The round-trip hike on the Bruce Trail from the Spirit Rock Conservation Area to Coveney’s Side Trail and back was 46.2 km long and took all day. I also took the Mallory Beach Side Trail down to the water, and then on the way back to my car, I took the Malcolm Bluff and Colpoy’s Bluff Side Trails. At the end of the day, I hiked the Spirit Rock Side Trail. You will find the complete route on Maps 35 and 36 in the Bruce Trail Reference: 25th Edition.

I had to knock big red spiders down on a couple of 2- to 3-km long sections of trail. Their webs spanned the trail, and if I hadn’t knocked them down, I would have ended up with dozens of spiders down my neck. The spider webs were spaced about 5- to 10-feet apart, in colonies, near the the Spirit Rock Conservation Area and leading up to the Mallory Beach Side Trail.