A Day Trip to Limerick Forest

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The Limerick Forest area was settled in the late 1840's, mostly by Irish potato famine survivors coming up the Rideau River. The land was cleared largely for agriculture, but the repeated cropping and grazing could not be sustained by the increasingly nutrient deficient soils, and the land "ran out".

Without roots, wind blew the soil away, causing choking dust storms and later even sandstorms that turned the land into a desert with stony plains and sand dunes. Whole families abandoned the area. The land then fell back to the counties.

In 1921, a Reforestation Act was passed in Ontario allowing counties to enter into an agreement with the province to establish plantations of forests to renew the land. Over the years, Red Pine and Jack Pine Plantations were established in particularly sandy areas.

At Limerick Forest there is approximately 180-kilometres of trails ranging in size from single tracks to full-sized vehicles. There are two main categories of use, motorized and non-motorized.


Further Details

For more information contact: Geoff McVey, Forest Manager Phone: 613-342-3840 ext. 2416