- A new trail linking Memorial Park and the Stouffville–Rouge trail network south of Hoover Park Dr. was officially opened Thursday.
- The route strengthens Stouffville’s connection to the Rouge National Urban Park and benefits plans for expanded regional trails.
- The project received $1.5 million in combined support from York Region, TRCA, and Parks Canada, with the Town contributing $441,000.
- Planned pedestrian crossings at Hoover Park and Park Dr. will create more seamless transitions between the new pathway and existing trails.
- Excavated material was used to enhance the Memorial Park tobogganing hill, despite concerns from residents about potential impacts on sledding.
- The next major goal is closing the southern gap between the Stouffville–Rouge network and the Rouge’s 19th Avenue Day Use Area, potentially by 2027.
- Mayor Lovatt envisions extending Stouffville’s trail network north toward Bethesda Park, then to the Willow Springs and Gallucci Winery areas.
A newly opened trail between Memorial Park and Hoover Park Dr. has closed one of the key gaps in Stouffville’s growing trail network, creating a new link toward the Rouge National Urban Park.
The connection was officially celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 30, attended by project leaders and officials from the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), York Region, and Parks Canada.
The new segment links the multi-use trail on Park Dr. with the Stouffville–Rouge trail network south of Hoover Park, providing another active transportation route toward the Rouge. It also advances broader trail-building objectives outlined by the TRCA and York Region.
The trail further connects to Thicketwood Blvd. and Lori Ave., and brings Stouffville another step closer to a larger vision of an uninterrupted active transportation corridor stretching from the Rouge’s 19th Avenue Day Use Area to Willow Springs Winery.
“This may be a short section of the trail, but it represents something much bigger for our community: better connections, improved access to nature, and another important link between downtown Stouffville and the Rouge National Urban Park,” Mayor Iain Lovatt said during the ceremony.
“It strengthens our local network and supports the larger regional vision of connecting communities across York Region to one of Canada’s most unique and only urban national park,” he added, noting the project has been years in the making.
Building the Connection
Substantial financial support was provided by Stouffville’s project partners, including a combined $500,000 from TRCA and Parks Canada, and just over $1 million from York Region. Although overall costs surpassed the project’s initial $1.5 million capital budget, the Town maintained its original $441,000 contribution.
TRCA was contracted to deliver the project, and construction began last September. The finished route provides a brief but scenic passage through the Stouffville Creek ravine, with armour stone and paddle-style fencing enhancing the naturalized area and stone seating installed at several points along the trail.
Excavated material was reused throughout the site, including to enhance the Memorial Park tobogganing hill. Concerns were raised by some residents about the potential impact on sledding, but project leaders believe the changes will improve winter activities on both the Memorial Park and trail-area hillsides.
More than 260 native trees and shrubs were planted as part of the work, helping rehabilitate the surrounding environment and provide erosion protection along Stouffville Creek. Further plantings are planned later this year.
A culvert beneath the trail, positioned at its lowest point, will assist with drainage and stormwater management, helping reduce the potential for flooding by facilitating water movement from the hill toward the creek. Guardrail work on Hoover Park was completed using remaining contingency funds.
The new trail offers a tranquil walk through the Stouffville Creek ravine while serving as an important new link in the Town’s growing trail network. (Randy Barba/Bullet Point News)
“We are celebrating what can happen when partners share and collaborate on a vision,” TRCA CEO John MacKenzie said before the ribbon cutting. “This relatively small trail connection can transform how people experience not only a community, but connect to an entire region.”
MacKenzie pointed to TRCA’s Trail Strategy for the Greater Toronto Region, which seeks to double the existing trail network stretching from the Niagara Escarpment, across the Oak Ridges Moraine, and down to Lake Ontario.
“We’re making it happen, bit by bit by bit, through these partnerships,” he told attendees.
Brian Titherington, Director of Infrastructure Asset Management, Transportation Services, at York Region, described the new trail as the realization of plans that began as preliminary discussions between colleagues: “It’s really satisfying to be part of something that starts out as a bunch of emails, phone calls, and lines on maps, to being able to actually use the trail.”
Parks Canada also highlighted the connection’s role in improving access to the Rouge and the outdoors.
“This new link will create a safer and more enjoyable experience for pedestrians, cyclists, and older trail users, improving accessibility while helping more people enjoy the outdoors,” said Mikaïlou Sy, Field Unit Superintendent for the Rouge National Urban Park.
“Parks Canada is proud to support initiatives that improve access to nature while advancing broader community and conservation goals,” he added. “We are excited to see more residents discover and experience the protected natural spaces that make our area so special.”
Further Connectivity to Come
While the new route is now open, it is not yet a seamless connection between existing trail systems. Southbound users exiting at Hoover Park must currently travel west along the sidewalk and cross at Harpers Gateway and James Ratcliff Ave. before re-entering the Stouffville–Rouge network.
To address that gap, the Town is planning a pedestrian crossing over Hoover Park that will provide a more direct transition.
A second pedestrian crossing is also planned at the northern exit on Park Dr. The trail currently meets the sidewalk on the south side of Park Dr., but the proposed crossing would provide direct access to the pathway through Memorial Park, which meets Stouffville’s Sculpture Walk.
As planning progresses, Town Staff will assess whether pedestrians will be given priority at both crossings or be required to wait for a gap in traffic. A new wayfinding and signage strategy is also being developed, with the intention of tying it into the system used by Parks Canada in the Rouge.
Closing the Southern Gap
The new link is one piece of a larger trail vision that has been taking shape in Stouffville for several years.
Expanding the community’s trail network, particularly to improve access to parks, is identified as a priority in the Town’s strategic plan. The Memorial Park–Hoover Park connection not only strengthens the link to the Rouge, but better ties Memorial Park to Byers Pond Park and the Jean-Baptiste Lainé Site.
Council approved an extension of the Rouge’s Harvest Trail onto Town lands in 2019, facilitating its connection to Stouffville’s network. In February 2022, it endorsed a motion from Lovatt calling on Town Staff to explore additional trail opportunities with Parks Canada, TRCA, and York Region.
The Memorial Park–Hoover Park connection was first introduced in a Feb. 2, 2022, blog post by Lovatt. One of three original “lines on a map,” as Titherington described them during the ribbon-cutting ceremony, it forms part of a larger envisioned pathway connecting the Rouge with rural Stouffville.
“What we opened today was the most achievable given the funding we were able to secure,” Lovatt said in a later conversation with Bullet Point News. “Next, we want to find a way to come up from the 19th Avenue Day Use Area and then move east without actually entering a residential neighbourhood.”
The existing northbound trail from the Day Use Area ends at Reeves Way Blvd. While users can now travel from the Memorial Park-Hoover Park connection through the Stouffville–Rouge network to Reeves Way, exiting south of Wendat Village Public School, they must travel west along Reeves Way to reach the trail leading to the Day Use Area.
Closing that remaining southern gap is the Town’s next major objective, and Lovatt believes it can be achieved as early as next year.
Another trail segment extending west from Busato Dr. near Tenth Line connects to the southern Stouffville–Rouge network. From there, it continues east behind homes along Gar Lehman Ave. before ending just beyond Elmer Daniels Ct.
Lovatt’s 2022 concept called for extending that trail west to meet the northbound connection from the 19th Avenue Day Use Area. He continues to see that as the preferred solution for closing the remaining gap.
“That’s what we have to try and get to,” Lovatt said, confirming the Town controls the land south of Gar Lehman needed to complete the connection.
The proposed extension would present additional challenges, however, as the route would likely pass through a wetland and environmental zone. While not necessarily a barrier given the Harvest Trail already includes a boardwalk through that environmentally sensitive area, Lovatt acknowledged resulting cost impacts.
“We’re working on an economical solution,” he assured.
A Larger Trail Vision for Stouffville
For Lovatt, the long-term goal extends well beyond resolving the southern gap. He hopes the trail will eventually continue from the Sculpture Walk’s end point at Main St., linking additional parks and natural areas before reaching destinations outside Stouffville’s more urban community area.
“We’re going to go north from 6240 Main St. to the Stouffville Conservation Area and Reservoir, then to Bethesda Park,” the Mayor explained. As he sees it, that future pathway would advance along Stouffville Creek and link to the existing trail at the end of Mill St., which continues to Millard St. and into the Reservoir area.
The Memorial Park-Hoover Park trail is a critical piece of that broader off-road system, he reiterated, connecting residents and neighbourhoods with community parks, the Rouge, and, eventually, larger trail networks across York Region and the GTA.
“I want to see us get to the Willow Springs and Gallucci Winery areas. I want our own little version of Prince Edward County’s Millennium Trail,” Lovatt said. “And this new link is an important step toward that.”
Cover image shows (left to right) Stouffville Manager of Park Operations and Development Roger da Cunha, Ward 6 Councillor Sue Sherban, York Region Transportation Services Infrastructure Asset Management Director Brian Titherington, TRCA CEO John MacKenzie, Stouffville Commissioner of Community Services Rob Braid, Ward 1 Councillor Hugo Kroon, Mayor Iain Lovatt, Stouffville CAO Sunny Bains, and Rouge National Urban Park Field Unit Superintendent Mikaïlou Sy. (Randy Barba/Bullet Point News)
