The first few days of October brought beautiful weather to Michigan. So why not take advantage with an impromptu biking trip to London, Ontario? London is only an hour drive east of the Blue Water Bridge that connects Port Huron, MI to Sarnia, ON. We’ve read that London, Ontario is known as the “forest city” with many miles of forested bike paths in and around the city. That proved to be the case and we really enjoyed London’s extensive trail system.
However, what we did not expect was the pervasive homelessness (and drug) problems in downtown London. We had to literally sidestep way too many homeless people sleeping on the city sidewalks during our morning runs. During the day it felt like we were in a zombie movie, with the homeless walking around zoned out on something. Unfortunately, that overshadowed most of the good aspects of downtown London.
We stayed at the Delta (Marriott) London Armory Hotel, downtown. Although it is an old and historic building, it has been recently renovated and is very nice with a convenient, city center, location. We were upgraded to a suite and enjoyed our room and view. Our first meal in London was a short walk from our hotel at the Toboggan Brewery. The Brewery had excellent craft beer, delicious (locally sourced) food, and a very nice atmosphere.
On our second day, after a morning run and bike ride, we took a short (45-minute drive) day trip to Stratford, Ontario to explore and have a late lunch. Stratford was quaint and felt comfortable to walk around. There was certainly no sign of a homeless issue there. Unfortunately, many of the shops were closed (on Mondays) but we still found a few shops opened and a nice restaurant on the main street.
On our third (and last) day in London, we ran and biked before a noon check out. We were able to ride the southern and eastern section of the London trail system that morning. We discovered the very pleasant village of Wortley, in South London, that was quiet and suburban.
So, in our three days in London we were able to experience most of the trail system – the western section (more upscale and busier), the northern section (very urban, yet forested), and the southern/eastern section (southern being suburban and eastern more industrial yet also forested). We biked about 60 miles over the three days.
We made one last stop in Sarnia, Ontario before we crossed back into Michigan. We biked the Howard-Watson Nature Trail (mostly on the north side of the 402 highway). We discovered some beautiful neighborhoods along the trail which were only minutes (by bike) to Lake Huron. I’m sure we will return to explore this area further in the future.
