Little Trail on the Prairie (Rice Lake, Ontario) 

What to expect:

Enjoy a pretty drive to Bailieboro, Ontario, along rolling hills with wonderful views of Rice Lake. Expect country roads lined with Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota) ; fruit stands with Niagara-grown peaches and local veggies. You may wish to plan a bio-stop at PooPoo’s, the country café in Bailieboro, before you hit the trail. The café’s old porch is an excellent place to munch down sandwiches and dessert.  

Younger children, ready for Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie, may especially enjoy this walk. A few steps into the grasslands on this trail near Rice Lake will make it obvious how a child (or even an adult) could get hopelessly lost in this environment almost immediately.

Wildflowers (Mid to Late-Summer):

Different varieties of grass fill the air with a sweet, hay-like smell. Wildflowers in August include Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), and Showy Tick Trefoil (Desmodium canadense). At this time of year, you’ll observe many Milkweed pods. For more information on the restoration of grasslands in Ontario, you can visit www.tallgrassontario.org

Photo 1 & below: Black-eyed Susan, Bergamot, and Trefoil

Photo 2: Flat-topped White Aster (Aster umbellatus)

Photo 3: Wild Bergamot (Monarda Fistulosa)

Does this plant smell like an orange? The plant received its common name because, apparently, it smells a bit like a Bergamot orange that grows in Italy (ROM guide, p. 293)

When to go:

The prairie is most interesting later during the summer when grasses stand tall.  

How to get there:

Please check www.rainbowcottagesresort.com. It offers a lot of information about guided hikes in July and August, cottage rentals (on location), and prairie restoration. 

Take Highway 401 E. to Highway 28 (Northumberland County Road) at Exit 464. Travel north on Highway 28 for 18 km to reach Bailieboro. Go east at Bailieboro on County Road 2. Follow Road 2 for about 8 km to a stop sign (8 km) and turn left. Travel for about 1 km, take the first right and  follow this road to Rainbow Prairie. The last kilometre is a gravel road which dead ends at the farm and the Rice Lake Tall Grass restoration project.

More:

Say ‘hi’ to the owners of Rainbow Cottages Resort and stand briefly amazed at their office— an interesting cross-section between a mud room and a campground store – and ask for a self-guided tour -- a map of the grounds. When we walked this trail, paths were not marked and didn’t offer interpretative signs. You may need to step over maple syrup lines. Although one may get temporarily disorientated, the grounds are small enough to quickly find one’s way back to the unpaved parking lot.