Visiting the Cheltenham Badlands on a rainy day in Caledon Ontario Canada

Visiting the Cheltenham Badlands on a rainy day in Caledon, Ontario, Canada.

One of the joys we've discovered traveling abroad is that we don't often have to go far to find adventure. With this mindset, we set off from our temporary home in Brampton, Ontario to visit the Cheltenham Badlands located in Caledon, Ontario, Canada. Merely a fifteen to twenty minute drive, we passed through rural farmland and marveled at the fact it only takes a few minutes to escape suburbia.

Given that it was overcast and rainy, the Badlands weren't nearly as crowded as they normally would be on a sunny summer day. Taking advantage of this we had the whole place to ourselves after two girls, who were ahead of us, quickly finished exploring on foot.

What is fascinating about the Badlands is that they are the result of a farming mishap. Given poor farming practices in the 1930s caused the soil to erode and eventually be exposed to the underlying shale. Its trademark red color is due to iron oxide deposits. It was only recently purchased by the Ontario Heritage Foundation (2000) located along the Niagra Escarpment and Bruce Trail.

If you're looking to visit, the Cheltenham Badlands are located on the south east section of Olde Base Line Road, which is nearby Chinguacousy Roads.

Today we are taking a little bit of a road trip. We've been staying in Brampton where my family lives and there is a really cool place that is called the Cheltenham Badlands about fifteen or twenty minutes north of my town. We're just driving over there, driving through the countryside and it is a bit of rainy day but we've got our umbrellas and it is going to be a fun little adventure. Let's go!

Here we are. We have arrived at the Cheltenham Badlands and it is really cool. The earth is so red and rich here. It just looks like you've set foot in Mars or maybe even Australia. This place is actually located on Olde Baseline just off of Chinguacousy road, which is north of Brampton if you're thinking of visiting.

Easily one of the coolest things about being back in Canada is that you don't have to go far to get out in nature. We're staying in the suburbs now and it just took like a fifteen or twenty minute drive to get out to here. We're passing through farmland, through fields and we saw all kinds of things along the way.

Today the hills are looking a bit of a brownish red because of all of the rain we've had recently; however, if you come on a sunny day it is actually a lot more orange and reddish in color. It kind of looks cooler on a better day but you also get more people here so you have to compete for a good spot.

We've got the whole place to ourselves! Hahaha!

The Badlands don't actually make up a massive area over here but there are a few little trails that you can walk down so it is nice for an afternoon if you feel like going for a bit of a hike or just getting out of the city. Just getting out of the house is nice.

And it is starting to pour so we're leaving now. That is the end of the adventure. Bye.

We're retreating to the car.

Did we bring an umbrella just to leave it in the car? Yep. We did. We did.

The site is located on the south east side of Olde Base Line Road, between Creditview and Chinguacousy Roads, west of Highway 10 in Caledon, and features exposed and eroded Queenston Shale. The formation is located along the Niagara Escarpment.

The formation was exposed by poor farming practices in the 1930s that led to soil erosion and exposed the underlying shale.[1]

This is part of our Travel in Canada series. We're making a series of videos showcasing Canadian culture, Canadian arts, Canadian foods, Canadian cuisine, Canadian religion and Canadian people.

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All photos and video taken by Samuel Jeffery (Nomadic Samuel) and Audrey Bergner (That Backpacker).

This video features music available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Commercial license.