The Paul Naray Silurian Adventure Trail is a side trail of the Bruce that starts and ends within the forests of Woodend Conservation Area. The trail, marked by blue blazes, is roughty 1.61 kilometers long and should take no longer than half an hour to hike. Given the views of the Peninsula from atop the Niagara Escarpment though, you might find yourself staying longer than that.

The trail is named for the Silurian Period of geological time when the Niagara Escarpment was formed, some 445 million years ago. This was an era in which massive ice sheets carved through the bedrock of the Great Lakes. The present day trail is a terrific place to see some of the exposed rock of the Escarpment, as many large boulders lie at the cliff’s edge.

The Silurian Trail shares a path with the Bruce itself, and you’ll find blazes from both paths adoring the forest trees. The woodlot is comprised mostly of deciduous trees, mainly broad leafed hardwood such as sugar maple, beech, red oak, shagbark, hickory, and rock elm. The conservation area is also home to some of Canada’s remaining Carolinian forest species, including black cherry, black oak, and paw paw.