Jordan Harbour Conservation Area is a beautiful area for visitors to go canoeing or kayaking and experience the tranquility of the calm harbour water. Located within the Twenty Valley watershed in the small town known as Jordan, Jordan Harbour is a provincially significant wetland that is connected to the south shore of Lake Ontario at Twenty Mile Creek. The harbour site is a kilometre wide and includes parking as well as picnic tables and a public launching dock for non-motorized watercraft. The area contains many wildlife species that are not seen in other areas of Niagara, and is protected as an Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI).
Presently, the site can be used for fishing, canoeing, and wildlife viewing. Future plans for the site include a walking trail, raised boardwalk, interpretive signage, and a link to the Waterfront Trail. Visitors are encouraged to visit other areas of Jordan while on route to or from the conservation site, such as the local farmers market, wineries, Jordan Village, local fruit stands, the Factory Outlet Clothing & Antiques store, and the Lake House restaurant.
May - October
8:00am - 8:00pm
- Rowing, Canoeing, or Kayaking
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Wildlife Viewing
From Toronto:
1. Take the Gardiner Expressway West ramp
2. Merge onto Gardiner Expressway West
3. Continue onto Queen Elizabeth Way
4. Merge onto Queen Elizabeth Way/403 West
5. Keep left to continue on Queen Elizabeth Way, follow signs for Niagara/East Hamilton/Fort Erie
6. Take exit 57 toward Victoria Avenue/Vineland/County Road 24
7. Keep left at the fork, follow signs for 21 Street
8. Turn left (East) onto Marina Boulevard
9. Continue onto Twenty-First Street
10. Destination will be on the left (East)
From Niagara:
1. Take Highway 420 West
2. Keep left at the fork, follow signs for Queen Elizabeth Way/Hamilton/Toronto and merge onto Queen Elizabeth Way
3. Take exit 57 toward County Road 24/Victoria Avenue/Vineland
4. Turn left (West) onto North Service Road (signs for Queen Elizabeth Way)
5. Turn left (South) onto Victoria Avenue
6. Turn left (East) onto Marina Boulevard (signs for Queen Elizabeth Way/Niagara)
7. Continue onto Twenty-First Street
8. Destination will be on the left
The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) obtained Jordan Harbour from the Province of Ontario in 2005. Later that year, the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Foundation made a commitment to assist the NPCA in gaining funds to develope the harbour as a tourist destination.
Sufficient funds have been secured to update Jordan Harbour with tourist facilities like walking trails, parking, and picnic areas. The project will be on on-going effort to update the area in phases as proper funding is secured. Eventually this Conservation Area will be accessible to visitors of all abilities.
Jordan Harbour is a provincially significant wetland that is connected to the south shore of Lake Ontario at Twenty Mile Creek. The harbour is surrounded by deciduous trees and is home to a variety of wildlife. The steep banks along the harbour have made it possible for Carolinian forest and locally-rare species like the pignut hickory tree to survive. The harbour water is shallow, so only non-motorized vehicles are allowed.
The wildlife that lives within this harbour include yellow and brown bullhead fish, the American eel, northern pike, yellow perch, walleye, sauger, smallmouth and largemouth bass. Morover, various species of amphibians and reptiles are common. Many sea-birds can also be seen in the area, such as ring-billed gulls, who dominate the water, and small colonies of herring gulls, double-crested cormorants, caspian and common terns, great blue herons and black-crowned night herons. Waterfowl, like Canada geese, black ducks, mallards, canvasbacks, redheads and scaups, can also be seen by visitors.
Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA). (2013). Our conservation areas: Yournatural playground. Retrieved from http://www.npca.ca/conservation-areas/
Twenty Valley Tourism Association (TVTA). (2011). Jordan Village. Retrieved from
http://www.20valley.ca/page/jordan_village
Van Dongen, M. (2010). A paddler's paradise. Retrieved from
http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/2010/06/19/paddlers-paradise
Parks Canada. (2013). Canada's national marine conservation areas system plan. Retrieved from http://www.pc.gc.ca/progs/amnc-nmca/systemplan/itm4-/gla6_e.asp
Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority
Picnic Tables, Free Parking, Pavilion
No Admission Fee
Parking
Phone: | (905) 788-3135 |
Website: | http://www.npca.ca/conservation-areas/jordan-harbour/ |
Twenty-First Street
Jordan, Ontario
Municipality Town of Lincoln
Latitude: | 43.1842 |
Longitude: | -79.3777 |
Darcy Baker
Land Management Director
250 Thorold Road West; 3rd Floor
Welland , Ontario
L3C 3W2
Tel (905) 788-3135
Fax (905) 788-1121
Email dbaker@npca.ca
Website www.npca.ca
Trail length: 1.0 Kilometre
Walking time: 5 Minutes
Surface features: Gravel Driveway, Dirt Paths, Wooden Dock