Specialty:
"Cheltenham Badlands is a natural heritage landmark with unique landscape features. The heritage landmark is a significant educational site due to the readily visible geologic processes and the unique topography of the exposed shale, making this badland a popular tourist destination in the city. The site is considered a Provincial Earth Sciences Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI) and one of Ontario's outstanding examples of badlands topography. In the 1800s and early 1900s, this site was predominantly used for cattle grazing. Cheltenham Badlands is part of the Bruce Trail and the Niagara Escarpment. Reservations are required to visit this site as parking is limited. Cheltenham Badlands occupies an area of approximately 0.4 square kilometres and features exposed and highly eroded Queenston shale. It is a distinctive, iron-rich landscape of shale bedrock eroded over millennia and viewed from marked trails. Formed at the base of an ancient sea about 450 million years ago, this 36-hectare (91-acre) site is now a unique geological feature. Cheltenham Badlands is wheelchair accessible.
2026 Highlights: The Cheltenham Badlands property is designated as a Provincially Significant Earth Science Area of Natural and Scientific Interest. It is also recognized as an Environmentally Significant Area due to its importance as a groundwater discharge zone, where groundwater emerges from the Niagara Escarpment and flows into nearby streams. Cyclists and pedestrians can park free of charge."








