I’ve been XC skiing and mountain biking at Durham Forest for over 25 years. For XC skiing, go after a fresh snowfall. Otherwise, all tracks are wiped out by hikers within a few hours. It’s still a VERY busy place – especially on weekends. The posted doubletrack routes are wide and not very challenging. You can get a good workout and a couple of the hills provide some measure of difficulty. Be very wary of off-leash dogs and dog waste. Despite signage telling dog owners to clean the waste and use a 6-foot leash, there are always problems.

There have also been issues with horses – obliterating ski tracks and leaving steaming piles in the middle of the trail. It’s safe to ski here at night. The groomed Fat Bike trails are now about 20km in total and there are always fat bikers using them. Don’t ski the groomed trail – it’s not wide enough to safely stop if you need to. Cyclists and hikers are reminded not to use the groomed trail when conditions are soft as it damages the trail.

The worst part is that it’s no longer free to park here to use the tails. Uxbridge, despite not having jurisdiction, is now charging a daily or annual parking fee for property that is paid for via our property taxes (Durham Forest is owned by Durham Region). What do we get for paying for parking? Nothing. No security, no maintenance by Uxbridge. They built another parking area that is rarely used. The parking was initiated to feed the greed of Uxbridge when they read a report that they could generate $100k per year by charging for parking. All money goes into Township coffers for their own trails in town. Hopefully this money-losing madness ends soon!