Elora Gorge Conservation Area

What a gorge-​ous place! See what I did there! Lol. All jokes aside, this was an awesome place to visit and this is coming from someone that isn’t particularly into the nature things.
For $ 6 entry per person, the conservation area provides hiking trails, picnic areas, and the opportunity to tube down the water in the gorge! The area was kept quite nice and clean, just some stray litter that some irresponsible people left around.
The trails were pretty good, just gotta make sure you look where you’re going. Lots of tree roots coming up from the ground and just stray branches laying around. The trails were pretty short and quite easy, so it is definitely suitable for everyone. Just know that there are a few sections of stair-​like hiking, so you may need to beware if you have some knee problems.
The best part was definitely walking to the tube launching area and just exploring around the gorge. You are able to explore as far as you can go on the rocks up and down the waterside and if the water is low enough I believe. It was both cool to see and fun to traverse! Gives you a sense of wonder and calm at the same time!
If you’re ever in the Guelph area and looking for a little nature in your life, worth checking out the Elora Gorge!

First time camping at Elora Gorge. Sites are pretty good. Not very private though. Great atmosphere. This park has people of all ages yetis very family friendly! Everyone is so friendly. So many kids around and every other camper has a dog my kids loved it here! We will be back!

We went on ¹²⁄₅ and the park was closed. That didn’t stop us, we parked across the street, hopped the gate and had the entire park to ourselves. I know what you are thinking, we snuck in there like a couple of ninjas… but the gate is only 3 or 4 feet tall with large gaps; it is meant to keep cars out in the off season would be my guess. I will give full disclosure that I hope to got back when they are open in an effort to have a better experience. On to our adventure! The park was big and had a lot of spots for camping… or glamping (glamour camping for those of you not in the know). The camping areas seemed spacious, well marked and all of the tent sites we saw were in a nice shady pine forest. There was a nice looking splash pad, play ground and multiple sports fields. We saw signs for tubing, which I am excited to go back and try. All in all it looks like it would be a great place for families in the warmer months. Unfortunately the reason we went was to hike, that is where I was let down. The trails were again nice for families and people that are new to the outdoors… well marked, very wide, so clear of vegetation and obstructions that it might as well be paved. There weren’t a lot of great points to see the water and the gorge, even the designated viewpoints weren’t great views. Mind you it’s December, there are no leaves blocking your view. Fences everywhere along the trail you you corralled where they want you to go. Great again for kids, but added a bit too much to the city park feel for me. Again I will go back in prime season, I want to see if I missed something. Maybe there are trails that weren’t on the signs or in my guide book, which may be outdated at this point. I am very hopeful, but on this visit I wasn’t impressed… I will be sure to update my review when we return.

Beautiful for a fall walk. Unfortunately the gorge itself is fenced off to ensure that drunk idiots don’t try to belly flop and kill themselves. Total alcohol ban seems like another result of losers getting drunk and doing stupid things.
Picnic areas with fire pits look very cool. I’d love to plan a fall harvest cook out here. But they’d need to overlook my wine pairings.
Apple trees were plentiful and we picked some to bring home and make a crisp.

We had a Sunday afternoon with not a ton on our plate, so Lee suggested that we go for a drive out to «somewhere near Guelph» to check this park out. He’d been there a number of years ago.
It was a gorgeous, sunny, warm day at the very end of summer. The tubing was closed for the season, but the splashpad was still running, and this seemed to be a great place to go for a little hike.
The park itself is out kind of in the middle of nowhere, at least from the direction we approached. We drove through acres of farmlands, and then we started to see a few trees, and found the entrance.
The gorge is one of those typical gouged out rock valleys that seem to be the thing out here. Lots of steep canyon walls with interesting, brittle rock. It’s a bit of a change from the types of river gorges where I grew up.
The path was pretty short, I kind of wish it was organized and perhaps signed a bit better. There’s a lot of erosion from people making their own trails. Perhaps having it hook up into a wider network of trails is something that the park org could do in the future. The path down into the rock is very very cool, and definitely something that needs to be seen.
There’s camping here, and I definitely want to give it a try if the weather holds up this year, if not, I’m definitely going to try it out next year.

Horrible park. Dirty washrooms. Staff is rude. Absolutely no noise allowed, no music even if you are in the louder section any time of the day, total alcohol ban in affect once you enter the gate which is the stupidest thing ever. Who wants to go spend a weekend without a few beers and no music. Security wanted to make us poor out our alcohol after we had just settled in. Said we were leaving and asked for refund which was fair as we had not caused any problems we had just settled in and didn’t want to poor out all of our alcohol but since they didn’t want to give us a refund they came back and said we were «convicted» I guess that’s how hurting they’re for $ 100. One security guard was very nice and understanding. I would have never booked this campsite if I had seen you could not make noise or drink any kind of alcohol. If you are young and you want to have a good time I highly recommend you NOT stay at this campsite. We ended up go to north suable sands which ended up being amazing, great people amazing staff and you could drink and make as much noise as you’d like.

Camping here was decent. The campsite we had was quite large. The park was very clean for the most part. The bathrooms and shower building were a little bit nasty. Before you walk half way across the park to the showers make sure you bring some quarters as the showers are coin operated. The park has a total alcohol ban which was kinda stupid. Whats camping without a pile of beers and a BBQ? However we just kept our drinking on the down low and didn’t have any problems. As long as your not all rowdy they don’t bother you. Nobody asked to look in our coolers or said anything to us all weekend. Our site was very close to the river tubing launch which was convenient. The cliffs and scenery around the gorge is very nice. Just a quick walk and jump in. Overall not a bad weekend.

As luxury car camping goes — I love Elora Gorge! If you’re looking for real camping, this isn’t the place for it. For an introduction into camp fires, marshmellows, mosquitoes, sleeping on the ground in tents, bonding with like-​minded friends, this is it!
Campsites are very close to each other and on a busy summer weekend, you’ll be right up against other campers, but with enough space in between that it won’t bother you. You’ll see other campers and hear them, but with the muffling silence of trees, it really isn’t so bad. The sites are very well maintained and clearly marked.
Ah, the washrooms! As far as car camping facilities go, this is the best location that I’ve been to! The main washroom/​changeroom/​showers is by the river tubing registration area. The washrooms are big and very clean. I’m surprised at the lack of insects that usually populate camp washrooms. There are automatic showers for 25 cents a pop. The water is hot, and you get a long amount of time for the change. It was the best 25 cents that I’ve ever spent, and a shower is very well appreciated after an afternoon of river tubing. By the way, river tubing down the section of the Grand River at Elora Gorge is something that is so unique that one must absolutely partake in at some point. For ~$ 27, which includes an inner tube, life jacket and helmet rental, you get to river tube the whole day up to 7PM. The free shuttle bus takes you to the starting point for the trip down the river and takes you back to the pick up point after you’re done. Another review on river tubing later.
Reserve your camp site online here:
. Currently, it is ~$ 34/​night of camping. You can also take your chances and just pick an available site when you arrive on the day of like we did (though its best to reserve ahead of time). Check out is a noon the next day.
Get your firewood onsite for $ 8 a bag. Bringing your own firewood is discouraged as it can spread invasive species hiding in the wood into the forest. The conservation area is absolutely alcohol free, with quiet time after 11PM.
Elora Gorge is close enough to Toronto to be away from the city, and yet a very very gentle introduction into camping and being with nature. There’s even a hot dog cart by river tubing registration.