Kinsmen Way – Park Trail

Length – 7 km (one way)

90% park paths
10% road riding, detours

Elevation – Level most of the way, sloping up at the end

Terrain – Paved, some gravel and sandy spots, bridges, tunnels

Skill – Easy

Maps – Map boards, trail signs, painted marks

Traffic – Cyclists, pedestrians, dogs, in-line skaters

Facilities – Parking lots, toilets, benches, rain shelter, local amenities & lodging nearby

Highlights – Quiet ride, treed urban path, ever-changing scenery

Trail Fee – Free

Phone – 705 474 5420

Website – Discovery Routes   Tourism North Bay    N Bay Conservation Area

Similar Trails – Rainbow Route, The Hub

Local Clubs – North Bay Mountain Bike Association

Access – Lots of side streets to park on; I found only three lots you can try:

Lee Park  (has the iconic arch)
Memorial Gardens Arena
Laurier Woods Conservation Area – Brule St

Some photos – Caroline Jacqueline

The Kinsmen Trail is a 7 km winding path that follows the Chippewa Creek as best it can across town. It’s a lovely bike ride that makes its way through neighbourhoods, playing fields, and woodlots, ending at the base of the escarpment.

By the waters of Lake Nipissing, the trail crosses the Kate Pace Way bike trail at Lee Park. The path immediately goes through a tunnel underneath train tracks, then over a bridge, and through another tunnel as it finds its way to safer, more quiet realms a few blocks away.

Though this route is a collection of on-again, off-again trail patchwork, you should be able to stay the course. As a long-established path, it has plenty of signs, painted pavement marks, and barriers to guide you. There are road crossings and detours to complete this route. I still think you will be looking at a map the first time on it.

It’s certainly not boring. All the little twists and changes as it threads its way along might make you think it is a longer ride than it is.

About halfway through it you will reach the only large open area on this narrow pathway at the Thomson Park sports fields, where the largest ice arena in town is.

It may get confusing here, so find your way through the trees across the creek to Olive St W. Continuing north of there, a few blocks of road riding is required, then a few more west on High St. to reconnect with the creek again…

May I suggest another bonus riding area I did a while back at Laurier Woods Conservation Area…

Read the rest of this review and 59 others in my NEW book, Volume 2 of Best Bicycle Park & Rail Trails in Ontario.