Claireville Conservation Area

It’s a beautiful park, but you can’t appreciate it thanks to the sheer number of people who don’t clean up after their dogs. The first 300 metres on any path is a minefield of dog crap that is damn near impossible to navigate.
I love dogs. I have dogs. I understand dogs like to run off leash and don’t even care that every single one I saw was, even when it clearly said that they’re not meant to. Just wait until after they’ve done their business so you can pick up after them. It’s disgusting not to.
So yes, fantastic if you’re a lazy dog owner, not so awesome if you’re not.

Claireville Conservation Area is a 10 minute drive from Pearson Airport, and The Best Place to kill a few hours if you’ve driven someone to a delayed flight.
After an hour of driving through sad stony spaghetti, this deep forest feels like a cool damp piece of natural MERCY, with a long network of foot-​worn paths through rich old farmland. Turn *away* from the massive suburb development, park in the gravel lot, and walk single-​file through tall grass filled with flowers (NOTE I spotted what looked like hogweed so Know Your Plants, my tenderskinned friends). Some old orchard is nestled around there, too.
Further in are creeks, fern beds, some mossy old farm roads, and (mostly pine) forest — a replanted field that looks to be about 80 years old. The lovely part of this is that the trees are planted in long straight lines, and the floor is flat and carpeted with pine needles.
As a kid, I would have been absolutely amazed by the place — the forest feels eerie and magical and is fantastic to run around in.
After some walking, it was so quiet and peaceful that we lay down and took a nap.
Heaven belongs to you, if you play right.