The Ferguson Forest Centre is really on to something! Basically, they’re a seedling nursery surrounded by Crown Land (or maybe on the crown land, I’m not sure…). But they don’t just grow trees. There are hiking trails that are open year round, and a brand new dog park that looked amazing!
The day we went, it started to rain JUST as we finished walking the Turtle Trail, so we didn’t actually spend any time at the dog park. BUT, it looked pretty great when we drove by to check it out. It was huge, with two different fenced off sections- there was one spot for small dogs, and a bigger, forested area for big dogs. And there were benches inside each for owners to relax on.
“Lets goooo!”: All dogs at the Ferguson Forest Centre.
In the summer, there’s also a spot that you could launch your boat from, if you wanted to paddle along a creek that leads to the Rideau River. Just to be clear, by boat I mean canoe or kayak- not a power boat!
We had decided to walk the Turtle Trail the last time we went because we’ve been on it before and were looking for an easy walk through the woods that we could finish up before the rain came.
Before setting out, I made sure that I wasn’t walking into hiking season. There were signs up that said bow hunting season for deer opened the second Monday in November. Wearing black when any kind of hunters are out is not a smart move, and that’s what I happened to be wearing!
Getting There
The Ferguson Forest Centre is in Kemptville, which is a little bit south of Ottawa. There are a few good restaurants in the town, and some commercial shopping along County Road 43, which is the road I used to get there.
The Ferguson Forest Centre can be accessed from either County Road 43 or County Road 44. I chose to access it from 43, because that got me closer to the trailhead for the Turtle Trail. You can use these coordinates to get there: 45.025893, -75.644821.
There are signs by the side of the road here announcing that it’s the Ferguson Forest Centre, and road signs that point you to “Anniversary Way.”
The Ferguson Forest Centre sign on County Road 43.
The Trailhead
The trailhead for the Turtle Trail starts at “Anniversary Park.” Driving into the Ferguson Forest Centre from County Road 43, I made my first right, after driving through little fields where they grow the seedlings. Where the road ended, there was a sign that pointed me to my right gain, so I followed it and then pulled into the parking lot for Anniversary Park.
The parking lot was pretty big, with space for about 30 cars. The “Kinderwood Trail” starts from this parking lot too- it’s a tiny little trail for small kids. It’s only 500 feet long and ends at Anniversary Park.
Head in the direction of the Kinderwood Trail when you see this sign!
I headed down towards the creek to access Anniversary Park, which is where boats can be launched from. There is also a covered shelter with a few picnic tables and garbage cans available for people who want to stay for lunch or a snack.
There was also a map of the trail at the entrance to the park.
Trail map at Anniversary Park.
The Trail
The Turtle Trail is an “out and back trail” that follows the creek for the entire length of it. That makes it really easy to stick with the trail. Plus, there are adorable little turtle trail markers on the trees, and new signs in each of the spots where things might get a little confusing in terms of which direction to go.
How cute are these guys? Plus they make following the trail super easy.
Being next to the creek also makes it REALLY buggy in the spring. Don’t forget your bug spray if you’re headed there at that time of year!
The trail makes for really easy hiking, because it’s totally flat the entire way. I wore my hiking boots because I thought it might be wet, but sneakers would be just fine on this trail.
I had only walked a few hundred metres when we crossed a short bridge. Then, after walking half a kilometre, the trail brought us out into an open field, where we stayed to our right to stick with the creek.
A well built bridge helped keep my feet dry, despite how close to the creek we were!
Halfway along the trail, we left the forest again, and found ourselves facing a road. There was a sign there that reminded us to stick to the right once again, and we walked towards the “pump house” in order to stick with the trail.
Behind the pump house, we re-entered the forest. This part of the trail was the best (in my opinion) because it felt the most “foresty.” Even though before, we had been walking amongst the trees, it was a pretty skinny patch of forest because there were open fields beyond it on our left hand side.
Bare Trees
Fall hiking is the best for a lot of reasons, and this section of the trail was no exception. There’s just something about seeing a forest bare before the snow comes that’s really great.
Bare trees with a few leaves still hanging on makes for such a beautiful hike.
We continued along on our easy walk, and reached the “end” of the turtle trail after walking for 1.5 kilometres. This brought us to another open field. It was a bit anticlimactic.
At this spot on the trail, we had the option of carrying on to the Alf Campbell Trail. On the maps online, this trail is called the Forest Management Trail. Regardless of its name, it would have added another 3.5 kilometres to our hike AND had us ending up over by County Road 44 instead of where we parked. We decided to save it for another, less rainy, day.
Choices, choices…
Getting Back
On the way back, there weren’t too many surprises, since we had already walked the whole trail. We did come across a sign we had missed on the way in though. It said there was a “Wetlands Display Rest Area” down by the creek, so we decided to go check it out. The little side trail we followed got us right to the bank of the creek. That was kind of cool because there were only two spots on the trail that let us have access to the water- here and behind the pump house.
Other than that though, there was NOTHING there. No benches, no picnic tables, and the view wasn’t that great. The sign had been very misleading. But it would still be a good place for dogs to swim in the summer I guess.
My dog hates swimming, and the cold, so we didn’t spend too much time there.
We arrived back at the trailhead having hiked a total of 3.1 kilometres. We covered that distance in an hour, making it pretty perfect for a short outing.
Easy hiking on Turtle Trail.
The Turtle Trail isn’t one that’s very challenging, but it’s a great little walk in the woods. Plus, with the dog park so close by, your furry friend can run around and tucker themselves out. Even if you’re not in the mood to walk any further! I really love what the Ferguson Forest Centre is doing, and we’ll definitely be back to spend more time on the trails in the future.
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
My map of the Turtle Trail.
Whenever I’m hiking somewhere new, I tend to wonder about who was on, and who took care of that land before me. I’ve enjoyed using this website as a place to start learning more about the indigenous people whose land I’m on: Native-land.ca.
Elevation gain on the Turtle Trail- don’t let this graph fool you, it’s completely flat.
Gear I Brought
- Hiking Boots
- Wool Socks
- Long Pants
- Fleece Sweater
- Rain Jacket
- Buff Merino Wool Headband
- Cell Phone
- Harness
- Leash
- Dog Waste Bags
Hello, I live in Kemptville and frequent these trails and Creek so I thought I’d write and mention a few things.
1) the creek is open to power boats. Basically just personal fishing boats with outboard motors and jet skies). They launch from up stream in Currey park (very close to “downtown Kemptville” lol). Come to think of it all the paddlers I’ve met launch from there too. Anniversary park does have a dock but paddlers generally dont like docks. We prefer to
get our feet wet lol. There are parts were the creek shallows (closer to the banks) out were only a paddler can get through but it’s a great paddle. Your almost guaranteed to see no less then 4 herons before you hit the Rideau (and lots of turtles). Plus once you get past the bridge on 43 it gets quite the whole way through.
2) this part is mostly to do with dogs. Although the trails are well groomed and easy going, this is still “wild animal territory”. It’s a very well used area for racoons, porcupine, skunks and the occasional bear. I’ll walk my dog here off leash from time to time but it’s something to be aware of. I treat it like being in any provincial park.
3) Warnings – the trails in the back of the nersery are active Hunting areas this time of year. I believe it opened just recently but it’s only allowed for bow hunting (no guns). It’s advised to wear an orange reflective vest on you and your dog during this period. I usually avoid this area with my dog at this time of year TBH. As you mentioned the new dog park is great. The trails where people can hunt are marked with notices.
It’s a great area though, especially in the winter. Very active with CC sking and snowshoeing. There is a snowmobile trail there too but again, it’s well marked.
Anyway I thought I’d pass on the info.
– Matthew
Thanks Matthew!