Kivi Park Trails: The Best Hikes in Sudbury

The Kivi Park trails are among the most amazing hiking trails in Sudbury. Kivi Park is a 480 acre, all-season destination in Sudbury that’s a favourite for both locals and visitors alike. You can go hiking, biking, skiing, and snowshoeing, depending on the season.

In total, there are 25km+ beautiful hiking trails to explore at Kivi Park, ranging from 1km to 13km in length. I spent an afternoon at Kivi Park, discovering a few of the paths there. In this hiking guide, I’m going to show you the best Kivi Park trails to explore in a day, as well as many more outdoor adventures to enjoy there.

Kivi Park Trail Maps

Kivi Park is Sudbury’s four season outdoor adventure park, as you can tell from the Kivi Park trails map above. I suggest saving this map to your phone to reference it while you’re hiking the trails, or you can feel free to reference this blog post.

There are five hiking trails, several bike trails and many ski trails in the winter. I’m going to focus on the hiking trails here, but you can see the other kinds of trails outlined in the map, too. The hiking trails at Kivi Park are organized by colour (the thin lines on the map):

• Yellow Trail – 1km
• Orange Trail – 2km
• Green Trail – 3km
• Red Trail – 5km
• Blue Trail – 7km

These are the main trails that you can access from the main parking lot and front office. There are even more trails beyond these ones at Crowley Lake and Linton Lake.

The Crowley Lake Trail, the Yellow Trail, is 8.5km in length and wraps around Crowley Lake. It’s also possible to go paddling on this lake and there’s even an outfitter where you can rent kayaks, canoes and stand up paddleboards.

The newest trail at Kivi Park is the Linton Lake Trail. It’s also known as the Teal Trail and follows the perimetre of Linton Lake. It’s easy to access the Teal Trail from the Yellow Trail. There are additional Purple Trails off the Teal Trail to extend your trek to 13km total.

About Kivi Park

Kivi Park is the place to be for outdoor fun all year long. There’s a 56km trail network for hiking, mountain biking, fat biking, snowshoeing, skating, cross-country skiing and skate skiing. Crowley Lake is perfect for canoeing, kayaking, and stand-up paddleboarding. There are even rentals on site for those requiring them.

What’s in a name? “Kivi” means “rock” in Finnish and celebrates the history of the settlers to the area. It also pays tribute to the vast Canadian Shield, the natural rocky terrain that you’ll discover at Kivi Park.

While Kivi Park is a public park, it’s also a local charity with dedicated staff and volunteers. There is an admission fee to use Kivi Park, but the funds go back into the maintenance of the park’s facilities and the property itself. There is a “pay it forward” program (known as the Affordability Fund) set up for those who cannot afford park passes to ensure that everyone can enjoy the park.

Kivi Park Trails and Lookouts

Kivi Park is a gorgeous and massive natural space in Sudbury. You can return time and time again for new adventures. Beyond the trails themselves, there are a couple of unmissable highlights that you’ll want to add to your journey, especially if you’re visiting from afar and only have a limited amount of time.

I’ll show you how to reach these places within the park. I’ll also describe the hiking trails themselves so you can plan your adventure, depending on how much time you have there. All of the trails form a loop and interconnect with one another, so you can choose many different paths each time you visit.

When you look at the map, you may notice several parking lots around Kivi Park. You can park your car in any of these parking lots and you may wish to move your car if you don’t have time to hike the entire park.

Ristimaki Lookout

Ristimaki Lookout is one of the best lookout points at Kivi Park. You’ll be able to stand on the rocky ledges of the Canadian Shield to admire Crowley Lake from up above. This scenic viewpoint offers panoramic vistas of your surroundings that are simply stunning. There are even a pair of Muskoka chairs where you can relax and soak up the scenery.

While you can hike the Kivi Park trails from the main parking lot to access Ristimaki Lookout, it is quite a distance from the main parking area. I suggest driving down Raft Lake Road to parking lot 5. From there, walk to the other side of Raft Lake Road, and it’s only a short walk to Ristimaki Lookout.

From the lookout point, you can access the trail system by crossing back to the other side of Raft Lake Road. You’ll be able to hike on the red trail and the blue trail from here. There are a couple more points of interest not far from here on the red trail: the Inukshuk and Kivi Ridge.

Yellow Trail

After I admired the views from Ristimaki Lookout and hiked a little bit on the red and blue trails, I drove my car back to the main parking lot. From there, you’ll hop right onto the yellow trail which is where most hiking journeys begin at Kivi Park. You can make a short loop on the yellow trail if you’re looking for a shorter hike, especially if you’re hiking with young kids.

However, I suggest continuing to form a larger loop trail with the orange trail. The yellow trail and orange trail interconnect to form a bigger loop. From there, you can continue on the green trail to form an even bigger loop, or even keep hiking on the red and blue trails if you are seeking an all-day hiking trip.

Orange Trail

The orange trail is another beautiful hiking trail at Kivi Park. It’s another “easy” rated trail in the park, just like the yellow trail. It’s also home to a really unique feature of the park called the Wishing Tree. Due to its unique shape, it forms the perfect ledge to sit on. Back in the day, you’d sit on the Wishing Tree and make a wish.

However, the Wishing Tree has a barrier around it to prevent visitors from sitting on it. The tree itself looks rather fragile as though the tree limbs could eventually snap from the weight of people sitting on it. In order to protect the Wishing Tree, please admire it and do not climb over the barrier to try to sit on it. You can still make a wish at the Wishing Tree without sitting on it!

More Kivi Park Trails

While I didn’t have the chance to hike much on the green, red and blue trails, these are lengthier hikes that are accessible from the other trails. You can also drive to parking lot 5, as I suggested above, to start your hike on the red and blue trails. The red and blue trails involve more inclines and declines, so I’d rate these ones as having a moderate difficulty.

Crowley Lake Trail and Linton Lake Trail

Out at Crowley Lake, there are three trails that will make you feel ever farther removed into nature. The Crowley Trail, or Yellow Trail, is 8.5km long and follows the edge of Crowley Lake. The Teal Trail or Linton Trail is a brand new trail at Kivi Park. It’s 9km long and wraps around Linton Lake.

Here’s a guide to plan your visit to Crowley Lake and Linton Lake. There’s a different place to park your car in order to hike at this section of Kivi Park, as well as other important details to know before you go.

Kivi Park in the Winter

Kivi Park is one of the best four seasons parks in northern Ontario. It’s perfect for taking part in winter outdoor activities, such as winter hiking, skating, snowshoeing, fat biking and skiing. There’s an outdoor lounge with a firepit where you can warm up on a chilly day. Pick up a hot beverage at the Kivi Cafe or perhaps a snack to stay fueled.

For skiers, there are professionally groomed ski trails for cross-country skiing or skate skiing. In total, there are 21km of ski trails on this impressive world-class skiing trail network. They range from 1km to 5.5km in length.

As for biking, there are 15km of cycling trails ranging from easy to most difficult. These are all season biking trails and ideal for fat biking in the winter. The trails at Kivi Park are always changing due to the forces of mother nature, so it’s best to check the trail conditions before heading out. There is an updated listing of open and closed trails on the website.

Nina’s Way

Nina’s Way is a fun winter attraction at Kivi Park. This is a 1.3km skating path that meanders through the towering birch trees. As it’s an outdoor trail, it is not completely flat and offers some elevation on the way. There may also be some natural bumps for an enjoyable, yet slightly challenging experience.

Please skate in the same direction as the other skaters for safety purposes. You will also need to bring your own ice skates as there aren’t any rentals on site. Nina’s Way is also open throughout the evenings for a magical experience. There are twinkling LED lights and music playing on the path. Please check the trail conditions page before you go to see if Nina’s Way is open.

Plan Your Visit to the Kivi Park Trails

Planning a trip to the Kivi Park trails? First, head over to the Kivi Park website. From there, you can purchase your day pass for a select date or an annual pass if you plan to visit multiple times. A single day pass is $10 and a family day pass is $25. There are multiple options for annual passes for singles, families, youth and seniors.

You don’t need to show your pass upon entering the park, but you may be asked by staff members at random to show your pass when visiting. I was never prompted to show a pass to anyone on my visit, though I kept it handy on my phone just in case.

There are equipment rentals at Kivi Park if you’d like to participate in activities other than hiking. In the winter, you can rent fat bikes, skis and snowshoes from Adventure365. You can also bring your own snowshoes in the winter, too.

In the summer, you can rent watersports equipment from Ramakko’s Source for Adventure at Crowley Lake, such as canoes, kayaks and standup paddleboards (available June to October). Bringing your own kayak will help you save money if you’re a kayak enthusiast.

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