A River Runs Through It

This is a visual story of the Grand River as it passes through my town of Elora, Ontario. The story begins about 5km upstream in the town of Fergus, makes its way downstream through Aboyne and Elora and ends up 5km further downstream at the Wilson Flats. This trip down the river also follows where my family has lived over the past 20 years. Our first house was in Fergus, our second place was in Aboyne and our current home is in Elora, which really does feel like home — I love my community and the beautiful village as well as the access to so much beautiful, rugged landscape.

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~ Fergus ~

Like so many Ontario towns, Fergus was established on a river which was used to power local industry including several mills and factories.

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~ Aboyne ~

The halfway point between Fergus and Elora is Aboyne — it isn’t a town, it’s just an area on the map :) Our second house was right next to the forest and we spent so much time in those woods with our kids, with a short walk down to the river and to the flats below the old train bridge. Interestingly — this very spot is world-renowned for trout fishing and we would run into people from many different countries that basically came to our backyard to do some fly-fishing.

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~ Elora ~

It’s hard to believe that this scene is right in the middle of Elora! This is just upriver from the Bissell Park walking bridge, but it looks like it could be a river up in Northern Ontario. This amazing access to nature is one of the things I love about Elora. Just upriver from this spot is the Elora Quarry which has been a very popular swimming hole for decades, right in the middle of town there is access to the Elora Gorge where the river has cut an 80-foot-deep gorge through the limestone rock over the centuries. There are great walking trails through the parks in town as well as along the river in the gorge.

The power of the river is mesmerizing — and needs to be respected, especially in the spring with all the snow runoff in the area. This is the Bissel Park dam, right in the centre of town — one of the many small dams along this stretch of river. There are four rivers that feed into the Grand (the Conestogo, Nith, Speed, and Eramosa). The combined length of all those rivers and streams is about 11,000 kilometres, ending in Lake Erie.

The Metcalfe St. Bridge or Badley Bridge is an old steel truss bridge from the 1950s. It serves as a visual gateway into Elora — I have always really liked the way it looks. As with many of the older bridges in the area, this one will soon be replaced with a modern bridge over the Grand. I’m hopeful that the new bridge will have some character and (selfishly) hope that it is good for photography — both as an architectural feature of the town and to be able to walk across and shoot the scene below on the millpond.

The millpond, just above the Elora Mill and waterfalls, is a very popular spot for photographers. This town is abuzz with tourists as soon as the weather is nice. Its a great town for walking around to visit the shops and restaurants and to take in all the natural sights.

Like so many Ontario towns, Elora was established on a river as a source of power to run the flour mill. This historic mill has been under construction for the past few years. The Mill has been renovated and is finally open as a hotel, convention centre, wedding destination and spa.

Right below the Elora Mill, the Grand River cuts through the Elora Gorge with towering limestone walls. This is a great area to explore in the summer — you can go tubing down the Grand and float for kilometres with the occasional rapid to add some excitement — or you can hike for kilometres up along the Irvine River where it flows into the Grand.

Right after Elora, the Grand River passes through the Elora Gorge Grand River Conservation Area — a popular area for camping and outdoor activities. This photo is one of many tiny creeks that create little waterfalls that drop into the Grand River below.

And finally, on our journey, the Wilson Flats is another conservation area south of Elora. This area is a floodplain where the river widens and passes through marshland and grassy areas. This is one of my favourite places to hike and photograph — it is a very peaceful spot where I have spent many sunrises wading through the very shallow river with my camera.