Visitors who visit Elora Gorge usually take the time to make a side trip to the Quarry which is about a 15 minute drive from the tubing area. It's part of the Elora Gorge Conservation Area where it's 40 feet of cliffs and 79 acres of tree covered areas. It's located right off the main street where there's plenty of shops, hiking and biking trails and of course, swimming!
As you can see from the picture above, it's basically a swimming hole which is located adjacent and can be seen from the Grand River. There's a little "beach" area which is just a section covered with sand. Many people like to lay out in the sun here, little children can make sand castles or you can simply have a picnic. Just keep in mind, this is a family and Conservation park, so no alcohol is allowed.
The Quarry is great for people who like to cliff dive but beware! Just like the Gorge, there's no beach patrol and I am unsure of how deep the Quarry really is. Some say it's a little over 200 feet deep! Come to think of it, of course it has to be deep if people are cliff diving from heights of 15-48'! All I know was that I couldn't touch the bottom. Hehe. Mountain climbers who also like to dive will love this area since there are many different cuts in the rocks to challenge their climbing skills. There's little man-made paths and branches for the beginners to hold on to as well.
In the past, people were allowed to scuba dive here all the time but now you have to get permission from the Conservation Park officials and there are restrictive times to do so.
When I went to the Quarry with my friends (same ones I went to the Gorge with) we decided to bring our inner tubes there as well. Trouble was, we didn't have a way to inflate/deflate our tubes for easy transport. Our solution: I held two inner tubes down on the roof with my towel while my other two friends held each of their tubes, outside their rear windows. Thank goodness for my friend who had a car with a sunroof! It was the most scary, dangerous, rebellious yet funniest thing I have ever done. Lots of people were pointing at us as we drove through town from the Gorge to the Quarry and people were honking at us. Luckily it was only a 15 minute drive (still a little too long for me) and we didn't get spotted by any local police! Whew.
When we got there, the first thing we noticed was the great view from atop the Quarry, looking down at all the people swimming and relaxing on the beach. It was about a 5 minute walk to get down to the man-made beach and to find a spot for our belongings where we could see it.
The first thing I experienced as I got to the water was the smell. It smelt like the sewer! The water was a darker green than what's pictured in the picture posted above and it was full of floating weeds, fungus and leaves. It makes sense that the water smelt so bad because the water has no where to drain. It's all enclosed in a hole and only rainwater gets added to it. The Park's website does state that they test the water quality every summer.. Regardless, my friends and I only spent probably about half an hour in the water before getting tired of the smell.
The atmosphere was great though. It felt somewhat like a teenage beach movie where people were jumping off the cliffs or anywhere that was remotely higher than the water level and some were just lying on inflatable rafts or chairs. We were extremely happy that we brought our inner tubes so I do recommend bringing something that can help you stay afloat and not drown in that deep hole. I actually avoided swimming in the water until I had to get out of my inner tube. Even then, I still couldn't touch the ground and even as a good swimmer, I was scared of swallowing the water while trying to keep a hold of my tube and trying to reach the shore.
NOTE: If you rented inner tubes or safety equipment from the Gorge, you can bring it over to Quarry, along with your entrance pass. If you didn't pay the entrance fee, then you would have to pay it to be able to park in the lot. I didn't see pedestrians be charged to view the scenery or walk around the area, so I thought it was a little unfair.
The Quarry is only for day use and it's open from June to September. I think it was worth visiting even though it was smelly and crowded. Visiting Elora was worth the full day excursion with friends but I recommend for girls to bring a hair tie and for everyone to have good scrub in the shower as soon as you get home.
For more information about the Quarry, please click here for the official site.
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