In southern Ontario, the Grand River winds scenically southward past high bluffs and wide floodplains. Between Cambridge and Paris, the Grand River Forest runs along the river valley for 20 kilometres. The topography here was shaped by glaciers that pushed their accumulations of earth and stone into small hills and hollows.

Stands of maple, beech, oak, and hickory flourish on warmer, drier sites. The near-wilderness atmosphere that prevails throughout the Grand River Forest is exceptional in such a rapidly developing urban region.

The Grand River Forest is Carolinian, meaning that the tree species found here are more common in the southern United States, in the "Carolinas," meaning North and South Carolina. In the protected river valley, these trees are at the northern limit of their range. Accompanying trees are many of the plants and animals associated with warmer climates to the south.

Canoeists, kayakers, campers, and cross-country skiers make maximum use of the Grand River forest as a first-rate, year-round recreational environment.

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