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We decided to check out the Cedar Grove Trail on a sunny Sunday morning last weekend. It was absolutely stunning.
The Cedar Grove Trail is in Marlborough Forest, southwest of the city. Marlborough Forest is a beautiful area that’s never too crowded, and dogs are allowed year round (bonus!).
This trail is great because all types of vehicles are prohibited. There are a lot of ATV and snowmobile trails throughout Marlborough Forest, but on this day we knew we’d get some peace and quiet.
The Cedar Grove Trail is pretty beautiful, even in winter.
Marlborough Forest is actually where we first came to find out about the Rideau Trail. We were out walking one day and kept noticing the Rideau Trail’s unique makers (triangles). We decided we had to find out what they were all about, and started hiking the trail not long after.
The Cedar Grove Trail is actually part of the Rideau Trail, and takes you onto one of the Rideau Trail’s “blue loops.” The Rideau Trail tends to add these loops only when doing so really adds to the hike, so that right there told us that this trail would be worth exploring.
The Rideau Trail has side loops, which they call “blue loops.” A blue loop makes up part of the Cedar Grove Trail.
Hunting is allowed in the forest, so if you’re heading out in the fall, make sure you’ve checked the hunting dates for the season. If you choose to go during hunting season, wear something very bright. When we went, the hunting dates for the 2014 season were still posted… Not very helpful.
Getting There
Marlborough Forest is pretty big- nearly 30,000 acres, and there are a number of access points to the forest off of Roger Stevens Drive.
In order to access the Cedar Grove Trail, we parked in parking lot E3. You can use these coordinates to get there: 45.072315, -75.819475. It’s actually pretty easy to drive past this parking lot by accident. There are signs by the side of the road, but Roger Stevens is an 80 kph zone, so the signs can come and go pretty quickly.
Keep an eye out for this sign- it’s on Roger Stevens right beside the parking lot.
This sign is ALSO on Roger Stevens, right beside the parking lot.
The parking lot isn’t huge, but it had space for about ten to fifteen cars. There was nothing at the trailhead except signs. No garbage cans, no picnic tables, no outhouses- nothing.
There was a bulletin board there, but it didn’t appear to be updated often, if ever.
The trailhead was at the back of the parking lot. There’s no way we could have missed it.
The Route
We started off from the trailhead on a really wide trail, and headed into the forest. The trail remained quite wide for a little while- it actually had the feel of a logging road instead of a trail for the first part of our walk.
The trailhead- the trail itself starts off pretty wide.
As I mentioned before, the Cedar Grove Walking Trail is also part of the Rideau Trail, so we followed the Rideau Trail markers through the forest. The Rideau Trail Association does an amazing job of maintenance, and their trail markers are always perfectly placed so that it’s almost impossible to get lost.
We hiked for 0.6 kilometres before the trail split to form a loop that surrounds the Etang Rogers Pond. There were trail markers here, so we knew that if we went left here we would be on “the blue loop,” whereas if we went straight we would remain on the main Rideau Trail for a little longer.
Trail markers at the first split. The Rideau Trail’s Markers are triangles that point you in the direction to go.
We decided to continue straight, which ultimately had us completing the loop in a counter-clockwise fashion. After hiking for less than 100 metres past the split, we reached the shoreline of the pond, and got some pretty beautiful views.
Looking out over the pond.
Soon after reaching the shoreline, there was a short bridge over a dam that we had to cross. It was a really warm winter day, and it was pretty cool to see the water moving through the dam below us.
The first bridge we crossed over.
We carried on through the field, and re-entered the forest right beside the shoreline after hiking for a kilometre. This is where the trail got really great. It became a single track, and with the forest full of cedar it felt as though the trees were closing in on us (but in a nice way…).
The Blue Loop
We had been hiking for 1.5 kilometres when we came to a second split in the trail. The main Rideau Trail branched off to our right, but we went straight and began following the blue markers to loop back around the pond.
The second split in the trail we came to. Here we started following the blue triangles.
We crossed another short bridge and then followed a boardwalk through the forest for a little bit. About halfway through the “blue loop,” we came across a neat looking shelter. I don’t think I would stay there overnight, but it was kind of cool to see how it had been built.
Shelter on the trail.
The trail continued around the pond, and at times we were close enough to the shoreline to see out over the pond, but there were no unobstructed views or lookouts on this section of the route.
The Return
The Blue Loop section of the trail was two kilometres in total, so after hiking for roughly 3.5 kilometres, we arrived back to the first split in the trail. We turned to our right to head back towards the parking lot.
The Cedar Grove Trail was 4 kilometres in total. We were moving pretty quickly because the whole trail was so flat, and we covered the distance in just over an hour.
The whole trail is pretty flat.
This trail would be a pretty great option any time of year (with the exception of hunting season). It’s a really nice spot for when you want to bring a dog along, and would probably be good for families with younger children too, because it’s not very strenuous.
I hope this trip report has enough info to get you there too. Let me know in the comments, or share and tag a friend to start planning your next adventure!
Map and Elevation Gain
Our map of the Cedar Grove Trail.
Elevation gain on the Cedar Grove Trail- basically none. 🙂
Gear We Brought
- Winter boots
- Crampons
- MSR Evo 22 Snowshoes
- Base layers
- Fleece sweater
- Light Jacket
- Mountain Warehouse Waterproof Pants
- Mittens
- Buff Merino Wool Headband
- Wool hat
- Sunglasses
- Backpack
- 2 x Nalgene 32-Ounce Bottle
- Snacks
- First aid kit
- Bungee chords
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Looks like a nice trail. Did you use your snowshoes, in the end? Looks like you’re carrying them, in one photo.
Sharp eye! We brought crampons and snowshoes because the weather has been SO WEIRD in Ottawa this year… We didn’t end up using the snowshoes, but there will definitely be other times on this trail that snowshoes will be the way to go.
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Just headed out here today — snowshoeing for the first time — thanks to your post! Could be done without snowshoes but they definitely were a big help. Looking forward to trying out more trails following your blog. Thanks for the info! Especially the coordinates on how to find the parking lot.
Hi! Thank you…Excellent article.
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I’m so glad to hear that! 🙂
As frequent user of this trail, it’s important to note that it is exceptionally buggy in spring and summer. We only hike there fall and winter. Packing snowshoes is unnecessary unless you go the day after a large snowfall, or want to go off trail, like across the pond.
I like to wear snowshoes because it helps the trail remain in good condition! 🙂 Otherwise it can get full of post-holes and be annoying to walk on, in my experience!
Hi, we did this loop today with our 2 kids. It was the perfect length for a family (plus a dog). Saw a pair of swans on the pond. Thanks for plotting the distance, we were wondering. We’ll come back for a snowshoeing this winter!
Did this trail today because of you, Meg! The snow was nice and packed, though a bit slippery at times. No need for snowshoes here, though. Free parking and a lovely hour-long 4k 🙂
Are dogs allowed?
Not sure if anyone replied, but yes they are. My son and his wife take their two dogs there occasionally, and I often see others walking their pups along the Rogers Pond trail as well as the other trails in the forest.
Thanks for sharing the trail report. I’m a regular hiker in the adjacent Marlborough Forest … and visit the Rogers Pond loop a few times a year with family members for a shorter, more predictable trek. For those who might stumble onto this trail report, and not know the Marlborough Forest, it’s truly a gem for folks living in Eastern Ontario. The Rideau Trail and the various forest access roads offer the opportunity for much longer hikes, though most of the terrain is very easy trekking. If you like the Rogers Pond loop, and would like to try something a bit more challenging, I encourage you to make that right turn and follow the bright orange Rideau Trail markers as well. Cheers, and thanks very much for sharing your experiences through the blog.