The Paris Moraine Side Trail informs us in two very different ways. Its name points us to the last glaciation that occurred in North America, which dramatically altered the landscape. But it also tells the story of the Bruce Trail Conservancy itself and its continuing work to preserve a natural corridor along the Niagara Escarpment. Both are slow moving processes though one is measured in eons and the other in decades. One changed the landscape forever, and the other seeks to preserve a ribbon of wilderness forever.
The Laurentide Ice Sheet was a massive ice sheet that over the last 2.5 Million years advanced and retreated multiple times. Its last major phase was the Wisconsin Glaciation. The ice was at its thickest and most southerly around 26,000 – 21,000 years ago. The massive ice sheet started to thin and retreat slowly. The retreat wasn’t always uniform and pauses occurred. The Paris Moraine was formed about 13,000 years ago during such a pause when rocks, sand and gravel accumulated at the ice edge. When the ice continued to retreat, the Paris Moraine was left behind.
The deposition of the materials was uneven and resulted in the characteristic hummucky terrain of ridges, irregular hills (knobs) and wet depressions (kettles). Meltwater streams deposited thick sand and gravel layers and formed outwash plains. The extensive gravel deposits are important for groundwater recharge that feeds our streams, rivers and wells.
The Paris Moraine Side Trail started its life as part of the main Bruce Trail, not as a Side Trail. Before 1988 the main Trail proceeded along Escarpment Sideroad taking in part of the current side trail. Around 1992 the main Trail was moved to the Caledon Trailway but was back a few years later. The main Trail’s route has been altered a few times since then, the most recent change in 2025 being especially significant as it removed 3.3 km from busy Airport Road and Escarpment Sideroad. After that change the resultant Side Trail was significant enough to merit a name and Dave Moule, a volunteer of the Caledon Hills Bruce Trail Club, named it after the moraine that dominated the area.
The multiple changes to the route are in service to the Bruce Trail Conservancy’s goal of conserving a continuous footpath following the Niagara Escarpment from Queenston Heights to Tobermory, aided by generous local landowners who share access to their land and generous donors who enable the purchase of land so the Trail will be secured forever.
The Paris Moraine Side Trail with its scenic hills and valleys formed by the moraine left behind by those long ago melted glaciers accompanies the new Main Trail for hikers to enjoy.