Rt. Hon Herb Gray Parkway

The Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway (the Parkway) is an 11 kilometre, $1.4 billion highway infrastructure project located in the municipalities of Windsor, LaSalle, and Tecumseh, in Ontario, Canada. It includes the Parkway Trail running approximately 17 kilometres is set within more that 120 hectares (300 acres) of green space situated alongside the two highway extensions and across the 11 tunnel tops.

Take the Rt. Hon Herb Gray Parkway Trail to meet up with the Chrysler Canada Greenway Trail to cross Essex County and take in the sights, including an outdoor gallery of murals depicting the challenges and triumphs of Essex. View First Nations interpretive signage on the parkway. Connect with the Chrysler Canada Greenway Trail and the nearby LaSalle Trail System. Tour the Essex murals and the stories they tell.

Start your journey at the Ojibway Prairie Complex, 350-hectares of parks and nature reserves consisting of Ojibway Park, Tallgrass Prairie Heritage Park, Black Oak Heritage Park, Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve, and the Spring Garden Natural Area. Stop at the Ojibway Nature Centre for free exhibits, public education, and summer programs. Habitats at the Ojibway Prairie Complex vary from forests to ponds and prairies, making it home to a wide variety of wildlife. It is also a hotspot for birders and photographers.

Just down the road is Malden Park. This 175-acre park features the highest hill in Essex County, with views of both downtown Windsor and Detroit. Naturalized biking and cycling paths wind up and down the hills and through paved and wood-chipped trails.

Take the Right Honourable Herb Gray Parkway, a 17-kilometre trail, that begins at Malden Park and ends at Howard Rd where it crosses Hwy 401. The trail network features a continuous multi-use lit pathway, with bridges and tunnels that allow pedestrians and cyclists to travel the length of the parkway without encountering vehicles. Signage along the trails includes information about the parkway, regional cultural heritage, First Nations culture and history, and the surrounding natural areas.

From here you can either travel west to the LaSalle Trail System, or south to the Chrysler Canada Greenway Trail. The natural landscape on the LaSalle Trail System makes playing in the great outdoors an adventure. The 50km Chrysler Canada Greenway Trail travels through Essex County, from Tecumseh through Harrow and Kingsville, and comprises the southernmost link of Canada’s Great Trail.