Ontario's natural heritage – a living legacy
Thousand-year-old cedar trees clinging to rock-cliffs | Tranquil forests harbouring rare or endangered species | Teeming marshes providing refuge to nesting birds
The Ontario Heritage Trust works to protect more than our cultural heritage. It also helps to ensure that our natural environment – wetlands, woodlands, grasslands and geological land formations – remains a viable and significant part of our future.
The Trust owns 170 natural heritage properties that protect 4,116 hectares (10,073 acres) of provincially significant natural heritage lands across the province. These properties protect a variety of rare and sensitive environments, and include wetlands, forested areas, cliffs, and a rare northern Ontario orchid habitat. Some of our natural heritage properties also have provincially significant archaeological sites.
The Trust works in collaboration with a range of partners, including conservation authorities, land trusts, field naturalists and the Bruce Trail Conservancy to steward these lands. Read on to learn about some of the natural heritage properties owned by the Trust. These properties showcase the variety of lands and features protected in perpetuity for the people of Ontario.
Ontario's natural heritage is rich and exceptionally diverse. Your support will help the Trust conserve this legacy so that we can all enjoy it now and protect it for future generations.
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Featured natural heritage properties
Southwestern Ontario Clarke Property
The Clarke property is located on the northern Bruce Peninsula and features spectacular views of the Lake Huron shoreline with numerous bays, low headlands, shoals and small islands ...
Greater Toronto Area Cheltenham Badlands
The Cheltenham Badlands is one of Ontario’s geological treasures, formed at the base of an ancient sea about 450 million years ago ...
Northern Ontario Great Manitou Island Property
Great Manitou Island – owned by the Ontario Heritage Trust – is the largest island in the Manitou Islands Provincial Nature Reserve ...
Southwestern Ontario The Devil’s Monument: Minhinick, LeFeuvre-Chupac and Schneider properties
The Devil’s Monument refers to the presence of a flowerpot that has long been a draw for locals and tourists alike. It is the only complete flowerpot on land along the east side of the Bruce Peninsula ...
Natural heritage properties by location
- Central Ontario
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Central Ontario Scotsdale Farm
A working farm, Scotsdale presents visitors with 531 acres (215 hectares) of pastoral countryside. Superb hiking trails run through the farm's rolling hills and woodlands ...
Central Ontario Fleetwood Creek Natural Area
Fleetwood Creek Natural Area is located on the north slope of the Oak Ridges Moraine within the City of Kawartha Lakes ...
- Eastern Ontario
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Eastern Ontario Gardiner, Grace and Neilson Properties
These properties are situated in the Appleton swamp, with several old and large peach-leaf willow trees, as well as provincially significant bird species ...
- Greater Toronto Area
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Greater Toronto Area Cheltenham Badlands
The Cheltenham Badlands is one of Ontario’s geological treasures, formed at the base of an ancient sea about 450 million years ago ...
Greater Toronto Area Yaremko-Ridley Property
The 64-hectare (160-acre) Yaremko-Ridley property, located just outside of the Town of Milton, contains mixed escarpment forest with stunning glacial valleys, rolling landscapes and numerous rock outcroppings and deposits ...
- Niagara Falls and Region
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Niagara Falls and Region Ellis Property
The Ellis property is located 1 km (0.6 miles) north of Ball’s Falls Conservation Area, just west of the Jordan Historical Museum in the Town of Lincoln ...
- Northern Ontario
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Northern Ontario Great Manitou Island Property
Great Manitou Island – owned by the Ontario Heritage Trust – is the largest island in the Manitou Islands Provincial Nature Reserve ...
- Southwestern Ontario
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Southwestern Ontario Clarke Property
The Clarke property is located on the northern Bruce Peninsula and features spectacular views of the Lake Huron shoreline with numerous bays, low headlands, shoals and small islands ...
Southwestern Ontario C. Thompson and Hambly Properties
The C. Thompson and Hambly properties are located within the Georgian Bluffs region 10 km (6 miles) east of Wiarton on the plateau above Skinner’s Bluffs cliffs ...
Southwestern Ontario The Devil’s Monument: Minhinick, LeFeuvre-Chupac and Schneider properties
The Devil’s Monument refers to the presence of a flowerpot that has long been a draw for locals and tourists alike. It is the only complete flowerpot on land along the east side of the Bruce Peninsula ...
Southwestern Ontario Westover
The Westover property features four ancient caves created by ancient sea wave action ...
Southwestern Ontario Barrow Bay: Dobson/Nakashima and Deal properties
Barrow Bay comprises the Dobson/Nakashima and Deal properties and are located east of Barrow Bay in the Municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula, County of Bruce. These properties feature amazing views of crystal-clear blue water along the coastline of Georgian Bay ...
