TOURS

Steeltown tours

Steeltown Tours was developed in the summer of 2021 by Stuckless Consulting Inc. as a series of free, self-guided walking and cycling tours. We've partnered with businesses, organizations and authors to share some of Hamilton's rich history and culture, as well as the walking and cycling routes that connect them.


Our tours are based around three themes meant to highlight urban greenspaces & outdoor art, Hamilton's evolving food scene, and the essays in the 2020 book "Reclaiming Hamilton: Essays from the New Ambitious City". 


We'll be sharing the online route maps through Ride with GPS and ArcGIS Storymaps over the coming weeks. Check them out below, and share your experiences with us on social media using the #SteeltownTours hashtag, or by email.

Children's art hung on a fence in a park along a multi-use path
Greenspaces & Art

Visit some of Hamilton's urban greenspaces and outdoor art installations! Perfect for a leisurely morning or afternoon, this loop includes stops along the city's waterfront and at multiple parks, and highlights colourful murals, civic history, and impactful community-led projects. The full loop is 28km. We have also prepared a 15km eastern loop and 16km western loop.


MAPS LINKED BELOW!


Reclaiming Hamilton book and bike
Reclaiming Hamilton

Based on the essays in the book "Reclaiming Hamilton", this tour seeks to highlight the rich history of this remarkable city. With a destination for each essay, this tour examines Hamilton's history of immigration, our decade-long LRT debate, the evolving arts scene, gentrification, and labour roots. The full loop is 20km. We have also prepared a 7km and a 10km loop.


MAPS LINKED BELOW!


Photo of art barn outside of the Hamilton Farmer's Market
Food Tours

Hamilton is home to an evolving food scene. We've developed a series of walking tours that aim to highlight local restaurants, community projects focused on food security, and great places to sit and enjoy the snacks you pick up along the way. We definitely recommend that you bring a reusable container and a tote bag to help carry your delicious finds home for later.


MAPS COMING SOON


Tour Maps

Online maps for each of our tours will be linked below when they are available. At present, the maps are only in digital form. 


To receive cues while cycling about stops, turns, and what to expect along the way, save the route map in your Ride With GPS Library (a free version is available). You can also use the map as a reference and navigate yourself. Either way, be sure to pull over and click on the map icons for more information about each destination!


The cycling routes include a mix of multi-use trails, separated bike lanes, painted bike lanes, and residential bike routes. In selecting these routes, we strove to identify bicycle-friendly routes that avoided major intersections, truck routes and high vehicle volume roads. Participants should be prepared to make their own evaluations of traffic and road conditions along the way, and judge the appropriateness of the routes based on their own skills and comfort level. There are risks inherent in cycling & walking, and participants use these routes at their own risk. 


Reasonable care has been taken to ensure that the information is correct at the time of publication. No responsibility can be accepted for any mishap or damages arising from any inaccuracies, omissions or new developments within the mapped areas. Please do not reproduce these maps or materials without prior permission. We appreciate any feedback and comments you have on the routes.


*Please note: While we have identified starting points for each route, you can decide to start or stop anywhere along the loop! Because of the many one-way streets in Hamilton, these routes are meant to be cycled in the direction provided.


Before you head out, we encourage you to check out these tips for safe walking & cycling from the City of Hamilton.

Safety Tips
Urban Greenspaces & Outdoor Art Tour
Reclaiming Hamilton Tour
Walking Food Tours

Coming soon!

The handlebars and basket of a blue bike share bicycle captured from behind, with the Hamilton sign in the background

Hamilton Bike Share Tour Discount


A huge thank-you to Hamilton Bike Share for offering a $10 credit for people participating in Steeltown Tours using bike share bikes! This limited promotion is available to any new user on a Pay As You Go, Monthly, McMaster Monthly or Seasonal Supporter plan.


Instructions:

Please note that this discount expired on December 31, 2021. 


Thank you to Hamilton Bike Share for your support of Steeltown Tours!

I've learned so much about Hamilton by walking and cycling around town, and I am excited to share that experience with the community!

- Jamie Stuckless, Owner & Principal Consultant, Stuckless Consulting Inc.

Thank-you!

These tours have been developed with the support and input from a number of local partners. We'd like to thank Noelle Allen of Wolsak and Wynn, Paul Weinberg, and all of the Reclaiming Hamilton essay authors who offered their advice and input. Thanks also to Hamilton Bike Share, Pride Pages, Tourism Hamilton, and Joyce of Cooking for their location suggestions, as well as Downtown Sparrow for their input and advocacy to ensure the City has an up to date map of public water fountains. We also appreciate the generosity of the Oshawa Cycling Club and their offer to host our ride routes on their Ride with GPS account.


Tour routes, destinations and descriptions have been developed by our Community Projects Coordinator, a role partially funded by the Canada Summer Jobs program.