Wainfleet Wetlands Conservation Area

Activities: Free Admission, Lake River Reservoir, Hiking, Fishing, Snowshoeing, Cross Country Skiing, Explore the Outdoors

Once covered by a shallow, warm sea between 450 – 300 million years ago, what is now the Wainfleet Wetlands Conservation Area was the site of a clay and limestone quarry from the late 19th century until the 1960′s. Fossils of the plants and animals that lived in the Paleozoic sea can be seen in the exposed limestone of the Onondaga Formation, in the quarry walls and rock tableland.

Today the quarries and clay pits have naturalized and are home for fish, birds, waterfowl, turtles, snakes and plants. Unique alvar communities of rock loving plants also thrive here in the shallow soils, in addition to the site woodlots and meadows.

This wetland is unique as it attracts a large variety of bird species. Over 50 different species of birds has been sighted at the Wainfleet Wetlands. Some of the birds which you are likely to see include great blue herons, egrets, gulls, terns, and sandpipers.