rd 7 turn east onto 7th Line. Drive for 60 metres.

Fun Facts

  • The 7th Line Access Trail was built in 2002, when the much needed BTC parking lot was established.
  • When permission from the Taoist Tai Chi Society was given to extend the main Trail through their property in the late 1980s, the Harmony Side Trail, which had been part of the old trail was kept, to create a loop with the new main Trail.
  • The Hockley Hollow Side Trail is home to an overnight rest area.
  • Thanks to generous landowners, Sally Cohen and Dave Moule, the Hockleycrest Side Trail crosses the “Moule Easement.” An easement is a portion of land that is donated within a larger property. The easement agreement carries with the land title and is binding to all future landowners.
  • Darcy’s Side Trail is named after the former landowners’ Jack Russell terrier, who died at the age of 18. The property is now a BTC Protected Natural Area called Tall Timbers.

Hike Directions: Take the 7th Line Access Trail to the main Trail. (0.2)

Watch for the stile on the left. Climb over it. Turn right and continue along the road. Look out for the left turn into the bush. (0.6 km)

Continue to and cross the next concession. Pass through the BTC parking lot and continue to the Harmony Side Trail. (1.8 km)

Take the short trail to the main Trail. (0.1 km)

Turn left. Follow the white blazes through the Tai Chi International Centre’s Sugar Bush, past the Hockley Hollow and Hockleycrest Shortcut Side Trails to the Hockleycrest Side Trail. (1.7 km)

Continue straight onto the side trail. Weave through forest and field areas to where it joins the main Trail.(1.6 km)

Turn right. Follow the main Trail to Darcy’s Side Trail on the left. (1.1 km)

Take the side trail. Cross the stile at 5 Sideroad. (0.5 km)

Turn right. Take the road to access the main Trail on the left. (0.4 km)

Retrace your steps back to the 7th Line Parking Access Trail. (2.1 km)

Take the side trail back to the parking lot. (0.2 km)

Hike Five

Forks of the Credit Provincial Park (map 15)

This approximate 12 km hike has some steep hills.

Park at the Forks of the Credit Provincial Park parking lot at 17760 McLaren Rd., Caledon ON. Reserve
and pay for a Daily Vehicle Pass online at https://reservations.ontarioparks.com.

Fun Facts

  • A Mill Pond is a body of water used as a reservoir for a water-powered mill. In the mid to late 1800s, a grist mill towered over the falls. The mill was later purchased by John Deagle, who experimented with electricity and by 1899 generated power for over eight kilometres of lines./li>
  • The Cataract (a.k.a. large waterfall) has a drop of 14 metres and a width of 9 metres.

Hike Directions: From the parking lot, take the park Meadow Trail on the right. This trail leads to themain Trail and Mill Pond Side Trail junction. (approximately 2.0 km)

Turn right onto the side trail. Hike around to the metal stairs. Take the stairs to the top and continue straight to rejoin with the actual side trail. Turn right and retrace your steps back to the main Trail junction.(3.2 km)

Turn right and descend the hill to the park washrooms. (0.4 km)

Turn right. Proceed to a lookout over the Cataract Falls. Retrace your steps to the point where the blue blazes indicate a right turn. Follow the blazes along the bank of the Credit River. (2.2 km)

Continue straight onto the main Trail. The trail runs parallel to the river and then turns to the left. (1.3 km)

Climb the steep ascent and at the top turn left. (0.4 km)

Take this section of the main Trail to the Trans Canada Trail. The Trans Canada Trailis marked by a park post on the left. (1.2 km)

Turn right at the post and press on to the parking lot. (approx. 1.5 km)