Take Muskoka Road 169
north from Gravenhurst or south from Bala.
Turn south on Southwood Road (Muskoka
Road 13) and travel 7 kilometres to the
Torrance Barrens sign. Park on the flat rock.
The trail is marked with stone cairns, white
marks on rocks and metal signs.
Mud and flat rock Amazing area .. Moab Canadian style
Passed through just before rain started again , lots of mud in certain small areas but overall great. Wood bridges on back loop are technically closed and broken but still kinda passable . Definitely worth stopping in for a unique riding terrain
Great place to ride. Very unique compared to everything else I have ridden in Ontario. Lots of exposed rock surface. Would recommend going in July or August. I went in June and the bugs were pretty bad.
Rode here with my teenage kids last week. Had rained the entire day prior so lots of water and mud. We had a tonne of fun, easy to navigate and trails marked with white paint on the rocks.
Funniest thing happened on the final portion of the route. In a spot where you have to hop over a 2 ft creek I encountered a turtle on the trail right next to it. It looked a pretty large so I stopped and inched the bike towards it. Turned out to be a snapping turtle who tried pretty hard to reach my tire with his mouth.
Unique ride on mostly Canadian Shield. A little rough on the rear riding a hard tail. Good mix of novice-intermediate technical sections. Not a lot of downhill but not a lot of climbing either. Quiet and picturesque.
Torrance Barrens is a 1,905 hectare (4,707 acre) Conservation Reserve that is north enough from Toronto (in Muskoka) to be outside the light pollution of the city. Riding on the Precambrian Shield was surreal -- at times, it felt like we were riding on moon rocks. A fellow rider said Torrance reminded them of Utah, but without the heat! How cool is that? The place is dotted with lakes, wetlands and yes, we definitely got our feet wet. A lot! There are boardwalks and mud holes, and plenty of rock rolling in between. This is absolutely a place for fat bikes. The trail is marked with white arrows painted on the rocks. This ride was one of my favourites this year.
LOVE riding here. A fantastic mix of slick rock, connecting singletrack and wooden bridges over the edges of the ponds and lakes you'll be riding round. Not the most challenging trails, everything is doable for an intermediate rider. There are a couple of short techy climbs and a couple of steep slick descents but you'll have a blast riding them. If you think it might be wet take a change of shoes and socks, you will ride through a few puddles and pools that will soak your feet, but that just adds to the fun!
Mud and flat rock Amazing area .. Moab Canadian style
Thank | Edit |Passed through just before rain started again , lots of mud in certain small areas but overall great. Wood bridges on back loop are technically closed and broken but still kinda passable . Definitely worth stopping in for a unique riding terrain
Great place to ride. Very unique compared to everything else I have ridden in Ontario. Lots of exposed rock surface. Would recommend going in July or August. I went in June and the bugs were pretty bad.
Thank | Edit |Beautiful area, rain from two days ago made some areas wet but overall conditions were dry. A few soakers but all in good fun.
Thank | Edit |Rode here with my teenage kids last week. Had rained the entire day prior so lots of water and mud. We had a tonne of fun, easy to navigate and trails marked with white paint on the rocks.
Funniest thing happened on the final portion of the route. In a spot where you have to hop over a 2 ft creek I encountered a turtle on the trail right next to it. It looked a pretty large so I stopped and inched the bike towards it. Turned out to be a snapping turtle who tried pretty hard to reach my tire with his mouth.
Thank | Edit |Its like riding one big rock, one of the most unusual rides in Ontario. Intermediate with some good challenges and great flow.
Thank | Edit |Unique ride on mostly Canadian Shield. A little rough on the rear riding a hard tail. Good mix of novice-intermediate technical sections. Not a lot of downhill but not a lot of climbing either. Quiet and picturesque.
Thank | Edit |Nice trail. Fun ride. Not a lot of maintenance which is nice in some respects. Would recommend. Would ride again.
Thank | Edit |Torrance Barrens is a 1,905 hectare (4,707 acre) Conservation Reserve that is north enough from Toronto (in Muskoka) to be outside the light pollution of the city. Riding on the Precambrian Shield was surreal -- at times, it felt like we were riding on moon rocks. A fellow rider said Torrance reminded them of Utah, but without the heat! How cool is that? The place is dotted with lakes, wetlands and yes, we definitely got our feet wet. A lot! There are boardwalks and mud holes, and plenty of rock rolling in between. This is absolutely a place for fat bikes. The trail is marked with white arrows painted on the rocks. This ride was one of my favourites this year.
Thank | Edit |LOVE riding here. A fantastic mix of slick rock, connecting singletrack and wooden bridges over the edges of the ponds and lakes you'll be riding round. Not the most challenging trails, everything is doable for an intermediate rider. There are a couple of short techy climbs and a couple of steep slick descents but you'll have a blast riding them. If you think it might be wet take a change of shoes and socks, you will ride through a few puddles and pools that will soak your feet, but that just adds to the fun!
Thank | Edit |