The River Flats - Natural Area
TThis easy .7 km walking trail sits on a 4.75-acre riverside property which was purchased through the generosity of the citizens and organizations of Bayfield and surrounding areas. It is now owned and protected in perpetuity by the Huron Tract Land Trust Conservancy and managed by the Bayfield River Valley Trail Association, whose mandate is to protect the quality of the environment and the ‘naturalness’ of this property.
This was the site of Thomson’s Mill, operational from the 1840s. The ruins of the mill and the old dam, which was also the first bridge across the Bayfield River, are still visible. The short trail includes picnic tables, a canoe launch, a butterfly meadow, and an Osprey nesting site just next to the new Bayfield Bridge.