I love where I live. I live in a small town on the north shore of Lake Ontario, and one of the great things about this area is the Provincial Park that is here- Presqu'Ile Provincial Park
From my house to the gates of the park is about 3 km, and once I'm in the park, there are great options for running on roads or running on trails. If I do a loop right from my house and follow the perimeter road around the park, it's a 20.5km loop- a great distance.
The park has several very distinct ecosystems. It's a peninsula sticking out into Lake Ontario (the name means "almost an island" in French). The first ecosystem you go through is that of the beaches and the panne. On the western side is a 3km long white sand beach, and on the eastern side are the sand dunes, marshes, and seasonal wetlands that form the shores of Brighton Bay. The main road into the park goes through this area.
The park has several very distinct ecosystems. It's a peninsula sticking out into Lake Ontario (the name means "almost an island" in French). The first ecosystem you go through is that of the beaches and the panne. On the western side is a 3km long white sand beach, and on the eastern side are the sand dunes, marshes, and seasonal wetlands that form the shores of Brighton Bay. The main road into the park goes through this area.
I generally run down this road to get to the trails in the middle of the park, though I sometimes run on the beach. Once you get to the central part of the park you can park in the campground and get onto the trails. You can start out on the bike paths through the campgrounds, and then move on to the hiking trails through the forest.
As you go through the campground, you follow a trail that runs right along the shore of Lake Ontario.
Once you get into the forest it's mostly single track, with the odd bit of gravel trail and a few stretches of boardwalk to get you over sensitive wet areas.
There are a few sections where the trail comes out on to the road and you have to run on pavement for a bit before you can get back into the trails through the forest. Though most of the park it's a 1 way loop with a bike/ pedestrian path on the edge, so there's lots of room to stay clear of traffic (though it's generally quite slow moving).
I feel very fortunate to live so close to a place like this. It's great to be able to step outside my house, start running, and a few minutes later lose myself into the beautiful natural surroundings of the amazing place. If you are ever traveling down the 401 and you need a place to stop and get some fresh air, you can't do much better than this park. It's a beautiful place, and I guarantee you'll enjoy it.
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