Most people think of vineyards and waterfalls when they think of Niagara. But in Wainfleet, there's a landscape you won't find anywhere else on the peninsula: the Wainfleet Bog.
A rare place
The Wainfleet Bog is the largest remaining bog in southern Ontario and the only bog wetland on the Niagara Peninsula, covering more than 1,100 hectares. Its peat has been building up for around 4,500 years.
Peat was dug from the Wainfleet Bog from the 1890s onwards, and in time about half of it was disturbed. Today it's protected, with the provincial Wainfleet Bog Conservation Reserve established in 1997 and land cared for by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority.
Life in the Wainfleet Bog
Bogs are home to plants and animals adapted to wet, acidic ground. The Wainfleet Bog Conservation Reserve alone supports about 283 kinds of native plants, along with reptiles and birds that are rare in Ontario, including the eastern massasauga rattlesnake. Admire it from a distance, and stay on the trails.
Explore it
The Wainfleet Bog has trails, boardwalks and interpretive signs, and it's open from sunrise to sunset. The NPCA entrance is at 20499 Erie Peat Road. Wear sturdy shoes, bring water, and leave everything as you found it.