Limehouse: Explore While You Hike
I love the hiking trails at Limehouse and I’ve brought my family and out-of-town guests to this trail. It’s part of Bruce Trail between Halton Hills and Georgetown.
The trail we went on was relatively short and easy, which is a good thing if you are bringing younger children or older relatives. Keep in mind there are no restrooms or facilities here so I’d plan a stop either further north in Acton or in Milton (take Steels Rd).
Walking along, you feel like you are an explorer when you suddenly discover the beautiful stone-arched bridge. Now, if this doesn’t look like a picture in a fairy tale, I don’t know what does!
We found a place that I later found out was called “The Hole in the Wall,”. So I went down the ladder and then navigated through the giant crack.
This “crack” is actually a section of karst . Apparently, karst is the product of rocks (like limestone) dissolving and forming sinkholes and underground caves. These are relatively common throughout the Niagara Escarpment. (Source: Lauren Yakiwchuk’s Blog in Ontario Hiking.)
Above is a photo of my son standing in front of the old Kiln and Mill ruins. Built in the mid-1800s, the Old Limestone Mill was 16 metres tall. Much like an old grist mill, powered by water to grind grain, this mill ground limestone. (Source: Hiking the GTA)
As you can see, this mill has deteriorated over the years. Some wood planks are against the lime kiln to stabilize the stones and save them from crumbling further.
Finally there is an old powder magazine that was once used to store explosives. (The photo below comes from Ontario Hiking – really nice detailed Blog there, I recommend you check it out.)
https://ontariohiking.com/limehouse-conservation-area/ )
How to get there: I parked near the Limehouse Memorial Hall and got on the trail at the end of the street. There is limited parking there. See map below:
There is also an entrance called Limehouse Conservation Area on the map that offers historic ruins and fissures and is a loop trail. Check out this really great trail map on the GAIA GPS website. I’ve done both trails on two separate occasions. If you’d like to see the kiln, take the first trail.
I’m looking forward to going there again this year.