Crawford Lake: Hiking with Kids in Ontario

View of Crawford Lake from the trail

Crawford Lake is a little gem in the Halton Region of Ontario. It is located north of Burlington on Guelph Line, and it is a fantastic place to go hiking with kids!

Conservation Halton keeps this park well maintained, with clear trails, boardwalks, historical exhibits, easy parking, and restrooms. You need to make a reservation to access this park, which you can do at this website: https://www.conservationhalton.ca/

If you have a little one in a stroller, most of the trail is very stroller friendly, with a small rocky bit that would require some maneuvering. Little legs can manage this trail quite well since it’s primarily a wooden boardwalk with handrails, so there is a pretty even footing throughout.

You can see on the trail map below that there are a variety of options for you to choose from in terms of distance, and these trails are all connected to the famous Bruce Trail, which spans 725km from Niagara River to Tobermory.

We hiked the Crawford Lake Trail, which is only a 1km loop. We had so much fun the first time around the lake, we did a second loop!

As you head out on the trail, you will pass some very exciting sculptures for the kids to admire and investigate. We spent quite a lot of time investigating these incredible wood carvings, and of course, climbing on the ones that were accessible for climbing.

Once you get past the wooden animals in the forest, you will get a view of the lake and you will see the wooden boardwalks. Since it is a loop you can turn left or right to start your trek!

To your right you will see a big concrete pad. My son and I sat here for a while after reading the sign that told us it was the original porch on the summer cottage that belonged to the Crawford Family. That concrete porch is about 200 yrs old, and is all that remains of the cottage. It was pretty cool to sit on that 200 year old porch and imagine a family cottage once being in that spot. We noticed the huge trees around the porch, and realized there have likely been several generations of trees that have grown since the Crawford family spent their summers on this lake. It’s a neat little piece of local history that we enjoyed and appreciated.

200 year old porch from the Crawford Family summer cottage located in Crawford Lake, Ontario.

Boardwalk on the Crawford Lake Trail loop

Once you head out onto the boardwalks you can let your kids run! If your kids are anything like mine, they will absolutely love running on these wooden boardwalks. They pass over swamps and wetlands and through beautiful forests, with many nice views of Crawford Lake. The boardwalk makes it perfect for running with no uneven footing. Since there are handrails the whole way, it’s a nice contained hike without any huge cliffs for them to fall off! Ahhh a sigh of relief from the parents.

Crawford Lake itself is quite scenic with a unique aqua colour. The lake is a unique body of water with protected biodiversity, so no swimming in the lake is permitted. As a point of interest Crawford Lake is located within the Niagara Escarpment, which was recognized by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) in 1990 as a World Biosphere Reserve.

Once have completed as many loops of Crawford Lake as the little legs in your group can handle, just head back towards the Visitors Centre. We almost did a third loop when we missed the trail back to the Visitors Centre. Oops! The trail is pretty hard to miss, but there was a group of summer camp kids that were having so much fun, so we were watching them instead of the trail!

As a tip- just remember to head away from the lake once you see the old Crawford Lake cottage porch. There are washrooms located in the basement of the visitor centre.

If you follow the signs toward the Village, you will head across the road towards the Long Huts. These are historical exhibits displaying some of the tools, shelter, and clothing of the indigenous peoples who lived on these lands. My son absolutely loved exploring the structures and looking at all the artifacts. There was a Conservation Halton staff member who provided lots of information. There were real animal furs he could touch, and lots of interesting items to explore and ask questions about.

When we headed out on our hike we didn’t realize there would be so much to explore and see at Crawford Lake!

Happy Hiking!