Hamilton Loop

Come ride with me as I explore scenic cycling routes, charming towns, patios, wineries, breweries, unique places to stay, and hidden gems—near home and around the world.

We did this ride on Saturday, August 15, 2026. The weather was gorgeous!

Perfect for: Couples • Friends • Solo Riders • E-bikes • 1/2 or Full Day Trip (depending how many places you stop)

This is one of my favorite loops in Hamilton. I have done this many times over 20+ years – way back with the kids. I have done it with friends, and since we have had our e-bikes, twice with Bart now. It was always longer than he wanted to do on his regular bike, and I don’t think he ever liked having to get back up the escarpment pre-e-bike. But now…..it is a breeze!!

You see so much of our beautiful City on this loop!!

🗺️ Route Map

As you can see on the map, you go all along the brow to the East Mountain, down the mountain rail trail, to the waterfront, and then back up the escarpment on the West side of the City. In total we did 35 km.

📍 Ride at a Glance

📍 Start Location: Terryberry Library, West 5th St. and Mohawk Road

🅿️ Parking: Free at the library

📏 Distance: Loop – 35 km

⏱ Ride Time: We cycled 2:33 minutes. We stopped for lunch on a patio, so we were away for 4 1/2 hours.

⛰️ Elevation Gain: 148 m

⭐ Difficulty: Easy with an e-bike as you can hit turbo on the way back up!
You have the escarpment so if riding any other bike, you will find the ride up the escarpment rail trail challenging.

🚲 Suitable For: E-bike – since you are going up and down the escarpment, but suitable for most bikes, expect a road bike. Most of the route is paved, with the exception of the rail trail going up the escarpment (gravel, packed dirt). The rail going down (East end) is actually paved all the way down.

🛣️ Surface: Rail trail • Paved Trail • Road

📅 Best Time to Ride: Anytime, but you might want to avoid rush hour!

🚻 Washrooms: Yes – at the Terryberry library if you park there, and then along the way – you could stop at the Juravinski Hospital, General Hospital, waterfront (they have public washrooms), if stopping at Collective Arts Brewery, or a restuarant if you stop for a bite of drink!

💧 Water Available: Bring your own! but you will find places along the way to fill it.

❤️ Why I Chose This Ride

This is a great ride to see our beautiful city – Hamilton!!

🗺️ The Ride

Once you get to the Mountain Brow near Juravinski Hospital, you cycle along a beautiful paved, shared trail for about 5 km, all the way to the end of Mohawk Road at Mohawk Sports Park.

This is where you connect with the Escarpment Rail Trail. If you turn right, the trail eventually takes you toward Caledonia, but for this ride, you turn left and head down the escarpment.

The Escarpment Rail Trail is about 7 km long, with a nice gradual decline. As you can see from the map, it goes along the side of the mountain rather than heading straight down, which makes for a really enjoyable ride.

This is the start of the rail trail going down the escarpment. The path is about this wide all the way down, although there are times where it does narrow a bit, and sometimes you want to stay to the left as it is a long drop off on the right!!!

Along this section, you’ll also see parts of the Bruce Trail running just below you on the right. At one point, the Bruce Trail comes up and actually shares the Rail Trail for a section.

At the bottom of the escarpment, you end up at Corktown Park. You then take Ferguson which will take you all the way to the waterfront (the City has made this the bike route) – just follow the waterfront trail markers! We cycled along the water (through all the marinas) and at Bayfront Park we came up to road level, took Bay to Cannon Street which has protected bike lanes, and made our way to Locke St (where we stopped for lunch), and then Charlton to Dundurn, to rail trail back up the escarpment, through Buchanan Park and back.

When I first came to Hamilton in 1986, I lived in an apartment on the East mountain only 1 block from the escarpment. I always knew it was beautiful, but I don’t think I appreciated it then as much as I do now.

Uli’s Stairs are a set of wooden stairs on Hamilton’s west Mountain, connecting the Chedoke area with the Bruce Trail and escarpment trails above. Named in memory of local runner and outdoor enthusiast Uli, they’ve become a popular spot for hikers, runners and anyone looking for a good stair workout!

This gives you an idea of the nice wide bike path along the brow. Too bad I took the video on the opposite side. The entire 5 kms is almost all on the brow side, expect this small piece around upper Ottawa and the Kenilworth traffic circle.

🍺 Brewery

We drove by Collective Arts and then did a u-turn. I wanted to pick up some beer to bring home and I knew I had room in my panniers. We didn’t stop here for a beer as we had other plans, but should you if you can – absolutely yes!! Sit on the patio in the back and enjoy some beers! We have, but not this time.

But we stopped, and I packed a 6-pack of Life in the Clouds in my pack. I had it on the golf course a few weeks earlier, and it was so good!!
It’s a hazy New England-style IPA, 6.1% ABV, with a juicy, tropical character – think citrus, peach and tropical fruit—with a soft mouthfeel and a pleasantly hoppy finish.
Yummy!!!!

🍽️ Lunch

Bart enjoyed the Barb Burner Red Ale, and I loved Fairweather’s High Grade IPA!

They had some yummy things on the menu! I had the Mediterranean Salad and Bart had a burger…..which I don’t see on the list. haha it I must have missed a second page? anyways…..we both enjoyed our meals!

The Squire Pub on Locke Street. A great patio to sit on in nice weather!!

📍 Highlights

Sharing some sites that we passed by on our cycle. In the past I have stopped at all of these sites at different times. Plan some of them while you are here, or plan to see them when you come back to visit!

Ferguson Station marks the site of Hamilton’s former Grand Trunk Railway station and has been transformed into a small public gathering space. Today, it has new life with free outdoor concerts and community events bringing music to this historic downtown spot.

HMCS Haida, docked at Hamilton Harbour’s Pier 9, is a historic Canadian naval destroyer that served in the Second World War, the Korean War and the Cold War. Known as the “Fightingest Ship in the Royal Canadian Navy,” it is now a National Historic Site that you can actually board and explore.
If you haven’t visited it…..check it out!! Sometimes they offer free admission days!

Near the Haida, the waterfront has a great new outdoor performance area with tiered seating overlooking the harbour. Throughout the summer, it comes alive with free concerts and live music – a great addition to Hamilton’s waterfront.

Pier 8 even has its own little urban beach area, complete with sand and comfy chairs overlooking Hamilton Harbour. You can’t swim here, but it’s a great spot to sit back, relax and enjoy the waterfront views.

Often they have music or festival type things going on at the waterfront. Always good to google before going if it helps plan out your day. We are going to invest in the small fold up camp chairs that we can fit in our panniers….so we will always be ready to park it somewhere and enjoy!

Williams Fresh Cafe at Pier 8 has been here since the eary 2000’s. It has a large patio over looking hte water and is a great place to stop for coffee, a light breakfast or lunch! In behind they also have the outdoor rollerskating rink (they have rental sktes if you don’t have your own), and on the side of Williams they have Waterfront Scoops (serving Shaw’s Ic e Cream).

They have done such a nice job along the harbour, with lots of seating and places to stop.

Pier 7 Boardwalk. The newest renovation down at the harbour!

💡 Helpful Tips

As you can see, you can easily be out for an entire day exploring downtown Hamilton!! Take your time and enjoy. As I mentioned, google to see if there are any special events going on that you might like to join in.

If you have any questions, please reach out to me! I’ve been cycling around Hamilton for 40 years, so I might know and if I don’t, I can usually point you in the right direction.

📸 Photo Gallery

***All Our Relations*** – thy recently installed this art work – featuring five towering panels filled with colourful glass. They were created by Hamilton Cree/Métis artist Angela DeMontigny and her team, it celebrates Indigenous teachings and our connection to the wildlife and natural world around us.

The Royal Hamilton Yacht Club has been on the waterfront since 1888 and one of the oldest yacht clubs in Canada. They have a nice restaurant patio in the back overlooking the waterfront. My 2 youngest used to sail out of here with their Scout Group, so sometimes Bart and I would sit on the back patio watching them.

This is a gorgeous old builing at Pier 4, dating ack to around 1900. It was once the office of the Gartshore-Thomson Pipe and Foundry Company (one of Hamilton’s major industries). I just found out that they actually moved it here in 1992 (I alwaya thought this was the original location) and it is now the park’s public washrooms and meeting space.

The rail trail cutting through Chedoke Golf Course. The Chedoke Golf Club was built in 1924, and is a City municiple golf course just below the Niagara Escaprment. It has 2 18-hole courses – the Beddoe and Martin. If you are a golfer, both of these courses are fun to play and if walking the course, you get a good workout. In the winter, it is a great place to cross country ski.

View from the Martin Course. This is where the rail trail cuts through the golf course, so always pay attention that no balls are flying before crossing.

⭐ My Ratings

🌄 Scenery ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

🚴 Ride Quality ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

🍽️ Food ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

🍺 Breweries ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- Collective Arts is great brewery. They do have a patio at the back (not with a great view though and just on parking lot) but they have some great beers – pick some up to go like we did!

❤️ Overall Experience ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

❤️ Sonya Says…

If you haven’t explored our Hamilton by bike, you should. The city is doing a great job making it bike friendly, with many dedicated walking/cycling trails and many bike lanes on the roads. As you can see from my pics of the day, there is so much to do and see.

Bart and I have been cycling down to Peir 8 on Thursday evenings this summer. Thye have free music at the waterfront stage from 6-8 p.m. Mark your calendars for next year.

I always say….when I cycle, I like to have a prize along the way – sitting on a patio having a cold beer with Bart and doing a little people-watching on Locke Street was a pretty good prize!!

💬 Have You Ridden This Route?

I’d love to hear about your experience!

🚴 Would you ride it again?
☕ Did you stop at any coffee shops?
🍺 Any breweries, wineries, restaurants I should visit next?
any other cool things we should do, stop and see….next time?

🏷️ Tags

Ontario
Hamilton
Rail Trail
Brewery
Waterfront