Protecting, Enhancing and Celebrating the Great Lakes

Founded by the Honourable David Crombie and established in 1988, the Waterfront Regeneration Trust (WRT) Corporation is the charitable organization leading the movement for waterfront regeneration on Canada's Great Lakes.

The legacy goal is a dedicated trail as close to the shoreline as ecologically feasible. Through the Trail, we seek a waterfront that is clean, green, connected, open, accessible, diverse, useable, affordable and attractive.

Three decades ago, the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail was launched to celebrate and reconnect people to Canada's Great Lakes, the largest group of freshwater lakes on earth. Then, it ran 270 km from Hamilton to Trenton. Today, the Waterfront Trail is more than 3,000 km long, connecting more than 155 communities, including First Nations, from the eastern border of Ontario to Lake Huron.

The fully signed Trail is a combination of pathways, neighbourhood streets, and rural roads.  It connects three Great Lakes (Huron, Erie and Ontario), four bi-national rivers (St.Clair, Detroit, Niagara and St. Lawrence), three UNESCO Biospheres, two National Parks, twenty Provincial Parks, 500+ parks, beaches, conservation areas and heritage attractions.  The work is ongoing, with partner municipalities undertaking projects every year to complete, connect and enhance the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail.

Work with communities on Lake Superior has begun with a feasibility study that included consultations with community staff and a cycling advisory board. By 2027, the 1,000 km expansion could be 70% complete!

The Great Lakes Waterfront Trail is a treasured and well-used recreational resource and tourism attraction.

We host an annual cycle tour called the Great Waterfront Trail Adventure (GWTA). Over 5 to 6 days, riders experience about 500km of the Trail. They see the progress and the remaining challenges. Many riders also use the event to raise funds to improve the Trail.

In addition to expanding the Trail, the Trust is collaborating with the Greenbelt Foundation to create the Lake Ontario Watershed cycling network. The network uses a bike-friendly connection to link the Waterfront Trail to the Greenbelt Route in the watershed's headwaters. These loops make both Trails even more accessible to enjoy.