mountsberg conservation area

We spent the morning touring Maple Town, the animals in the barn, the visitors centre and the Raptors. Good day but glad we ate before we went because pancake breakfast pricing is a bit outrageous.

I visit Mountsberg at least twice a year (usually in winter), and I just love it here. Especially on a cold day when there are likely to be less children, it is such a quiet place! I can wander to each enclosure multiple times and the birds don't retreat to the back. There is a sweet barn owl who will watch you, even though his/her eyes appear to be closed :) The Golden Eagle is very observant, and the Bald Eagles can be quite saucy, calling to each other from time to time. The walking trails are great, though I have been lost once! It is worth it for me to bring my camera in hopes of seeing a Pileated Woodpecker.In the summer, you can see the Osprey nesting from the blind by the water. There are also Percheron horses which they use to pull wagons/sleighs. There are some goats and sheep in the barn, that upon my last visit looked heavily pregnant (looks like there will be babies come spring!).All in all, Mountsberg is a great place if you are the outdoor type, and enjoy walking around and observing. I would recommend against going when it is "Maple Syrup" time as it is overflowing with loud, shrieking children. If that's your cup of tea, then bring your kids and set them free in the Maple Village, they will love it.

On a beautiful fall day our group of retirees went for a visit to the Mountsberg Raptor Centre. Cost was $8.50 pp (including park entry fee). We visited the discovery centre for hot chocolate and apple cider (not bad for a $1.50). Our program tour started at noon and we were met by our guide Lara. Her knowledge and dedication is amazing. The birds are all permanent residents due to injury or past captivity and human imprinting and due to the care they receive at this facility have exceeded their specie life expectancy - some three fold. A great learning experience for any age. Gives one a real appreciation for these birds even the turkey vulture who is not the prettiest but has a major role in protecting our other wildlife from diseases as it cleans up carrion.

The website advertises great biking and hiking trails, but when my. Husband and I arrived there it was difficult to first find the trails and once we did the trails were ungroomed with long grasses hiding large rocks and sticks, which caused my handle bars to twist. There are lots of hills, which we ended walking up and then getting eaten alive by bugs. There is poor signage, which caused us to go in circles that we ended up hopping the fence and taking the road back to the main area. We liked seeing the birds, but wouldn't make the trip back there.

This conversation area is an amazing place for kids of all ages, teens and adults. With so many things to see and do years round and areas to explore. It's one of the best well maintained conservation areas to visit in my opinion. I will not go into depth with the specifics this time, for there are far to many to list in detail. I try in my busy life after visiting these beautiful places to share a piece of my experience and add my part to the wonderful reviews that people go out of there way to do and help others. This park is worth it, you will not be disappointed.

It was great seeing the beautiful birds of prey. The bald eagle and peregrine falcon were outstanding as I took my shots. The barn owl was quite predictable in the flight in the cage as I took the shots too. The family of bison looked very peaceful in the distance. We took in a few conservation areas with the day ticket checking out Crawford lake, Rattlesnake point and Mt. Nemo. It was a fun full day enjoying nature.

3 years in a row we are going to see the maple syrup festival in the conservation area.Nice trail, kids playground, small birds zoo, horse rides, and last but not least - pancakes with maple syrup!@http://instagram.com/p/mMEQuPPK5Y/http://instagram.com/p/mMEQuPPK5Y/

We came for the maple syrup but we stayed for the raptors! We just fell in love with all of the birds of prey and really appreciated the informative presentation and a chance to see the Merlin, and screech owl a bit closer.

We have 3 children 6 and under. They loved our time there. Maple Syrup Festival, Raptor Centre, and enjoying meeting the farm animals and playing in the Play Barn. A great activity to spend a beautiful spring day.

A really nice day,sleigh ride,and toasting marshmallows on the bonfire. A very cheap and fun thing to do

Staff were well trained and kept the interest of children.Puppet show was entertaining. Children loved it.

I have enjoyed Mountsberg on numerous occasions with my children and solo. Each time I have been impressed by the quality and breadth of activities. There are excellent trails to hike, great programming such as the Maple Syrup Festival, Christmas Town and it is always an adventure to check out the wildlife throughout the area.The facilities are fine, although they have not been updated in a while. The staff are helpful and I have had no problems with the washrooms. It is a shame that an active railroad runs right through the middle of it, but you don't really notice it until you have to cross it. It actually divides the conservation area in half and requires a staff member to cross.Part of a larger conservation system within Halton, if you plan on visiting this or any other conservation area, it would be better to purchase a yearly pass. After a couple of visits you have paid for it!I can't wait to go back, and neither can my children. Keep up the good work.

Forgot my hiking boots, but decided to give the trails a try in runners, my feet remained dry, even after walking the entire Lakeshore Lookout Trail. The Wildlife Walkway is an absolute must, the bird viewing is amazing.

A lovely area. No one was on the gate to take payment so we went to the visitor centre and paid there, the staff were really helpful and gave us ideas of what we are likely to see walking around.I used the washroom and it was pretty grim, papers all over the floor (lots of children on summer camp trips might have been the reason) and the taps squirted water all over the place or not at all.We saw a raptor show which was good, a bit disappointed to only see 1 flying but never mind. I tried to get to the other one in the afternoon but it was full! It was difficult to see and take photos of the birds due to the fencing, maybe glass in places could be a project?We walked to see the bison but not one was about, Mapleville was abandoned, that could do with more information boards around so we could find out how maple syrup is made and processed( I can google it I suppose). It was a nice day but small improvements could make it a much better experience for the tourist. Maybe a cafe or coffee shop. We are not keen on the gift shops as they are mainly overpriced made in china tat, so I won't comment on this one!A nice day but we probably won't go back.

We were here three yrs ago when kids were three and 12, like the place, very good veriety of activities for kids: bison ride, bird show,educational exibit, barn animal feeding, barn playground, bike trail etc. we had tons of fun despite that the staff there were extremely rude, most of them are not very friendly, the other family felt the same... I guess that's the reason we didn't come back in three years even we only live hours drive away...However, the beauty of nature calls us back, now kids are 6 and 15, they enjoy the canoe in the lake, they still like the raptor show, trail walk.... What didn't change as well: unfriendly attitude of staff working there! We had been to so many ontario reservation parks, none of other park has bad service as this one... I was wondering why, I guess all visitors were like us at first didn't bother to complain...Worth to mention: the other changes in the park in three years: lack of maintainanc of the facility, the water in the lake get dirtier ; the number of animal get less... The Mosquitos get more...