The Highlands Art & Tree Trail Backstory
Pathway through History & Rewilding
High atop the Niagara Escarpment, just south of Collingwood, lies a place of exceptional natural and cultural significance—Duntroon Highlands, home to the new Highlands Art & Tree Trail. This 2 km loop trail weaves through a landscape shaped over hundreds of millions of years, offering visitors a chance to explore the intersection of art, ecology, and time. Set against the backdrop of the Niagara Escarpment, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, the trail invites a deeper connection with the land through the themes of natural history, human heritage, and ecological renewal.
The Niagara Escarpment is one of Ontario’s most dramatic geological features, formed from ancient layers of limestone and dolostone that date back over 400 million years. Once part of a vast tropical sea, these rock layers eroded into the steep cliffs, valleys, and rock outcrops we see today. This terrain supports over 1,500 plant species, including rare orchids, ferns, and conifers, and provides essential habitat for wildlife like white-tailed deer and peregrine falcons. The area’s unique microclimates—shaped by elevation and proximity to Georgian Bay—support a blend of temperate and boreal ecosystems that make this region ecologically rich and diverse.
The Highlands area, historically known as “The Rockside”, is especially unique. This crescent-shaped ridge forms a dramatic natural amphitheatre around the uplands of Duntroon. Once the shoreline of ancient Lake Agassiz during the last Ice Age, it sits over 250 meters above today’s lake levels and bears the geological imprints of long-vanished deltas and beaches. The Highlands also serve as the headwaters for Batteaux Creek, a vital waterway that flows into Georgian Bay. Known for its role as a spawning ground for salmon and trout, the creek also provided irrigation and industry for local villages. Its name, from the French word for "boat," is a nod to the early boatbuilding once prominent at its mouth.
The story of this land is equally shaped by its people. Indigenous communities, including the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee, have long stewarded this region, relying on its abundance for food, medicine, and cultural practices. In the 1800s, European settlers established the village of Duntroon, transforming the Highlands into a mosaic of farms, quarries, and rural industry. The area included a schoolhouse and working farmland that, over time, gave way to recreational uses. Today, the 400-acre property that houses Duntroon Highlands Resort and Highlands Nordic is a vibrant mix of outdoor recreation, history, and conservation. Ongoing efforts by the Bruce Trail Conservancy, as well as the Escarpment Corridor Alliance are now helping to protect this special place and reconnect fragmented landscapes into a continuous ecological corridor along the Escarpment.
A central idea behind the Highlands Art & Tree Trail is the concept of rewilding— the practice of allowing natural processes to restore landscapes over time, often by reducing human intervention. Along this trail, visitors will experience a section of forest that is being allowed to reforest and regenerate as naturally as possible. Dead trees are left standing to support insect and bird life, native species are allowed to re-establish themselves, and the land is left to shape its own future. The art installations throughout the trail draw attention to this quiet transformation, offering a creative lens through which to witness rewilding in action. They invite reflection on how humans can shift from managing nature to coexisting with it.
The Highlands Art & Tree Trail is more than a walk through the woods—it's a journey through time. From fossilized coral reefs to living forests, from ancient Indigenous presence to ongoing conservation, and from cleared farmland to a rewilding landscape, this trail tells a powerful story of renewal. As you hike the trail and encounter each installation, we invite you to consider your own place within this evolving landscape—and to imagine the possibilities of a wilder, more connected future.
The Niagara Escarpment is one of Ontario’s most dramatic geological features, formed from ancient layers of limestone and dolostone that date back over 400 million years. Once part of a vast tropical sea, these rock layers eroded into the steep cliffs, valleys, and rock outcrops we see today. This terrain supports over 1,500 plant species, including rare orchids, ferns, and conifers, and provides essential habitat for wildlife like white-tailed deer and peregrine falcons. The area’s unique microclimates—shaped by elevation and proximity to Georgian Bay—support a blend of temperate and boreal ecosystems that make this region ecologically rich and diverse.
The Highlands area, historically known as “The Rockside”, is especially unique. This crescent-shaped ridge forms a dramatic natural amphitheatre around the uplands of Duntroon. Once the shoreline of ancient Lake Agassiz during the last Ice Age, it sits over 250 meters above today’s lake levels and bears the geological imprints of long-vanished deltas and beaches. The Highlands also serve as the headwaters for Batteaux Creek, a vital waterway that flows into Georgian Bay. Known for its role as a spawning ground for salmon and trout, the creek also provided irrigation and industry for local villages. Its name, from the French word for "boat," is a nod to the early boatbuilding once prominent at its mouth.
The story of this land is equally shaped by its people. Indigenous communities, including the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee, have long stewarded this region, relying on its abundance for food, medicine, and cultural practices. In the 1800s, European settlers established the village of Duntroon, transforming the Highlands into a mosaic of farms, quarries, and rural industry. The area included a schoolhouse and working farmland that, over time, gave way to recreational uses. Today, the 400-acre property that houses Duntroon Highlands Resort and Highlands Nordic is a vibrant mix of outdoor recreation, history, and conservation. Ongoing efforts by the Bruce Trail Conservancy, as well as the Escarpment Corridor Alliance are now helping to protect this special place and reconnect fragmented landscapes into a continuous ecological corridor along the Escarpment.
A central idea behind the Highlands Art & Tree Trail is the concept of rewilding— the practice of allowing natural processes to restore landscapes over time, often by reducing human intervention. Along this trail, visitors will experience a section of forest that is being allowed to reforest and regenerate as naturally as possible. Dead trees are left standing to support insect and bird life, native species are allowed to re-establish themselves, and the land is left to shape its own future. The art installations throughout the trail draw attention to this quiet transformation, offering a creative lens through which to witness rewilding in action. They invite reflection on how humans can shift from managing nature to coexisting with it.
The Highlands Art & Tree Trail is more than a walk through the woods—it's a journey through time. From fossilized coral reefs to living forests, from ancient Indigenous presence to ongoing conservation, and from cleared farmland to a rewilding landscape, this trail tells a powerful story of renewal. As you hike the trail and encounter each installation, we invite you to consider your own place within this evolving landscape—and to imagine the possibilities of a wilder, more connected future.
