Autumn at Lions Valley Park in Oakville

Lions Valley Park is about a 45 minute drive from Toronto with no traffic, and is nestled between the suburbs of northern Oakville. The park features trails that meander through and around a valley carved from Sixteen Mile Creek.

We visited on a Saturday in October, and parked near a dedicated entrance called Sixteen Mile Creek parking lot off of Skyvalley Crescent. When arriving at noon, the parking lot was completely full so we found a place to park on the street nearby. By the time we left an hour or so later, the entire Skyvalley Crescent street was full and no other parking spots remained.

The history of this park first dates to Mississaugas of the First Credit Nation; Sixteen Mile Creek was known at this time as “niizhozaagiwan”. The area that the park is now situated in beginning in the 1820’s was occupied by a small settler village called Sixteen Hollow. It’s population dwindled nearing the 1880’s (source).

The hike itself was moderate, the challenging portion being walking up and down the inclines to explore the valley. Viewing the leaves changing colours in fall was well worth the effort.

There are a few dedicated view points at the highest peak overseeing the valley and the majority of the trail was paved.

Another cool feature of the park is the Smith Triller Viaduct that was built in 1993. The viaduct features a walkway and a pedestrian bridge to cross Upper Middle Road West. The views over the bridge are a fantastic spot to view the autumn colours. A decent sized parking lot is available for 20 cars, is less than a 1 minute walk from the bridge, and the trail is paved.

We loved our visit and are looking forward to returning.

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Have you visited Lions Valley Park in Oakville? Let us know about your experience in the comments below.

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