Heart Lake is the fifth stop in the 5 Peaks Ontario Trail Running Series, run in the fall at Heart Lake Conservation Park in Ontario. It is a trail event with options for kids, hikers, power pacers, and runners, so the day ranges from a 3 km kids’ run to the 22.5 km Grit distance. The main adult choices are the 7.5 km Sport run or hike, the 14.6 km Enduro run or hike, and the longer Grit race.
The park gets its name from a spring-fed kettle lake that is roughly shaped like a heart. The routes use shaded park trails, with fall colours as part of the setting, and the exact distances or maps can still change if trail conditions require it. Heart Lake Conservation Area also draws local anglers because it is stocked with hundreds of rainbow trout each year. The event is built for a broad field rather than only fast runners, with kids’ starts, hiking waves, and race waves all sharing the same morning.