Driving approximately an hour and a half north of Toronto, will bring you to one of the most picturesque areas of Ontario, the Elora Gorge! This area is mostly known for it's limestone cliffs on both sides of the stream and the water plummets 70 feet into the Grand River!
Don't let the colour of the river sway you from the beauty of this Conservation Area. The freshwater is relatively clean with the exception of some rock moss, river foam and fallen logs on the edges of the river; all great things Mother Nature provides! Over a quarter million people visit every year to participate in the many activities, such as: canoeing, fishing, hiking, cycling, swimming, camping and the most popular activity of all, tubing!
I got the chance to tube down the Grand River in an inner tube which was about a hour long relaxing lazy river journey. As I floated down the river, I soaked up some well needed sun, awed at the scenery around me, chatted with my friends and most of all, experienced the wrath of the river!
The river contains many underlying rocks of all sizes. As you float down the river, do be prepared to be sore and dirty as your bum grazes the rock tops in the water (depending on the size of your tube). There are numerous areas where the river floor drops and you can experience the thrill of "going over a slight waterfall" but be careful! If there are lots of rocks around those areas, you can easily get ejected from your tube and start washing down the river at quick speeds. This sadly happened to me and I cut my knee, scraped my arms, hands and hit my finger at a weird angle which caused some pain.. Nonetheless, I grabbed my tube and continued on the troublesome river in anticipation of more adrenaline jolts.
Fear not! The office on location offers the rental of safety equipment such as helmets and life jackets. They have a limited number of tubes for rental as well but get there early to avoid disappointment! You can always bring your own equipment instead of renting. My friends and I ended up going down the street to the Home Hardware store to buy our own tubes since they ran out of rentals. (The office will pump your inner tubes with air for you, free of charge.) I do recommend bringing water shoes if you have any because if you were to fall off your tube, it gives you better grip on the mossy rocks in the river and surrounding areas.
WARNING! There are no lifeguards or supervision on this river so I do recommend you go with others who can swim if you can't. The water levels aren't very high and you can stand in the river if you need to, but in areas where the current is strong, you can easily get disoriented if you were to get caught in the undercurrent.
There's a school bus shuttle that runs every 20 minutes which carries you from the main office area, to the start of the river and it comes back around to the end of the river to pick people up and heads back to the office. The only downfall is that the bus gets full very quick since the back of the bus is reserved for the tubes.
NOTE: The Park blocks off the "lazy river" portion way before you even reach the end of the river where the water plummets. You can't even see the end of the river from where they cut you off. There is no possible way for you to "fall off the river". Hehe
Overall, in spite of the bruises and cuts I walked away with, it was a great experience with my friends. The only thing you have to remember when you visit a Conservation or Natural park, is that there is usually an entrance fee to be paid. If I'm not mistaken, it was $5 per person to enter the park and that includes in-and-out privileges for the day. Perfect if you wanted to visit the quarry!
If this post hasn't scared you away from visiting the Gorge, click here for more info and pricing on Elora tubing.
Next post: My trip to the other wonderful part of Elora Gorge - the Quarry!
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