Wilderness Union Toronto - Outdoor Adventure and Hiking Club

Please note the only way to register for this adventure is on our website.
Spend a Saturday becoming someone who knows what to do.
Join us for a hands-on beginner day in Copeland Forest with Kyle, a survival instructor with over a decade of experience. You'll pitch a shelter, light a fire without matches, carve with a knife and tie the knots that hold it all together.
This class is open to any adult, member or not. Come on your own or bring a friend. Most people at our classes arrive solo. Total beginners are welcome: Kyle starts from zero, and there's no hiking, just short walks into the trees to gather wood.
Kit provided: Tarps, saws, hatchets, loaner ferro rods and knives to borrow, plus your own tinder kit and a printed handout. Want your own ferro rod (+$10) or Mora knife (+$40) to keep? Add one when you book.
Getting there: Add the bus for $50 and we'll pick you up at Keele Station at 8am and drop you back around 6pm. Or drive yourself to the P1 parking lot in Copeland Forest, near Horseshoe Valley, about an hour and a half north of Toronto.
No membership needed. After you book, we'll email you the waiver to sign and your plan with directions, timings and a packing list.
Accessibility
Wilderness Union is committed to making our adventures as accessible as possible. If you wish to make an accommodation request relating to a disability or provide feedback, please do so by sending an email to info@wildernessunion.com
Highlights
Put a roof over your head: Learn to pick a good spot and pitch a tarp two ways, the A-frame and the plow point, so you know how to stay dry when the weather turns.
Light a fire without matches: Catch a ferro rod spark on fluffed jute, build up through twigs to logs, split wood by batoning and carve feather sticks.
Knots, knife work and a tripod grill: Learn the taut-line hitch, slip knot and bowline, carve your own chopsticks, spoon or spatula, then lash a tripod and grill over the fire.
Itinerary
08:00 - Bus leaves Keele Station (if you've added it)
10:00 - Meet at location, for a welcome, safety talk and knife handling
Late morning - Tarp shelters: the A-frame and the plow point
Lunch - Bring a packed lunch and eat around the fire
Afternoon - Fire without matches: ferro rod, jute, batoning and feather sticks
Late afternoon - Knots, bush cutlery and a tripod grill
16:00 - Wrap up and head home
18:00 - Bus arrives back at Keele Station
Event cost: $135+HST. $50 optional transport also available. Please register here.
About Wilderness Union
Wilderness Union is deliberate about building an outdoors community that connects you to the life-changing magic of the outdoors and helps you find your people.
Attendance numbers on Meetup don't reflect our actual event attendance - we typically have 15-20 community members at each event. Large enough that there's someone new to meet but small enough that it's not overwhelming!
Learn more at our website www.wildernessunion.com

This adventure is sold out. Please join the waitlist on our website.
This adventure is exclusive to Explorer members.
We’ve wanted to hike this trail for years. There’s 15km of undeveloped shoreline with very few people around a beautiful looped trail. We finally have the opportunity to tackle it in this Explorer exclusive.
The Shoreline Trail starts from the day use lot on a flat, easy path that eases the group in. From there it settles beside the water and stays close to it for the rest of the hike, with the lake appearing and disappearing through the trees.
The scenery shifts every few kilometres as the trail moves between low, shaded ground and higher, drier forest. Viewpoints along the way give us places to stop and look out over the water, and we’ll take a long lunch at one of them.
It’s a small group and a long trail, which means plenty of time to talk. By the time we reach lunch at the lookout, the conversation will have covered about as much ground as the trail.
Check the trip plan (available on the website after registration) for the details, including the meeting point, gear list, and timing for the day.
Accessibility
Wilderness Union is committed to making our adventures as accessible as possible. If you wish to make an accommodation request relating to a disability or provide feedback, please do so by sending an email to info@wildernessunion.com
Highlights
Silent Lake Lookouts: Most of the park’s lookout points are along this trail, with wide views across the water.
Isolated Landscape: A day with a trail entirely to yourself.
Beaver Meadows: The trail crosses open meadow flats where beavers have reshaped the landscape. It’s a good stretch for spotting birds and watching the light change
Itinerary
06:30 - Shuttle leaves from near Keele station
10:00 - 16:00 - Hike Shoreline trail
16:00 - Anticipated return to cars
19:30 - Anticipated return to Toronto
Event cost: $65+HST. $60 optional transport also available. Join the waitlist here.
About Wilderness Union
Wilderness Union is deliberate about building an outdoors community that connects you to the life-changing magic of the outdoors and helps you find your people.
Members range from 20-40 years old. The group is a mix of GTA locals and newcomers to Toronto from within Canada and abroad.
Attendance numbers on Meetup don't reflect our actual event attendance - we typically have 15-20 community members at each event. Large enough that there's someone new to meet but small enough that it's not overwhelming!
Learn more at our website www.wildernessunion.com

Please note the only way to register for this adventure is on our website.
Most people who come to Niagara Falls stop at the railing. We’re going beyond the falls, to the part most visitors never see.
We’ll start where everyone starts, on the path beside the falls. It’s busy, so we’ll take our time, find a good spot, and get the photos done before the crowds thicken.
Then we leave the crowds behind. A short drive away is the Niagara Glen Nature Reserve, a protected pocket of forest deep inside the gorge. We’ll take the stairways down to the river and hike a 6km loop along the Niagara River that ends at the Whirlpool. On the way we’ll wind through huge boulders scattered across the gorge floor, stopping for lunch on one of the flat spots in the reserve and moving at a pace that works for the group.
See the falls from above, then walk the river below as the gorge walls rise on either side. Both ends of the same river, in one day.
Check the trip plan for the details, including the meeting point, gear list, and timing for the day.
Because this adventure includes multiple stops, taking our shared transport is mandatory. Transport is included in the cost of this adventure.
Accessibility
Wilderness Union is committed to making our adventures as accessible as possible. If you wish to make an accommodation request relating to a disability or provide feedback, please do so by sending an email to info@wildernessunion.com
Highlights
Niagara Falls: The full weight of the Niagara River dropping over the edge, with the roar and spray carrying along the gorge rim.
Boulder Fields: Large boulders left behind as the Niagara River eroded through the gorge, now draped in mosses and ferns.
The Niagara Whirlpool: The river hits a bend in the gorge and has nowhere to go but around, spinning into a slow, churning circle.
Itinerary
08:00 - Shuttle leaves from near Keele station
10:00 - 11:45 - Walk the Niagara Falls path
11:45 - 12:00 - Drive to Niagara Glen
12:00 - 15:30 - Hike Niagara Glen and Whirlpool trails, with a stop for lunch
15:30 - 18:00 - Drive back to Toronto
Event cost: $120+HST. Transportation is included in the cost of the adventure. Please register here.
About Wilderness Union
Wilderness Union is deliberate about building an outdoors community that connects you to the life-changing magic of the outdoors and helps you find your people.
Members range from 20-40 years old. The group is a mix of GTA locals and newcomers to Toronto from within Canada and abroad.
Attendance numbers on Meetup don't reflect our actual event attendance - we typically have 15-20 community members at each event. Large enough that there's someone new to meet but small enough that it's not overwhelming!
Learn more at our website www.wildernessunion.com

Please note the only way to register for this adventure is on our website.
Muskoka’s best-known views and best-loved trails, packed into one day out of the city.
We meet in Toronto and ride out together, so no one is stuck behind a wheel after a day on the trails. First stop is Hardy Lake Provincial Park, where we walk the 7km loop at an easy pace. Expect a rugged shoreline path with tree roots and patches of bare rock, and the lake in view through the trees.
After the lake, we drive to Huckleberry Rock. The trail is short, but it climbs steadily, and the trees open up to a wide slab of granite with Lake Muskoka spread out below. Locals have been coming up here for over a century, and it’s easy to see why. We’ll take our time at the top.
The day finishes in Bracebridge. You’ll have time to walk the main street, explore cute cafes and bookstores to find something hot to eat or drink, and stretch your legs before the ride home. Lastly, we will check out Bracebridge falls before heading home.
The idea is simple: see what Muskoka does best, from a lakeside trail to a big open view to a small town worth wandering. We take care of the planning and the driving, so all you need to do is show up and enjoy it.
Check the trip plan for the details, including the meeting point, gear list, and timing for the day.
Because this adventure includes multiple stops, taking our shared transport is mandatory. Transport is included in the cost of this adventure.
Accessibility
Wilderness Union is committed to making our adventures as accessible as possible. If you wish to make an accommodation request relating to a disability or provide feedback, please do so by sending an email to info@wildernessunion.com
Highlights
Hardy Lake Boardwalk: A wooden walkway over the water on the lake loop, and one of the most photographed spots in the park.
Huckleberry Rock Lookout: A short climb up to an open clearing with sweeping views across Lake Muskoka and the forest beyond.
Explore Bracebridge: A small town on the Muskoka River, with local shops, cafés, and places to eat.
Itinerary
08:00 - Shuttle leaves from near Keele station
10:30 - 14:00 - Hike Hardy Lake trail with a stop for lunch along the way
14:00 - 14:30 - Drive to Huckleberry Rock
14:30 - 15:00 - Hike to Huckleberry Rock viewpoint
15:00 - 15:20 - Drive to Bracebridge
15:20 - 16:30 - Explore Bracebridge
19:00 - Anticipated return to Toronto
Event cost: $120+HST. Transportation is included in the cost of the adventure. Please register here.
About Wilderness Union
Wilderness Union is deliberate about building an outdoors community that connects you to the life-changing magic of the outdoors and helps you find your people.
Members range from 20-40 years old. The group is a mix of GTA locals and newcomers to Toronto from within Canada and abroad.
Attendance numbers on Meetup don't reflect our actual event attendance - we typically have 15-20 community members at each event. Large enough that there's someone new to meet but small enough that it's not overwhelming!
Learn more at our website www.wildernessunion.com