The Mount Nemo Conservation Area in

Burlington, Ontario Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is a city and List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipality in Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region at the west end of Lake Ontario in Ontario, Can ...

is a

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

owned and operated by

Conservation Halton Conservation Halton, also known as the Halton Region Conservation Authority, is a conservation authority established under the Conservation Authorities Act of Ontario. It forms a partnership with the Province of Ontario, the Ministry of Natura ...

. It is popular with

rock climbers Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in guidebooks, and o ...

in the

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the Toronto, City of Toronto and the regional municipality, regional municipalities of Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham, Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton, Regional ...

and the

Golden Horseshoe The Golden Horseshoe () is a secondary region of Southern Ontario, Canada, which lies at the western end of Lake Ontario, with outer boundaries stretching south to Lake Erie and north to Lake Scugog, Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. T ...

, along with nearby Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area.

Background

The Mount Nemo Conservation area was created after a conservation authority bought 88 acres of land in 1959 to stop a local quarry from expanding. The quarry shut down, and the Mount Nemo Conservation area was created on the disused land. Mount Nemo is part of the Niagara Escarpment UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. The area is home to Jefferson salamanders, an endangered species. In 2004, a local quarry applied to expand its property which some argued would damage the conservation area. In response, Canadian singer-songwriter

Sarah Harmer Sarah Lois Harmer (born November 12, 1970) is a Canadian singer, songwriter and environmental activist. Early life Born and raised in Burlington, Ontario, Harmer gained her first exposure to the musical lifestyle as a teenager, when her older s ...

formed a non-profit to protest the action and campaign against the quarry's expansion. Since the quarry's initial proposal, campaigners have argued that the conservation area remains under threat. Harmer received the 2025 Juno Humanitarian Award for her work to protect the conservation area.

Recreation

Mount Nemo's five kilometers of hiking trails connect with the

Bruce Trail The Bruce Trail is a hiking trail in southern Ontario, Canada, from the Niagara River to the tip of Tobermory, Ontario. The main trail is more than long and there are over of associated side trails. The trail mostly follows the edge of the Nia ...

. Pets are allowed. The park also has picnic facilities.

Rock climbing

The rock type is

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

and most of the routes climbed are

sport climbing Sport climbing (or bolted climbing) is a type of free climbing in the sport of rock climbing where the Lead climbing, lead climber clips their climbing rope, rope — via a quickdraw — into pre-drilled in-situ bolt (climbing), bolts for their ...

. The sport climbing begins with a 5.9 but the majority of climbs fall in the 5.10 to 5.12 range. Due to its proximity to major urban areas, Mount Nemo is one of the most popular climbing destinations in Southwestern Ontario. Conservation Halton has implemented a ban on

top rope climbing Top rope climbing (or top roping) is a form of rock climbing where the climber is securely attached to a climbing rope that runs through a fixed anchor at the top of the climbing route, and back down to the belayer (or "second") at the base of ...

to protect the ancient cedar trees along the

Niagara Escarpment The Niagara Escarpment is an approximately discontinuous, arc-shaped but generally northward-facing escarpment, or cuesta, in Canada and the United States. The escarpment begins south of Lake Ontario and circumscribes the top of the Great Lake ...

Caving

There are various cave systems running through the rock. Caving is a popular activity at Mount Nemo, with the various caves offering opportunities for enthusiasts from beginner to advanced skill sets.

Incidents

* 20 May 2025 – A man died after falling while climbing at Mount Nemo. * 16 September 2024 – A woman was rescued from a cliff face in the Mount Nemo Conservation area after injuring her leg at the Brock Harbor lookout. * 28 August 2023 – Hikers came across the body of a woman while hiking in the conservation area. She was found near a popular rock climbing spot. * 30 July 2023 – A man died after falling from a cliff while hiking with friends. * 3 July 2020 – A woman fell 40 feet into a crevasse and was trapped. She was rescued the following day when hikers heard her cries for help. * 9 September 2013 – A 42-year-old woman died after falling from the top of the cliff taking a selfie. * 23 November 2003 – A woman fell to her death from Mount Nemo. The victim's husband called for help and the death was originally deemed an accident. Later, Milorad Polimac, the victim's husband, was convicted of murder for her homicide.

References

External links

Conservation Halton: Mount Nemo Conservation Area
Climbing areas of Canada Conservation areas in Ontario Protected areas of the Regional Municipality of Halton Niagara Escarpment {{GoldenHorseshoe-geo-stub