Halton Hills approves next phase of planned 100 km trail that will eventually connect Orangeville with Port Credit

By: Christian Collington, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TheIFP.ca

The long-planned Credit Valley Trail (CVT) took a major step forward after town council received an update on a new proposed link between Norval and Upper Canada College (UCC).

The CVT is a proposed 100‑kilometre trail running from Port Credit in Mississauga to the headwaters in Orangeville. About 43 kilometres are already connected, including roughly 9.3 kilometres within Halton Hills, which will eventually host 19.7 kilometres of the route.

At council’s June 22 meeting, councillors unanimously endorsed a report advancing an approximately 850‑metre extension of the trail between the existing UCC loop and the Willow Park Ecology Centre driveway.

As part of that work, council approved directing $20,000 toward building a 150‑metre‑long, 1.8‑metre‑wide limestone screening path, one of the segments needed to complete the 850‑metre link.

Natalie Faught, senior co-ordinator for CVT at Credit Valley Conservation, outlined broader progress on the project.

“We’re entering year nine of strategy implementation of what is a 25-year project,” Faught said. “Today we have 43 kilometres of the 100-kilometre route connected with 57 kilometres remaining to be secured through land acquisition and municipal partnerships.”

Strong progress in Halton Hills

Halton Hills represents the third-largest segment of the future trail, expected to span roughly 19.7 kilometres when complete.

Faught said “about 9.3 kilometres” are already connected within town boundaries and praised the municipality as “a tremendous leader on this project.”

A key focus of the report is a new off-road connection linking the UCC property loop to Willow Park Ecology Centre, creating an additional 850 metres of trail and bringing the route closer to the Credit River valley.

Town staff led an earlier partnership with UCC to secure and blaze a trail loop on the school’s lands.

Coun. Jane Fogal called the proposed link through Hungry Hollow “really gorgeous,” noting the “almost old growth forest” feel and the way highway noise “just disappears” in the valley.

Heritage, ecology and Indigenous placekeeping

The CVT is conceived as more than a recreational path. The vision, Faught said, is a continuous, multi-use route that integrates arts, culture, tourism, active transportation and Indigenous heritage.

CVC is working closely with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and an Indigenous roundtable to create seven “doodem” placekeeping sites along the trail with one of these being conceptually planned for Glen Williams.

A completed gathering space at Island Lake — the Crane Doodem — has already become a focal point for school groups and Indigenous organizations.

Councillors pressed for details on how residents would be engaged on Glen Williams’ future site.

Faught said these spaces are being led by the Mississaugas of the Credit, but she anticipates a collaborative process with community users and municipal partners.

Protecting the historic Barber Dynamo site

Several councillors raised the fate of the historic Barber Dynamo site, a significant but deteriorating industrial relic north of Georgetown.

Faught acknowledged the structure is “at risk” and “of utmost importance” to stabilize. She added the site is landlocked between private land and a CN Rail corridor, complicating access.

Faught reported that CVC has secured “face time with CN” and is cautiously optimistic about gaining access to undertake archeological assessment and stabilization planning in the coming years.

Funding and next steps

Despite having just one dedicated staff member on the CVT file, CVC has leveraged partnerships and philanthropy to raise $6.5 million toward a $10-million foundation campaign.

Across the watershed, the trail route has been secured over approximately 69 hectares through acquisition and conservation easements, connecting 17 parks.

In Halton Hills, next steps include finalizing the UCC and Willow Park connection, continuing landowner and railway negotiations and deepening work on Indigenous-led placekeeping.