| ◘ Scout Valley | ◘ Geo. Langman Wildlife Sanctuary | ◘ Grant's Woods |
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Scout Valley is a naturally forested area located at the western edge of Orillia and Oro-Medonte Township. Here the outdoor enthusiast can find trails that wander through the forest and run through hills and creeks. I've spent many hours hiking in Scout Valley...and I use the term "hiking" rather than walking because the landscape varies from flat walking areas to almost vertical hills in some areas. You cannot explore Scout Valley in a pair of sandals. Wear appropriate footgear, like hiking boots or other hard-soled, sturdy footwear. The trails are mostly just "footpaths", not paved and in most areas are hard-packed dirt, sometimes covered with wet or dry leaves. You may also want to consider wearing long pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt if you plan to step "off the trails" at any point.
There are areas where the ground is mostly stone, and areas of marsh; as well as a small creek that runs through the lower valley areas and a pond that usually contains all manner of small water denizens (turtles, frogs, small fish etc.).I love this place - most of the time when I visit here it's quiet and peaceful with the only sounds being my own footfalls and the calls of birds, and scurrying of small animals like squirrels and chipmunks. Some years ago though, I am certain that I ran across a couple of paw prints that were not "dog", but wolf. We did have one winter where the nearby farms were seeing wolves come almost to the windows of their houses, which reinforced the fact that what I saw were probably wolf prints that year. No, I did not see a wolf in the valley, but that doesn't mean there wasn't one - it was very early spring and the ground through the valley was still quite wet from the melting snow.
Given the fact that civilization seems to continue to encroach into the natural habitats of our nearby wildlife like wolves, deer and bear, it isn't surprising that the possibility exists for them to be in the valley at times.
For the most part, you are not very likely to encounter this type of wildlife here but if you hike alone, then you need to take the time to understand that just because these areas are close to civilization, the animals aren't going to be tame.This is a wonderful place to take your kids - it's a natural way for them to learn about small wildlife, birds, trees and a variety of wildflowers. And it's a great place to walk with your dogs (please remember to pick up the doggie-do)
Things to consider taking when you hike in Scout Valley:
- a whistle
- your cell phone
- camera
- a walking stick
- bottles of water
- lunch if you plan a long day
- plastic bags
- bug spray
- gloves (garden-type)
- map of Scout Valley (you can get one here)
Also - please do not leave litter in the valley, and if you see any pick it up and put it in the plastic bags you've taken with you. There are trash bins in the parking areas.
A new addition to Scout Valley is the old log home (Regan House) recently (2010) erected in the parking area off the 15th line of Oro-Medonte. (Read more about this at the Packet and Times)
The house was originally built in 1832 (and is probably one of the oldest original buildings in orillia). My husband used to "housesit" this home when it was located "in town". Then the house had a couple of additions on it and had wood siding added at some point. It sat at the corner of Westmount and Highway 12, where currently you'll find the new Shopper's Drug Mart. At the time they began to remove that house to build the drugstore, the old log home was discovered under all the siding and additions, and volunteers in the community deconstructed the log cabin portion and moved it to Scout Valley.
More information about Scout Valley can be found on the Ontario Trails website. A location map is at the bottom of this page following these images from Scout Valley.
View Scout Valley in a larger map