Caledon Trailway: Wintertime fat-bike fun
Snow-ready wheels allow riders to enjoy a sense of freedom on a fantastic Ontario trail
I remember the first time I rode a bike by myself. What a rush! The freedom. The sense of mastery. You couldn’t pry the smile off my face. Those emotions came flooding back to me when I got my first fat bike.
My first test ride came in the middle of a snowstorm — big wet flakes were hitting my eyelashes, forcing me to squint protectively. And I was swallowing snow like crazy.
But even then, there was no prying the grin off my face. I was riding through 10 centimetres of snow. Yes — riding on snow. How was that even possible? I rode over the curb, onto the lawn and chugged up a small hill. It was right then that I knew I needed to buy that bike, so I could experience that emotion every time I rode.
A fat bike is a specially built mountain bike that has tires about four inches or wider, built for off-roading.
A fat bike lets you ride all year round, but powering those massive wheels requires effort. So the Caledon Trailway makes for a perfect winter fat-bike destination, especially the section west from Caledon East where it’s heavily walked. That makes riding a whole lot easier.
The Caledon Trailway is a 39-kilometre one-way trip on an abandoned rail trail. Like the Elora Cataract Trailway, it’s relatively flat, so it’s easy to go long distances before you realize it. It runs from Terra Cotta in the southwest to Tottenham in the northeast.
The section between Terra Cotta and Inglewood is stunning in fall, and Caledon East to Inglewood is fat-bike fun in winter. The latter section has forest and wetland sections, and two incredible trail-specific features — an amazing span bridge to get you safely over Highway 10 and a traffic-controlling cross-ride for bikes and pedestrians in Caledon East.
The trail opens up a bit heading toward Palgrave. And there’s even a little side route near Patterson Sideroad that takes you right into the track for mountain bikes at Albion Hills.
At Palgrave, you’ll ride right past a world-class equestrian facility that hosted the 2015 Pan-Am Games. Soon, you’ll go under Highway 9, through a tunnel cut through some swampy cedars and you’ll pop out at a sightseeing train.
The South Simcoe Railway is a volunteer-run, scenic railway that steams its way through the countryside north from Tottenham. You can ride in fully
restored, 100-year-old passenger coaches and hear stories about the area’s history from the enthusiastic conductor. It sits idle in winter, but is worth checking out next spring or summer, COVID-19 permitting.
I’ve ridden the Caledon Trailway dozens of times in all seasons, each time going different distances. I’ve even done it end-to-end, albeit in summer. But I always seem to ride the section between Caledon East and Terra Cotta.
And every time, I ride with a Cheshire Cat grin. I’ve always said the power of a place lies in the emotions it evokes. I still
think of that very first time I ever rode on two wheels when I ride the Caledon Trailway. And that makes me feel like I can do anything.
That’s an emotion that never gets old. If you want to rekindle that emotion for yourself but don’t own a fat bike, don’t fret. Caledon Hills Cycling sits on the edge of the Trailway in Inglewood and they rent bikes. Call ahead for COVID-19 protocols and get out and ride.