Keith McLean Conservation Lands

Porter says he gets annoyed at my request for “field trips”, so I promised him I wouldn’t tack any on to our recent trip to Rondeau Provincial Park.

Whoops... we did a field trip. A few, actually... but we’re only going to write about one: Keith McLean Conservation Lands.

In my defense, he almost ALWAYS loves actually visiting the destinations I choose, and that was definitely the case for all of the extra stops while camping at Rondeau.

McLean Conservation Lands, though? Far and away eclipsed everything else we saw during that camping trip.

We’d passed the property on the highway a few times - it’s almost right outside of the park, an was en route to our other destinations (Erieau Marina, Erieau Marsh Trail, etc).

On a lark (HA!), I looked it up on the Audubon app, and knew we would HAVE to visit - it seemed to be an amazing hotspot for birds, especially on the days leading up to this discovery!

The lands were the home and farm of the late Keith McLean, who donated the 321 acre property to the St. Clair Region Conservation Foundation upon his passing in 2012.

He was said to have been passionate about the conservation of nature, and wanted the public to be able to enjoy his lands. Since that time, the conservation foundation has been working on restoring the coastal wetlands that existed, prior to development of the farmland.

We visited on a clear, gorgeous morning at the end of our trip, and we were in awe of the beauty everywhere. Just a really gorgeous property, with all kinds of different environments to explore.

There were Lotus Ponds, a wide stream, forest, marshy wetlands, farm fields, tallgrass prairie... each with their own feel and wildlife. There was also a little observation tower, near the ponds - great views from there.

Honestly, we could have spent all day - and another day - there, easily! I took FAR too many photos, so you’ll want to scroll to the end of this post to really get a feel for just how gorgeous this area is.

Anyway, let us tell you all about it!

The Basics:

Location Name: Keith McLean Conservation Lands
Address: 18331 Kent Bridge Rd, Morpeth, ON N0P 1X0
Website: St. Clair Conservation - Keith McLean Conservation Lands
Price Free - there’s no admission fee, and parking is also free!
Reservations: Not applicable.

Logistics

Logistically, there’s not a lot to talk about with this conservation area: It’s a little parking lot on the side of the street.

You pull up, park, and go for a walk. There’s no gatehouse, parking meter, or anything - really straightforward!

Parking

The parking lot is VERY small - maybe 8 cars worth of space, tops. Don’t expect to bring a trailer of any kind in there, there isn’t enough room to turn around, even if empty!

I’m not sure how busy it gets on weekends, but I can definitely see this place being popular with birders... so it might be a good idea to get there a bit earlier than you normally would plan to.

There’s no overflow parking, no parking on the highway, and any public parking that COULD act as overflow parking would be well over a Km away.

Maps and Signage

While we loved the park, navigation was a HUGE issue during our visit:

We saw exactly one map during our entire stay, and it was at the parking lot.

The thing is... I think it’s probably outdated. It looked pretty old, and it just did not reflect the reality of the area in any way.

The first bit of the conservation area was obvious enough - the lotus ponds more or less were the same as displayed on the map.

There were obvious, well-worn paths around them - and one gravel path leading to an observation tower - that were NOT reflected on the map, though, so we kind of had to wonder if we were supposed to walk around them, or not.

As it turned out, there was educational signage in several spots, on the “in person but not on the map” trails, so that answered the question.

The bigger problem came a bit later, as we walked out from the lotus ponds area. It depicted a single trail that crossed over a waterway - like a bridge - before continuing out across the property.

... and it just did not line up with reality. To this day, I have no idea where the waterway was crossed.

The trail split into two very wide, well groomed, intentional trails.

There was also a large pond that was either a MUCH widened section of that waterway - to the point that it was absolutely unrecognizable. We couldn’t use the water as a waypoint for getting around, so it was very confusing.

Aside from one little hiking symbol sign right near the parking lot - and the aforementioned educational signage - there were no trail markers or navigational signage of any kind.

Awkward!

So we took the trail to the left, as we wanted to follow the waterway a bit, to see some ducks further along.

We eventually came to another split - the wide trail going to the right, and a smaller trail continuing forward, along the water.

We took the water trail... and quickly started to wonder if we weren’t supposed to be there. It was well worn, but definitely not *groomed* the way the rest of the trails had been.

After comparing a photo of the map at the front of the park, to our “Map my Run” app, AND Google Maps... I’m pretty sure we had crossed onto private property, when we followed the smaller trail forward at the last split.

We immediately turned around, and felt bad for trespassing. Signage would definitely have been nice, and easily could have prevented that.

Washrooms

During our two visits, we didn’t see any signage - or denotation on the map - of the existence of a washroom.

Afterwards, we Googled to learn a bit more about the park... and found a reference to there being a washroom on site.

When we drove by on the way to Wheatey Provincial Park on our last day, I noticed a big blue barn-type building that was labeled “Keith McLean”.

It was over in the area with a house - in the general area on the map labeled as “private residence”, so I hadn’t really paid attention to it during our visits.

I’m guessing that building is actually park of the conservation lands - and likely where the washrooms exist - but I can’t find any info online to confirm or dispute that assumption.

So maybe don’t hydrate TOO well before visiting, LOL!

Accessibility

So, I’ve seen some references to the trail at Keith McLean Conservation Lands being wheelchair accessible... but I think that needs to include a bit of an asterisk.

Let me just go over accessibility in general:

There is no accessible parking spot, though the lot is small enough that all the spots are close to the entrance. If you need a ramp to your vehicle, though... you might run into issues.

The trail from the parking lot starts out over grass. It’s well mowed, but the underlying ground can be pretty bumpy in places.

From there, it’s a mix of surfaces, from grass, to well packed gravel, to fairly rough farmland.

Some of the grassy areas - behind the observation stand, heading towards the bird houses and forest - were quite wet and spongy, so keep that in mind.

Overall, I found it to be relatively easy in the sense that it was generally flat - there were no steep inclines, rocks to climb over, etc.

The divots and such in the land definitely gave my tendons a ... workout. People with healthy tendons shouldn’t have a problem, but if uneven surfaces bother you, you may have an issue visiting this area.

Pets

A symbol on the St Clair Conservation site indicates that Keith McLean Conservation Area is suitable for dog walking, but has no details beyond that symbol.

That said, the sign in the parking lot asks people to “leave only footprints”, so please - pick up after your dog!

Park Store / Visitor Centre

We didn’t see any indication of a park store or visitor centre, but I’m definitely wondering if that big blue building might be more than just washrooms.

I’ll check it out next time we visit, and will update!

Day Use Area

There doesn’t seem to be a “day use area” in the sense we usually see it - ie: picnic facilities.

There are a few benches in the beginning of the area - near the lotus ponds - but they seem largely decorative.

Connectivity

We were far to enthralled with the beauty of the area - and the WILD amount of bird activity! - to be checking our phones much.

That said, the apps we rely on for birding and fitness tracking all worked fine, and I didn’t have a problem accessing Google Maps when I really started to think we’d left the property!

Entertainment and Activity

There are two main activities at Keith McLean Conservation Lands: Walking and Birding!

Hiking

The literature for the conservation lands mentions that there’s a 4 km trail.

As we mentioned earlier... we don’t know how accurate this is. Contrary to the map, there’s no real central trail... it splits off in several places.

Also, in driving past the property on the way our of Rondeau our last day, it looks like the trails are even more extensive than we noticed the first time - we saw some groomed trail and educational signage just off the highway, well in advance of the parking lot.

I’m not even really sure how to get there, from the main trails in the park. We didn’t go too far out to any extreme of the main few trails, though - next time, we’ll allow FAR more time to explore!

Overall, the trails were wide, well-used, and well groomed. While you’re walking in grass at points, you’re not walking through overgrown grass.

We recommend wearing hiking boots, or at least some kind of waterproof shoes - some places of the trail got pretty spongy!

Birding, Wildlife, and Nature

As mentioned, the whole reason we wanted to visit Keith McLean Conservation Lands was because of the lengthy list of birds spotted there in the days leading up to our visit.

Some of the more interesting birds noted included: American Wigeon, Bald Eagle, Belted Kingfisher, Caspian Tern, Cooper’s Hawk, Golden-Crowned Kinglet (always a favourite of ours!), Great Egret, Greater Yellowlegs, Horned Lark, Northern Harrier, Purple Martin, Sandhill Crane, Red-Tailed Hawk, Vesper Sparrow, Wilson’s Snipe... and more.

While we didn’t see a lot of those - I had REALLY been hoping to see a Horned Lark for the first time! - we had a fabulous time with the birds.

Almost as soon as we got out of the car, we noticed the cacophony of bird songs. Tree swallows zipped past our heads as we made our way to the lotus ponds area, a Killdeer had a screaming fit right in front of us on the path, and a Great Blue Heron flew right overhead at one point!

I wish we’d allotted more time to visit, because we could tell there was a LOT more to see. We mostly saw - didn’t have a lot of luck when it came to photography. The birds were VERY active!

Anyway - overall - we either saw or heard:

American Goldfinch, American Robin, American Tree Sparrow, Blue Jay, Blue-Winged Teal, Brown-Headed Cowbird, Canada Goose, Common Grackle, Gadwall, Great Blue Heron, Greater Yellowlegs, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Mute Swan, Northern Cardinal, Northern Flicker, Palm Warbler, Red-Winged Blackbird, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Tree Swallow, Wood Duck.

There were also more than a dozen deer running around in a field way off in the distance. Pretty sure that was on private property, but we enjoyed the show from where we were!

Educational Programming

We didn’t see any signage - or mention on the website - of there being any actual programming or events at Keith McLean Conservation Area.

There are several educational signs around the property, though - mostly in the general area of the lotus ponds.

These give you a bit of information about the park, wetlands, tallgrass prairies, etc.

Niantic Games

There are 2 Ingress Portals/ Pokestops /Gyms / etc in the area - one in the parking lot, and one by the ponds.

If you’re looking to do a lot of game play, Rondeau Provincial Park is 5 minutes away and FULL of Niantic stops.

Final Thoughts

I feel like “hidden gem” gets thrown around a lot, but ... it really applies to Keith McLean Conservation Lands.

This place is really unassuming. Looking from the road, you’d never know what a gorgeous little wonderland awaits you, beyond the parking lot.

Extremely ADHD friendly place - so many different environments to experience, so many different bird species to look for.

Really, a birder’s paradise.

I wish we’d known about it last year, or checked it out earlier on during our stay at Rondeau Provincial Park this year. Honestly, in terms of trails, nature, wildlife viewing... I think we kind of preferred it to Rondeau!

The map vs reality situation and lack of signage was frustrating, as a first time visitor... but it’s definitely a fun place to wander around!

We’ll definitely be back, and highly recommend it to anyone visiting the area!

More Places to See

Looking for some nice sights to see and great places to visit while you're out on your camping adventures? Here are a few of our favourite day use parks, attractions, etc.

Aguasabon Falls & Gorge
Amethyst Mine Panorama
Batchawana Bay
Big Bay, Ontario
Big Chute Marine Railway
Bruce Peninsula National Park
Canada's Dinosaur Park
Cheltenham Badlands
Chippewa Falls
Falls Reserve Conservation Area
Fielding Bird Sanctuary
Flowerpot Island
French River Provincial Park
Gariepy Creek Falls
Hardy Lake Provincial Park
Healey Falls
Inglis Falls Conservation Area
Menesetung Bridge
Mink Creek Falls
Old Woman Bay
Onaping Falls
Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park
Oxtongue River - Ragged Falls Provincial Park
Petroglyphs Provincial Park
Point Pelee National Park
Provoking Falls
Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area
Sand River Falls
Scenic Caves Nature Adventures
Scenic High Falls
Screaming Heads
Spirit Rock Conservation Area
Temagami Fire Tower
Terrace Bay Beach