Sulphur Springs Conservation Area

Sulphur Springs Conservation Area is a magical place to visit. The area is named after a spring that they say produces enough water to fill 27 bathtubs every minute. They fail to mention that it is named Sulphur Springs because of the smelly sulphur that is in the water. But it is this sulphur that makes this a truly unique place to see. 

Sulphur Springs is a common name, and there are more famous Sulphur Springs that made searching for this place to be on the problematic side. This Sulphur Springs is located south of Hanover, Ontario and is a conservation area that is maintained year-round, although I think it is best to see this spring in the summertime.

There is a large parking lot that can accommodate more than a couple of dozen cars. Whenever we have been here, there may have been only a couple of others, and I am not sure why this site is not more popular than it is. 

From the parking lot, we can see that this place is meant to be a family-oriented site. There are animal pens that are now empty. Hopefully, one day they will bring back the animals. From the lot, walk past the pens and follow the almost perfectly flat path to the spring. It will take about 15 minutes at a leisurely stroll. As you approach, the odour of sulphur becomes more and more noticeable. It never becomes overpowering but does take some getting used to. The path follows the stream that originates from the spring through the forest. 

I have never seen a spring before, especially not one of this magnitude. There is an incredible amount of water flowing from it and seeing the debris in it move gives an idea of the speed and volume of the water coming out. Even in the coldest winter, the water maintains a temperature of nine degrees Celsius.

Charlene saw the hole and the rate the water that was coming up and wondered if it would keep her afloat by pushing her up the whole time. I advised against that since it was smelly and we were a long way from a shower. Plus, it is likely acidic, yet we did see from frogs in the water downstream.

Enchanting is a word I would use to describe the spring. The water wells up and appears to have a film on it which makes it impossible to focus the camera. Under the surface is a magical mix of greys, greens, whites, all of which appear to be illumining and waving with the water flow. It doesn't appear to be too deep, but I wonder if that is an illusion created by the water and its sulphuric contents. I struggled at getting a good picture and resigned that it was impossible. Instead, I watched the water and the colours and became mesmerized with it all. We have never seen anything like this and have yet to find anything that comes close to this colourful wonder of nature. 

I would bring my parents here in the winter and much of the colour was absent. Was it because it was winter or was its part of the natural ebb and flow of this spring and we were lucky to see it at its fullest of glory on our first visit? Even with the reduction in the colours, we still found this place to be a mystical experience with my parents. They loved it. No matter the time of year, it is always worth a visit to this place.

We would explore this area a little more and walk down some of the trails. There are quite a bit of ducks and geese in the ponds here and an excellent playground for children. The cost is $5 for parking, and for this rate, it does provide something that we had never seen before.

Google Maps Search: Sulphur Springs Conservation Area Hanover, Ontario