Forwell-Laurel Loops
about
7 km or lessAs depicted in the Google Map below, the complete walk is about 6.4 km total. It is possible to limit the distances to about 4.1 km or 2.8 km or 1.5 km. For example, if you walk out to University Aveneue and back, some people could drop out at Lexington Road and not do the "linear loop" (the "out-and-back") along Forwell Creek (that is, out to Manulife and back). They would have done about 4 km.
Similar Walks
Bechtel Park Loops - a short walk in north east Waterloo, Ontario new
Dearborn Plaza to Bechtel Park & Back - a longer walk in north east Waterloo, Ontario new
Parking
There is ample parking at the Dearborn Business Park (plaza), 105 Lexington Road, Waterloo, where this walk starts and finishes. The plaza contains a few businesses - see Google Street View.
GPS Track of Walk in Google Maps
Static Map Image
The following screen capture shows the track. For larger map download this PDF.
History Along The Trail
At approximately 43.485230, -80.514590, a bit off the trail, one will find an Archaeological and Historic Sites Board of Ontario plaque entitled Evangelical United Brethren. The text on the plaque reads, "In August, 1839, a camp meeting was held in this vicinity by Bishop Joseph Seybert and five preachers, which resulted in the formation of Upper Canada's first Evangelical Church congregation. This church and the United Brethren in Christ had been founded in Pennsylvania about 1800 by German-speaking settlers. In 1836 missionaries from the Evangelical Church had preached in the Niagara Peninsula and in this region. Their first church in Canada was opened in 1841 at Berlin (Kitchener), and in 1864 a separate Canada Conference was established. In later years congregations were formed throughout Ontario and Western Canada, and in 1946 the Evangelical Church joined with the United Brethren to form the Evangelical United Brethren."
GPS Tracks for Download
HELP: If clicking on the links does not provide a download option, try RIGHT clicking the link (especially the .gpx file) and then choose "Save Links As" (or equivalent) from the drop-down menu. Pick a download location (e.g. desktop) for the file.