I love going for a bike ride, and this 1820 km trail is perfect if you feel like a fairly flat, easy trail with lots of variety along the way. I also really love it when I don't have to double back. There are 3 GO train stations along this route, so I took the train from Aurora GO to East Gwillimbury GO and then rode back along the trail. And one more thing I love about this trail there is an underpass for most of the major roads, so you don't need to keep stopping and waiting for traffic lights.

It's easy to take a bike on the GO train. Just look for the bike symbol by the door, and the bike leans up against a pole at the end of the carriage. No bikes are allowed during rush hour, however.

There is mostly one wide main trail to follow, but at times there are parallel trails (on both sides of the river, for example). It usually doesn't matter which trail you take because they mostly end up in the same general area.

At the end of this video, I have detailed maps of the route I took from Mount Albert Road to Sheppard's Bush in Aurora. I have marked the streets, GO train stations, and some attractions along the way, including children's playgrounds.

The trail starts at Mount Albert Road in East Gwillimbury and follows the East Holland River to Vandorf Sideroad, and even about half a kilometre south of Vandorf. The section north of Green Lane is crushed stone. From Green Lane to close to St John's Sideroad, the trail is paved, and it is wellmaintained in the winter too. Through the McKenzie Wetlands, the Aurora Arboretum, and Sheppard's Bush, the trail is crushed stone or dirt. There are lots of side trails in the Arboretum, and they are mostly grass. The trail is quite flat in the north section and gets a little hilly near St John's Sideroad and along to Sheppard's Bush.

There are lots of places to stop along the trail. There are benches, picnic areas, and children's playgrounds. At Fairy Lake there are restaurants with patios, as well as a wading pool. I also saw a book cube that opens out with benches to sit on and shelves of books to take (or leave one of your own).

There is some history along the way too. At one point there was a plan to build a canal to Lake Simcoe, but it was abandoned before the canal was completed. You can see the remaining structures of the old locks about 1.5 km north of Green Lane and about 1 km north of Davis Drive. There is also a leftover swing bridge mechanism just north of the Green Lane underpass.

The Aurora Arboretum has lots and lots of grass trails leading to many different types of trees, all marked with a plaque. The Aurora Family Leisure Complex is in this area, and they have a swimming pool and an arena.

Sheppard's Bush has lovely nature trails, and they also have maple syrup demonstrations in the spring.

One final thing is the Aurora Town Park, which is not on the trail but very close to the Aurora GO train station. There is a playground there with a splash pad.

Timecodes
00:00 Intro
00:07 Mount Albert, East Gwillimbury
00:22 Rogers Reservoir
00:56 Fairy Lake, Newmarket
01:20 McKenzie Wetlands
01:31 Aurora Arboretum
01:52 Sheppard's Bush, Aurora
02:15 Maps
02:45 Summary