IGNATIUS OLD GROWTH FOREST TRAILS

The Ignatius Jesuit Centre features trails for hiking, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing. A number of trails traverse the Ignatius Old-Growth Forest lands and are available year-round for hiking and snowshoeing.

Ignatius Old-Growth Forest Trails

Old Villa by the Speed Trail

Named after the ruins of the former Villa located on the east side of Highway 6, this trail follows the old laneway to the Villa ruins on the banks of the Speed River. The Old Villa was a summer home for the Jesuits who were studying and living on the west side of Highway 6 at the St. Stanislaus Novitiate.

The Holzer Trail:

The Holzer Trail is named after Fr. John Holzer, S.J., one of the first Jesuits to arrive in Guelph. In 1852 along with a small group of Jesuits, he came to Guelph to serve as pastor of the Church of Our Lady. Fr. Holzer and this group of Jesuits played an important role in establishing area churches, schools, convents, and Guelph’s St. Joseph’s Hospital.

James (Jim) Profit, S.J. Trail

This trail was one of Jim’s favourite places to walk and is a representation of his connection to water. The trail follows Marden Creek to the Speed River and continues along the Speed, under mature pines and cedars and through hemlocks and hardwoods, to the eastern boundary of the Old-Growth Forest lands.

The Creation Trail

The trail journeys through a mixed hardwood forest of cherry, ash and beech, many of which are impressively old and gnarly. Lined with conifers, it follows the banks of the Speed River for a short distance to the Old Villa and then opens up into a meadow that has been planted with over a thousand native trees and shrubs as part of the restoration work of the Ignatius Old-Growth Forest project.

Link to trail maps:

https://ignatiusguelph.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/OGF-Trail-Map.pdf

We would also direct you to read our DISCLAIMER and our TRAIL USERS CODE.

Region(s): Wellington County
Nearby towns and cities: Guelph