halton hills driving tour sixteen mile creek driving tour bronte creek driving tour birding and wildflower viewing fall colours - best picks
Sixteen mile creek driving tour The Sixteen Mile Creek driving tour is best done in fall, to experience the changing colours of leaves. Sixteen Mile Creek flows through extensive farmland and developed urban areas where the creek is often difficult to see and appreciate. This driving tour begins in Oakville Harbour, where you can explore a waterfront park and the Erchless Estate, now part of the Oakville Museum. From here the tour winds northwest through Oakville to Lions Valley Park and then on to the hamlet of Glenorchy, where the creek cuts through a beautiful wooded valley. This portion of Lower Base Line has been closed and makes a nice hike. The tour backtracks east to Sixteen Valley Conservation Area and then proceeds east through Drumquin, and then northwest, where the route goes up and down the Escarpment by the Springridge pick-your-own farm and Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area. Along the way, other conservation lands can be seen as you travel through the hamlet of Kelso and the village of Campbellville. This is a great place to stop and browse the shops or view the west branch of the creek before heading northeast into the creek’s headwaters, past several Halton Region forests and through the almost-forgotten communities of Sayer’s Mills and Speyside. The return journey travels south past the Scotch Block Reservoir, then east to the Hilton Falls Conservation Area where the tour ends. The 80 km scenic drive takes about two hours and much longer if you explore the sites along the way. The route shown on the map crosses the creek  in many locations and sometimes jogs off the main route.

Nature Calls  [Great Blue Heron]
As you crisscross Sixteen Mile Creek on the back roads of the Halton watershed, watch for nature’s most impressive fisherman, the Great Blue Heron.  The long-legged heron will stand on the bank or in the creek without a movement for long periods of time. Then, ever so slowly, its neck extends to bring  its formidable beak into position. With lightning speed, the spearlike beak is thrust below the surface of the water, often reappearing with an impaled fish or frog. The metre-high blue-and-grey bird is an expert fisherman.  When startled, the heron emits deep, harsh croaks as it laboriously flies away.

Tips [to enjoy your hike]
This driving tour includes a significant section of the Niagara Escarpment and the Ontario Greenbelt. Come back and explore the many conservation areas and public forests.

Directions
From the QEW, take Trafalgar Road south to Lakeshore Road, turn west to Navy Street and travel south to the Erchless Estate and the Oakville Harbour