Following Griffith Uplands Trail in Greater Madawaska

I’ve been enjoying my recent hikes, but I feel like I’ve been neglecting my home province a bit in recent weeks. So on a sunny Sunday, I headed to the Ontario’s Highlands to hike a trail in a region I love: the Griffith Uplands Trail in the Township of Greater Madawaska.

In fact, every time I pass through the Madawaska Valley region, I’m reminded that Ontario’s landscape is a lot less flat than you might expect. It’s in this region that you can find, among other things, the beautiful Calabogie trails, which I’ve explored a few times and always enjoyed.

So I was looking forward to hiking the Griffith Uplands Trail, a 9-kilometre trail that’s described as challenging. I made it to the trailhead on Hyland Creek Road, not far from the winding Lower Madawaska River. There, I parked my car in the tiny parking lot, and set off on the trail… or rather, tried to follow the trail markers, since the trail itself was a little hard to see.

The Griffith Uplands is an area of ​​natural and scientific interest, known for its marble bedrock, expansive bald rock ridges, and unique upland forest. I also knew that the trail went over a few small mountains. This is usually the kind of trails I like, but the first few metres made me doubt of my willingness to hike it. The trail was often covered in brush, and I would occasionally lose track of it.

Hiking 9 kilometres in these conditions did not seem ideal to me, and I came very close to turning back. But I decided to persevere a little, to see if trail conditions would improve.

I reached the beginning of the loop, which I decided to hike clockwise. After taking me across an ATV trail, the trail starts to gain some elevation. As it climbed, the vegetation started to thin out a bit, and I reached the rocky ridges and realized the appeal of this trail.

I love hiking on rocky ridges, and after the scrubby forest, it was pretty special to arrive on these rocky plateaus covered in lichens and shrubs. In the distance, between the trees, I could see the hilly landscape of the Ontario’s Highlands and catch a glimpse of the Lower Madawaska River.

The Griffith Uplands Trail passes through four small mountains: Lake, Buck, Spring and Godin Mountains. These mountains are not very high (Buck Mountain is the highest at 402 metres), but the steep trail definitely offers a nice physical challenge.

I found the trail more challenging to follow between these small mountains as it descended back into the forest. In these places, it was often covered with brush, or with muddy or flooded sections. I lost track of it on a few occasions, forcing me to turn back and look carefully for trail markers until I found the trail again.

But when the trail started to gain elevation again to reach the rocky ridges, what a pleasure it was! The sparse vegetation, the many blueberry bushes, the views of the landscape… All these elements gave me the impression of hiking in a unique environment.

In my opinion, the most beautiful view is towards the end of the trail, as it passes by the summit of Godin Mountain. At this point, the vegetation is completely clear, and it is possible, from the top of the rocky cliff, to see the hills of the Madawaska Valley stretch out, as well as the winding course of the Lower Madawaska River in the distance. I sat there for a few minutes, to enjoy the scenery and the tranquility of the surroundings.

Near this spot, there is also a tree where a few dreamcatchers have been hung. I am not sure what the specific significance of the many artifacts found there is, but it may be a reminder that the trail is located on the ancestral lands of the Algonquin Anishinaabe.

After a steep descent, the trail rejoins the ATV trail, which I followed for a few metres. This portion was probably the easiest of the entire hike, although there are also some muddy and flooded sections.

I then rejoined the brushy access trail (the one that had almost made me turn back at the beginning of the hike), and eventually returned to my car. The small parking lot had filled up since I started on the trail, proving that it is known and see some hiking traffic on occasion!

In total, I covered just over 9 kilometres, with an elevation gain of 510 metres. And it was a good reminder that my province, Ontario, is full of beautiful places!