Hotel Blog

Don’t forget to bring your bikes! 

You may have heard of the trails, Greater Niagara Cycling Trail, Friendship Trail, Waterfront Trail…when I travel I always wonder what the terrain will be like on those trails.  Will they be on the road? Hills? Gravel? That worries me, on a trip out of my city, cycling experience. I hope that this will help you decide which trail is best for you. 

While many of us have bike computers that give us directions for a pre-loaded route from sites like Map my Ride, or Ride with GPS, some of us folks still refer to the paper maps and on route signage…like me!  Without the assistance of bike computers, I do suggest one day riding south and one day riding north, the trail is continuous and easy to stay on track. 

The most family friendly route is the trail from behind the hotel, Greater Niagara Cycle Trail, down south into Port Colborne, onto the Friendship Trail as it has almost no elevation. There are only a couple of streets to cross and it is all on the trail, never on the road. You can enjoy a 12km ride into Port Colborne, grab a snack at a restaurant on West Street and return back, or if you have stronger legs, you can continue East and go as far as Fort Erie…remember, whatever you go out, you need to do all that again to come back…usually the wind will be in your face one of the two ways. 

If you want to see more of the canal, and have a strong group, you can go North from the hotel towards Thorold and St Catharines. This part of the trail is also very straight forward and mostly flat except for one steep section at Lock 7 in Thorold. On this route you may be lucky enough to see a bridge rise, a lock transfer a boat or even a luxury boat using the lock system.  You may want to visit the Museum at Lock 7 (just up the hill on the left when you come to the end of the trail at the lock). 

This trail goes to Lakeshore Road, which will bring you past some wineries, cideries and fruit stands on your way to Niagara on the Lake. This section is mostly on the road, so make sure you are comfortable with that and keep a close eye on inexperienced road riders. 

There are many beautiful areas to ride along the lake in the South, Niagara on the Lake, Pelham, through Fort Erie, but I would recommend a bike computer, or a bike map with some good navigation skills for some of those areas.  Always be alert of your surroundings and listen for vehicles behind you when riding on the road. 

Happy Cycling! Lynn 

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