Short Hills Provincial Park



Swayze Falls in early spring (George Dewar)
 


Frozen falls in winter(George Dewar)
 


Spring flowers in Short Hills Provincial Park (Natalie Fedj and Greg Redden)
 


 

General Information

Short Hills Provincial Park is the largest park in the Niagara Region. It's part of an environmentally significant area known as the Fonthill Kame Moraine. A kame is an irregular hill of sand, gravel and silt which accumulates in a depression on a retreating glacier, and is then deposited on the land surface as the glacier melts.


If you look southwest on a clear day from open sections along Cataract Road, you can see the highest point of the Fonthill Kame rising above the landscape, about 5 or 6 kilometers distant. The 'short hills' throughout the park are the result of erosional forces of glacial meltwater and other runoff, which carved out the many steep valleys and also created the valley of the Twelve Mile Creek more than twelve thousand years ago.

Within the 660 hectare boundaries of Short Hills Provincial Park, there are seven trails designated as multi-use or hiking only, and an accessible path called the Paleozoic Trail that affords views of Swazye Falls.

You'll find a rich variety of plant and animal species in the park. These range from Carolinian forest species like pawpaw and tulip tree to white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, and many other birds.

Short Hills Provincial Park offers excellent pathways and stunning scenery, so a visit is highly recommended.

The park is quite large, but has only three officially sanctioned entrances, all with parking. The use of unsanctioned entrances and informal trails is discouraged, as is roadside parking.

Click on the appropriate link below if you would like to add one or more of these entrances to your itinerary:

Pelham Road (Main) entrance (this listing - see map below)

Wiley Road entrance

Roland Road entrance

Click here to see all three entrances on one map.



Hours of Operation

8am - Dusk

Directions

Map above shows the main Pelham Road entrance.

Click on the appropriate link(s) below if you would like to add one or more of the following entrances to your itinerary:
Wiley Road entrance

Roland Road entrance


Once the page is open, right-click on the map balloon to get detailed directions from your point of origin to the desired entrance.



Click here to show all park entrances on one map.



Directions from Toronto and points west of Niagara to Pelham Road entrance:
1. QEW Niagara: Take exit 51 (Seventh Street)
2. Travel south on Seventh Street towards the Niagara Escarpment, away from the lake
3. Turn left on St. Paul Street West
4. Turn right on Fifth Street Louth
5. Turn left on Pelham Road
6. Turn ight at Pelham Street North into parking lot (watch for park sign)



From points south and east:
1. From QEW towards Toronto, take exit 48 for Martindale Rd toward County Rd-38
2. Turn right at Martindale Rd (signs for County Rd-38/Martindale Rd) (2.8 km)
3. Continue on Louth St (3.1 km)
4. Turn right at Pelham Rd (3.5 km)
5. Turn left at Pelham St North (watch for park sign)

Further Information

Ownership & Management

Ministry of Natural Resources

Contact

Phone: (905) 774-6642
Website: www.friendsofshorthillspark.ca

Address

Short Hills Provincial Park
Pelham Road entrance
St. Catharines, Ontario

GPS Co-ordinates

Latitude: 43.10855925410
Longitude: -79.28718622410
UTM easting: 639364
UTM northing: 4774294

Map

Administration

Ontario Parks
P.O. Box 158
Dunnville, Ontario
N1A 2X5
Tel (905) 774-6642


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