Saltfleet Master Plan & Management Plans

Saltfleet Conservation Area (Saltfleet) is comprised of six properties on top of the Niagara Escarpment in Stoney Creek. HCA acquired the lands following a 2011 Environmental Assessment of the area, with the vision of creating multiple wetlands to address flooding and erosion below the Niagara Escarpment in urban Stoney Creek, as well as providing both new and restored natural areas in the watershed and opportunities for passive recreation.

Wetland construction at Saltfleet is now underway on the land parcel situated between First and Second Road East. This property will be the main focus of the Master Plan, since it will contain the conservation area’s anticipated long-term main entrance, parking area, day-use facilities, and recreational trails.

This will be HCA’s first Master Plan for the Saltfleet Conservation Area.

• Draft Master Plan

DPCA was acquired by HCA in 1969 for its significant location on the escarpment. The property contains two waterfalls and offers visitor parking and trail access to lookout areas with spectacular views of Stoney Creek, Hamilton Harbour, the Punchbowl, and the gorge. From the parking lot, visitors can also access the Dofasco 2000 Trail connecting to Saltfleet Conservation Area.

This day-use area has become very popular, and high visitation is straining the parking capacity and site facilities. This Master Plan will update and replace the Devil’s Punchbowl Master Plan of 1980. The plan will consolidate all studies of DPCA since 1980, supply current mapping and site analysis, and further guide HCA’s visitor management, natural area conservation, and operation of the conservation area.

HCA recently acquired new lands at the Devil’s Punchbowl Conservation Area (DPCA), these lands will be included in the new Master Plan. More information is available on our website

• Draft Master Plan

The Dofasco 2000 Trail is an 11.5-kilometre multi-use recreational trail located on top of the Niagara Escarpment in Stoney Creek. The trail was built over twenty years ago with the support of the Hamilton Conservation Foundation, Dofasco Inc., the Millennium Bureau of Canada and the City of Hamilton (City), and is operated under a management agreement between HCA and the City. The trail runs from Ridge Road at the Devil’s Punchbowl, through Saltfleet, and across to Eleventh Road. Two main access points and parking lots for the trail are at Devil’s Punchbowl Conservation Area and Saltfleet Conservation Area.

In 2000 the HCA Board of Directors approved the Powerline Road Trail Master Development Plan, later renamed the Dofasco 2000 Trail. This Management Plan will update and replace that plan and will provide guidance for HCA’s management and operation of the off-road trail portion.

• Draft Trail Management Plan

The Vinemount and Winona Conservation lands were acquired in the 1970s, from HCA’s strategic land acquisition decision to secure sensitive escarpment lands threatened by urban sprawl. Vinemount Conservation Area is located at the eastern boundary of HCA’s watershed with Winona Conservation Area 3km to the west. Both properties run along the face of the Niagara Escarpment, with a few areas of tableland above and below. They are connected by the Bruce Trail, which also links them to Devil’s Punchbowl property below the escarpment.

One new Management Plan is proposed to update and replace the 1979 Master Development Plans prepared by HCA staff for both areas. The Vinemount and Winona Lands are located in very close proximity to each other and are similar in their environmental features, functions, and management needs. A new Management Plan will consolidate all available information on file, add new information on current site conditions, and help guide HCA’s land management decisions for these escarpment lands.

• Draft Management Plan