Seven trails selected to promote Wellington County cycling tourism

WELLINGTON – Several signature routes have been identified as the focus of cyclist tourism in Wellington County this summer. 

In a new report from Ontario By Bike, a group dedicated to cycling in Ontario, seven signature cycling routes have been identified within Wellington County, as well as points of interest and businesses to visit along the way, and will be launched this summer as a part of the county's cycling tourism strategy. 

The seven routes identified were:

• The Elora-Fergus Grand River Loop, a 35 km ride designed for beginners through Elora and Fergus. 
• Rockwood-Eden Mills-Guelph Road Loop, a 56 km route starting in Rockwood that runs through Puslinch. 
• Guelph Wellington Gravel Explorer, a 62 km trail through Elora and Fergus that can be extended to a 90 km trip into Alma. 
• Minto Town and County Tour, a 70 km ride through Palmerston, Harriston and Clifford.
• Wellington-Eramosa County Road Ride, a 72 km route that follows some of the county's "best paved roads" through Elora, Guelph/Eramosa and Fergus. 
• Fergus-Erin Road and Trail Loop, a 75 km trail that contains a part trail ride from Fergus to Erin and back again. 
• Wellington Windmills and Water Tower Road Ride, an 80 km trail that starts in Fergus, through Grand River and Arthur before returning to Belwood. 

Fourteen potential routes including ones near the Elora Cataract Trail, Middlebrook Road and Jones Baseline were also listed in the report but not selected. 

"For this project, we wanted to figure out what are some of the county's signature routes that are spread out geographically but also make it feasible and understand that these are good roads to cycle," said staff during the meeting. "We didn't intentionally leave out certain parts of the county...(but) unfortunately there are some areas that are not as well-used by cyclists yet." 

But while many councillors were supportive of the proposed routes, they felt areas like Mapleton or Wellington North were "barren" and suggested more options be investigated in the future. 

"I was disappointed (some municipalities) weren't featured more prominently," said County Coun. Matthew Bulmer. "As I read the report, it seemed that Mapleton had been left out and then last minute it was added in like 'if you need to go to Alma, there's an option.'"

However, staff said they worked hard to provide routes that are "not just all in Centre Wellington" and expanded the original project scope from six to seven routes to include every municipality. 

The report also suggests any signature cycling routes aligned located near Wellington County roads or highways with "high-speed traffic" and no or very narrow paved shoulders should be prioritized for future infrastructure and signage upgrades/investments including the paving or widening of existing shoulders and adding cycling route signage when appropriate. 

"An ongoing project," additional routes may be developed beyond the initial seven. 

"This is the first phase of the project, a building block," said County Coun. Jeff Duncan. "If the signature routes can take off, then we can start to look at a spin-off plan or include or modify some additional routes." 

The full report is available here. 

Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.