Royal Botanical Gardens, ON
The largest botanical gardens in Canada, we chose to spread our visits over several days to ensure we explored everything RBG has to offer! Leashed dogs are welcome in all parts, unless there is a special event on.
Hendrie Valley Trails (22nd July ’23) Our first day, we parked at Cherry Hill Gate, which gave us access to nearly 5km of trails, with a QR-code map posted on the information board. We immediately noticed the many chipmunks dashing across the path, as they are used to being fed by visitors. Rita wanted to chase them all! There were also many birds, like cardinals and red-winged blackbirds. We took the Grindstone Marshes Trail, featuring a long boardwalk, and walked to the Laking Garden. Here we had to pay admission, but we opted for the ticket to give us access to all the gardens (although we only managed to visit two on this day!). The Laking Garden was quite small and we had missed the peak bloom season in June but it was interesting to see what vegetables they were growing and visit the pergola and gazebo. We then retraced our steps and took a stretch of the South Bridle Trail, where we spotted a heron and a family of swans. Rita had a dip too as it was a hot day!
Hendrie Park at RBG Centre (22nd July ‘23) A couple of minutes’ drive along the road is the main visitor centre. Dogs are allowed inside as far as the underground tunnel to Hendrie Park gardens. These are large and beautiful gardens, with rose beds, and themed sections such as a healing garden of medicinal plants and a scented garden, alongside water features and sculptures. We even joined a 20-minute tour of the gardens to learn about which plants are best suited to specific species of caterpillar, and were educated on the migratory patterns of the butterflies resident in the garden. On our wander around the garden, we discovered the gravestone of a dear horse, an artificial hive for solitary bees. Volunteers were also showcasing the pollination processes of the gardens. The tearoom looked like they served a delicious high tea – there was a seating area outside so I assume dogs are allowed there, although we didn’t try!
Cootes Paradise and the Arboretum (29th July '‘23) If a long hike is what you’re after, head to Cootes Paradise, which has over 27km of trails. James joined me for this one, and we parked at the Rasberry House next to the Propagation sheds, joining the trailhead at an old stone silo built by the Rasberry family in the 1880s. From here, we wandered through woodland to join the Marshwalk Trail. This leads to a boardwalk flanked by walls of cattails, creating a magical corridor feeling. From the viewpoint, we could do lot of bird-watching; indeed, we spotted two white egrets, a heron and potentially a sandhill crane. There were also lots of Canada geese about! We looped up to the George North lookout (marked on Google maps), and then back through the Arboretum. Although there weren’t many blooms left in July, the leaflet describes the place as “more like an English landscape park than a garden”, being home to woody plant collections. Hence we could still admire the diversity of trees and shrubs. It even holds one of the largest lilac collections in the world (blooming in early June), stocking over 400 varieties!
Rock Garden (29th September ’24) This spot is RBG’s oldest garden, opening to visitors in 1932. The parking lot is across the road, and you and your pup can go through the visitor centre to buy your tickets and enter the gardens. Following the Garden path and Lookout Trails around the outside connects visitors with several sights and a guided mindfulness walk encouraging them to engage the senses. We took the steps down into the lower garden with Japanese-style lily ponds and bridges, perhaps a nod to Hamilton’s twin city of Fukuyama, which donated a sculpture to the garden. There were several waterfalls and naturalistic sculptures amongst the perennials and conifer trees.
Rock Chapel Sanctuary (29th September ’24) This section of RGB is named after a local church built 1822 and encompasses some of the Bruce Trail along the Niagara Escarpment. Several trailheads lead out of the car park. We first followed the Rock Chapel loop, an easy 2km trail through woodland and with views over Hamilton. Then we followed the escarpment trail – including a couple of short sections requiring you to walk on the road – past Borer’s Falls, a 15m high waterfall. It’s quite hidden and most spectacular when you arrive at the viewpoint. From here, we walked along a more rugged trail towards the Berry Tract, a small orchard at RGB planted in the 1930s, named after Alfred Berry (confusing, I thought!).
