Dundas Valley was a major drainage route prior to the last ice age advance from the upper Great Lakes basin. The Valley was filled in by glacial till and deep water silt deposits coming off the ice lobe which occupied the Lake Ontario basin. The Valley was subsequently eroded by a succession of glaciers and carved up by receding melt water.

Today, it is one of Southern Ontario’s natural treasures with over 1,200 hectares of conservation area that include Carolinian forests, cold-water streams, meadows, spectacular geological formations and an incredible array of plant and animal species.

As part of the Niagara Escarpment, it has been designated a World Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). A 40-kilometre trail system developed by the Hamilton Conservation Authority and the Bruce Trail, provides the best way to explore every part of the Dundas Valley.