GWTA 2025 Route and Itinerary Overview- Celebrate 30 years of the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail with an epic looped ride which visits three Great Lakes in eight days.
Join us from Friday, August 8th to Friday, August 15th, for the 2025 Great Waterfront Trail Adventure cycle tour and awareness ride. Featuring a circular route that starts and ends in Hamilton, the 640 km route will visit Lake Ontario, Lake Huron and Lake Erie, all in the space of 8 days.
Debuting a brand new, challenging, and rewarding loop for 2025 that features some of Ontario’s best on and off-road cycling infrastructure and trails, including the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail, the Greenbelt Route, the Guelph to Goderich trail, London Ontario’s Thames Valley Parkway and the Port Dover to Hamilton Rail Trail.
Join us for 30 – 153 km (maximum) of daily riding combined with fun off-the-bike activities. Enjoy the opportunity to reconnect with old friends and meet new friends while riding this challenging route.
We’ll be celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail with beach events along the shores of Lake Ontario, Lake Huron and Lake Erie. Enjoy spectacular waterfront views as you cycle alongside these three Great Lakes.
Overnight stays in the communities of Hamilton, Guelph, Goodrich (or Blyth), Grand Bend, London, Port Stanley (or St. Thomas) and Port Dover. Hotel capacity is limited. To provide access to more rooms, we will support hotels in St. Thomas and Port Stanley on Day Six, and Port Dover and Simcoe on Day Seven. See accommodations for more information.
Day One: Friday, August 8 – experience Lake Ontario (30 km)
- Arrive at Mohawk College Residences, Fennell Street, Hamilton for GWTA registration 9:30am – 11am
- Rooms may not be available until 3pm -please store luggage in your car if your room is unavailable.
- Secure Long Term parking for the week at Mohawk College – there will be a fee of $30 per car charged for Long Term Parking in 2025 – parking registration available closer to the ride.
- Cycle ride to the Lake Ontario Waterfront – utilizing the Hamburg Loop and passing Easterbrooks ice cream and the Royal Botanical Gardens . Those who don’t wish to ride from Mohawk College can park at Barangas on the Beach for a short casual ride long the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail to Burlington.
- Gather together at the waterfront for a lunchtime opening beach celebration at Barangas on the Beach restaurant. Lunch included.
- Ride back to Mohawk College. Featuring the City of Hamilton’s excellent cycling infrastructure. Check in.
- Dinner on your own – Restaurant options coming soon.
- Overnight in Hamilton at Mohawk College or a local hotel (no camping available in this location).
Day Two: Saturday, August 9 – Hamilton to Guelph (66 km)
- Group breakfast at 7am, photo and group start from Mohawk College.
- Ride the Greenbelt Route from Hamilton to Guelph –
- Overnight in Guelph at the University of Guelph residence.
- Group dinner at the University of Guelph Creelman Hall.
- Optional post dinner activities including Arboretum tour and Downtown Guelph.
- Note: there will be no camping available in Guelph.
Day Three: Sunday, August 10- Guelph to Blyth (110 km) or Goderich (134 km)
- Breakfast at the University of Guelph dining hall – Creelman Hall.
- Ride the Guelph to Goderich (G to G) rail trail. Early finish option available at Blyth.
- Overnight in Blyth (campers) or Goderich (hotels). Please note that there are a couple of G to G bridge closures necessitating detours between Blyth and Godrich.
- Dinner on your own – in Blyth we recommend the Blyth Inn or Cowbell Brewery
- Dinner on your own (Goderich) check out the Goderich Celtic Festival or numerous local restaurants.
Day Four: Monday, August 11 – Blyth (108 km) or Goderich (62 km) to Grand Bend.
- Blyth riders will ride through the community of Ben Miller to avoid bridge closures in Goderich. Rest stop for Blyth cyclists (campers) at the Ben Miller Inn.
- All cyclists will ride through the beautiful Lake Huron community of Bayfield with many options for coffee or lunch.
- Further stops available in the Community of Zurich.
- Dinner on your own in Grand Bend. Community transportation available for campers.
- Enjoy a Lake Huron Sunset beach celebration in Grand Bend at the Grand Bend Beach House. Join us for dessert and to watch the unmissable sunset over Lake Huron.
- Overnight in Grand Bend at supported hotels.
- Camping at the Attawandaron Scout Camp.
Day Five: Tuesday, August 12 – Grand Bend to London (76 km)
- Breakfast for all cyclists at the Attawandaron Scout Camp.
- Ride through quiet country roads towards London.
- Join the Thames Valley Parkway Trail to ride off-road all the way into our overnight accommodations at Elgin Hall University of Western Ontario.
- Join us at the London Bicycle Cafe for an evening of stories – food is available to order at the Bike Cafe or at a nearby pizzeria.
Day Six: Wednesday, August 13 – London to Port Stanley (45 km)
- Breakfast at the University of Western Ontario.
- Leave London via the Thames Valley Parkway Trail and the paved shoulders on Ridout Street.
- Pick up the Whistlestop Trail in St. Thomas.
- Lake Erie Beach Celebration at GTs on the Beach in Port Stanley.
- Camping and hotels in Port Stanley (additional hotels in St. Thomas).
Day Seven: Thursday, August 14 – Port Stanley to Port Dover (105 km)
- Visit the Lake Erie port towns of Port Bruce, Port Burwell, Port Rowan and Port Ryerse.
- Stop at en route wineries.
- Camping and hotels in Port Dover (additional hotel rooms in Simcoe)
Day Eight: Friday, August 15 – Port Dover to Hamilton (91 km)
- Ride the rail trail between Port Dover and Hamilton
- GWTA 2025 Finish Line in Hamilton
Terrain & Route Overview: Combination of quiet country roads and off-road multi-use trails. There are a few short detours onto County Roads to avoid scheduled trail construction. Unpaved trail sections are screened limestone and firm. Mostly flat, there are some steep inclines, especially in Norfolk County.
Support: Daily luggage transportation, support vehicles, mechanical assistance, cycling volunteers.
Background:
In 1992, the Waterfront Regeneration Trust, then a provincial agency, was mandated by the Province of Ontario to establish a waterfront trail. This was one of 83 groundbreaking recommendations in the Hon. David Crombie’s final royal commission report, Regeneration. The Trail was to be a catalyst and symbol for a new relationship with the great lakes and watersheds. In 1995 we inaugurated the 300 km Waterfront Trail from Hamilton to Trenton. In 1999, the Waterfront Regeneration Trust evolved from a government agency to a charity founded by Hon. David Crombie to maintain the momentum on the legacy initiative. Many wondered if the transition would spell the end of the Trail. Thanks to the leadership and commitment of community partners, the support by the public, the Trail continued to expand. By 2008, the Trail had grown from 23 to 41 communities from Niagara to Quebec, and we launched the Great Waterfront Trail Adventure.
In its first year, 2008, the Great Waterfront Trail Adventure guided cyclists along 680 km of Trail from Niagara to Quebec over eight days. The ride was a demonstration that the Trail was not only functional, it was an incredible, fulfilling experience. It connected participants to the ambitious vision at the heart of the Trail — regenerating our Great Lakes and watersheds, and gave partners an opportunity to the progress they had made.
Today the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail is 3,600 km from Quebec to Sault Ste Marie, with work well underway to connect communities along Lake Superior. It connects 177 communities. It is far from finished. We are establishing a connected, continuous trail. The goal is a dedicated Trail as close to the shore as ecologically feasible.
We will continue to seek opportunities to improve the Trail as well as complete it along Lake Superior and Georgian Bay. If you wish to support this work, please consider making a donation.
The GWTA 2025 is possible thanks to the generous support and help of our partners:
