Even more intriguing than the wacky road is the little creek which parallels it- perhaps the only creek in Canada that appears to flow uphill. If you put your vehicle in neutral at the base of this hillock, it will roll up the ‘incline’ and down the other side, apparently defying the laws of physics. Caledon Magnetic Hill – Company in Caledon, ON – Escarpment Side Road, Caledon, Ontario. In the southwestern end of Burlington is a rural thoroughfare called King Road, which winds through Burlington’s Bayview Park. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Some of the city's attractions include Canada's largest annual Ribfest and Sound of Music Festival, Burlington Art Centre and Spencer Smith Park, all located near the city's downtown core. Book your tickets online for Magnetic Hill, Leh: See 1,488 reviews, articles, and 551 photos of Magnetic Hill, ranked No.23 on Tripadvisor among 70 attractions in Leh. Moncton’s Magnetic Hill is located at the northwestern edge of town and can be accessed for a fee of $5. Early farmers prospered in the Burlington area because of the fertile soil and moderate temperatures. According to Lynn, the writer of a blog called ‘The One Constant’, this attraction was “worth the trip” back in 2011. Learn how your comment data is processed. While one raids the barren roads of Leh, a signboard appears indicating “Magnetic Hill- The Phenomenon that Defies Gravity.”A white box marked with ‘Park your vehicle Here’ appears ahead of the board where one can park their vehicles in neutral and see them moving uphill at a speed of 10-20km/hr by itself against the gravity. The Magnetic Hill is just 4 km’s from downtown Burlington. Well. It is located at the northwestern edge (In the Magnetic Hill Area) of the city of Moncton in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Regrettably, it appears that the hill may have since lost its ‘magnetic’ properties. Canada, Strange Places / April 30, 2019 by Hammerson Peters / Leave a Comment. Explore all Magnetic Hill real estate with RE/MAX, Canada's #1 Real Estate Brand. I wouldn't believe unless I tried it myself. The first of these is situated in the city of Burlington, about an hour’s drive south of Caledon. • Abbotsford, British Columbia: McKee Road just before Ledgeview Golf Course Whatever the case, PEI tourism websites seem to indicate that Darnley’s magnetic hill is well worth the visit. If you decide to investigate Burlington’s gravity hill for yourself, you may want to avoid planning your visit in the spring; every March, the city closes King Road in order to allow Jefferson salamanders, which Ontario classifies as an endangered species, to safely seek their mates on the other side of the asphalt. After rounding a bend in the road near the park’s off-leash section, drivers will come upon two small hills, the second of which appears to have antigravity characteristics. Magnetic Hill. The optical illusion known as Magnetic Hill is one of Moncton's claims to fame, but it's not the only one in the province. The Sunday Winter Openings are tentatively scheduled for March 7, 14, 21, and 28, 2021. Although the phenomenon of the magnetic hill is not much of a mystery to those acquainted with its secret, it can still make for a truly head-scratching experience. Since the closing of the dump in 1988 it is known again by the loftier official name King Road. Magnetic Hill Wharf Village & Restaurant, Moncton: See 12 unbiased reviews of Magnetic Hill Wharf Village & Restaurant, rated 4 of 5 on Tripadvisor and ranked #102 of 242 restaurants in Moncton. According to a certain local resident, it is a place where “automobiles coast upgrade with ease, yet pedestrians huff and puff their way downgrade”. By the time land beside the bay was deeded to Joseph Brant at the turn of the nineteenth century, the name "Burlington" was already in common use. It is not entirely clear to this author whether Darnley’s ‘magnetic’ hill elicits the same optical illusion as the other gravity hills in this post or has been given its ‘magnetic’ appellative for some other reason. Just south of Ritson’s intersection with the Canadian National Railway is another strange hill that might have baffled Sir Isaac Newton himself. Early reports of strange magnetic properties and even stranger incidents began in the late 1970's when their was a rural road since it was the entrance to the Burlington Land Fill Site. Area Information Seeing all the traffic I turned around and went home. Take a left and right there, just preceding a hairpin turn known locally as ‘the Oxbow’, is another magnetic hill where, according to one writer, “by stopping your vehicle at what appeared to be bottom of the hill, shutting off the motor and putting the gearshift in neutral; the vehicle would begin moving backwards by itself up the hill.”. About 100 kilometres (62 miles) northeast of Burlington, on the northern shores of Lake Ontario, lies the city of Oshawa, which contains yet another magnetic mound known locally as Magic Hill. Incredibly, there are said to be three little-known magnetic hills crammed within a 30-mile strip of eastern Nova Scotia paralleling the Bay of Fundy. Long ago, the warrior stole the girl from her father’s wigwam and brought her to a cliff ledge on the Niagara Escarpment- a long ridge which spans the Great Lakes, over which the Niagara River falls. Check out this video by YouTube’s Mr. Burlington to see the hill for yourself: Unlike the other magnetic hills on this list, Burlington’s gravity hill is associated with ghost stories, UFO sightings, and other tales of the supernatural. The angry deity used lightning to isolate the kidnapper’s camping spot from the rest of the cliff, creating a rocky spire known today as the ‘Devil’s Pulpit’, for which the nearby golf course was named. The southernmost of these is located on Hampton Mountain Road, about a five minute drive from the village of Bridgetown and approximately two kilometres south of Valleyview Provincial Park. Length of Trip : 15 minutes, and a lifetime of weirdness. If you drive south down Thornhill’s 256th Street, past its intersection with 100th Avenue, home to the old Thornhill Elementary School, you’ll come to what appears to be a small hill preceding a downwards slope. Even though nobody knew exactly where it was located most knew that it was somewhere on the ‘Dump’ Road as it was known in those days because that is where the entrance to the Burlington Landfill Site used to be located. In reality, the magnetic hill phenomenon is an optical illusion. Physically, Burlington lies between the north shore of Lake Ontario, the Niagara Escarpment, Hamilton to the west and Oakville to the east. Hotels near Magnetic Hill Park: (0.22 km) Hotel Moncton (0.47 km) Magnetic Hill Winery and B&B (1.15 km) Amsterdam Inn & Suites Moncton (0.58 km) Magnetic Hill Bed and Breakfast (1.10 km) Hotel Casino New Brunswick; View all hotels near Magnetic Hill Park on Tripadvisor We did exactly as the sign says. The history of Moncton Magnetic Hill lies in 19 century when motorists were observed to accelerate their bikes to stop downhill movement which apparently was uphill. Perhaps Burlington’s magnetic hill is more than an optical illusion after all. The park is open 8am to 7pm during the season. Turn from the main road and drive to the stop sign. In 1962, Burlington annexed most of the Township of Nelson, as well as Aldershot, formerly a part of East Flamborough Township. If you’d like to see this strange phenomenon in action, check out this video by YouTuber Rick Slobodian: It may come as no surprise to learn that Canada’s three Prairie Provinces have a dearth of magnetic hills when compared with the bumpier provinces that flank them. I went back a few days later and had the hill all to myself!! Like most gravity hills on this list, Magic Hill is located on the outskirts of town, at Oshawa’s northeastern corner on a thoroughfare called Ritson Road North. Visitors are alerted to the presence of the mysterious landmark by a sign which reads, in French: To virtually tour this little-known attraction, check out this YouTube video by Yves Vincart: Without a doubt, the most famous gravity hill in Canada is the Magnetic Hill of Moncton, New Brunswick. Others suggest that the hills are capped with large deposits of lodestone- natural magnets which draw steel cars to their summits. A little more than a mile southeast of this quiet rural community, on a lonely stretch of road called Route Saint-Louis, lies Buckland’s Cote Magnetique, or Magnetic Hill. It's a hoax, or phenomenon, or simply a trick, we'll let you see for yourself. Between Maple Ridge and the historic easterly community of Whonnock is a sleepy rural neighbourhood called Thornhill which skirts the southern slopes of a butte called Grant Hill. Top things to do in Magnetic Hill Save Moncton Scavenger Hunt: Canada’s Cultural Hub to your lists Shortly after moving to Burlington in 1967 I heard rumours about a magnetic hill in North Burlington. Commencing at the intersection of Highway #41 and Highway #132, travel south on Highway #41approximately one mile, the Magnetic Hill Road is on your left and it is the first road or driveway you will come to on Highway #41. Magnetic Hill is located at the Magic Mountain theme park and zoo complex, 12km from the city of Moncton. As early as the 1940s, tourists travelling to and from the United States marveled as their vehicles inexplicably rolled uphill without the assistance of their engines. Your email address will not be published. Often, they are lined with trees and other objects oriented at unusual angles which obscure the horizon and give the driver the false impression that the road has a positive incline. zoo.education@moncton.ca. Thanks for reading! To see the striking illusion to which the Hill owes its tremendous popularity, check out this video by YouTuber Jean-Daniel Cathell-Williams. YouTuber and Maple Ridge native Scott Leaf showcases the phenomenon this this 2009 YouTube video: British Columbia’s third and final magnetic hill is situated in the city of Vernon, located north of Kelowna at the northern end of Lake Okanagan. 506.877.7720. info.zoo@moncton.ca. And it happened almost immediately. Now you obviously we can't rotate Canada's Magnetic Hill around to get another view, but this sculpture gives a better visualization as to what's happening, both on the hill and in people's minds. In eerie silence the car started rolling slowly backwards- uphill.”. Fortunately for posterity, YouTuber James Waugh managed to videotape his car rolling up the hill back in 2009, at the height of the hill’s former glory. There have been stories about a school bus full of kids that had crashed at the willow tree at the top of the hill killing some of the children. Some witnesses have reported seeing strange lights in the sky overhead, while others claimed to have spotted spectral 19th Century pioneers walking through Bayview Park, or heard the whinnies of phantom horses and the rumble of ephemeral wagons while driving down King Road. This internationally renowned attraction has been one of New Brunswick’s most popular tourist destinations since 1931, when an old cart path skirting the base of Lutes Mountain was expanded into a paved road suitable for automobile traffic. “We drove to the bottom of the slope, as instructed,” he wrote, “and stopped the car. It was not until 1985 when a local newspaper published a story about Burlington’s ‘own’ Magnetic Hill that I learned about the exact location. Peterborough Tourism Peterborough Accommodation Administration and Admissions. The population skyrocketed as new homes were built, encouraging developers to build even more new homes. Burlington is a city located in at the western end of Lake Ontario. Drivers quickly realized that cars would roll backwards up the hill when placed in neutral, and almost overnight a Maritime sensation was born. Some people believe that ‘magnetic hills’ lie at magnetic vortexes, where the laws of gravity which govern the rest of the world cease to apply. If you take this road and head for Sumac Mountain, you’ll come to the site of an old gravity hill just before you hit the Ledgeview Golf & Country Club. An obscured horizon is often a requisite for the ‘gravity hill’ phenomenon, and Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba have no shortage of open spaces. It is located at the northwestern edge (in the Magnetic Hill Area) of the city of Moncton in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Incidentally, back in December 1999, an American border guard stationed at this crossing via a Remote Video Inspection System prevented a would-be al-Qaeda terrorist with a truck full of explosives from entering the United States and carrying out the planned ‘Millennium’ attack at Los Angeles International Airport. Which … It was not until 1985 when a local newspaper published a story about Burlington’s ‘own’ Magnetic Hill that I learned about the exact location. In those early days I must have stopped at every hump in the road between the North Service Road and the top of the Escarpment without ever finding forces, other than my car engine, capable of moving my car ‘uphill’. Today's population has topped 175,000. This old section of Hwy 41 is the so-called "Dacre Magnetic Hill". The next day I set out to find the ellusive hill but soon it became apparent that I wasn’t the only one who had read the article. Where pavement starts put your car in neutral and watch it movr by itself up the hill all the … Hotels near Magnetic Hill Park: (0.22 km) Hotel Moncton (0.47 km) Magnetic Hill Winery and B&B (1.15 km) Amsterdam Inn & Suites Moncton (0.58 km) Magnetic Hill Bed and Breakfast (1.10 km) Hotel Casino New Brunswick; View all hotels near Magnetic Hill Park on Tripadvisor Turn the car facing south. Economically, Burlington is strategically located near the geographic centre of the Golden Horseshoe, a densely populated and industrialized region home to over 8 million people. Canada is full of strange places, from the Headless Valley in the Northwest Territories, where tales of lost gold, evil spirits, and headhunting monsters abound, to Oak Island, Nova Scotia, the site of Canada’s longest-running treasure hunt. Additionally, the city attracts hikers, birders and nature lovers due to the Royal Botanical Gardens located on the border with Hamilton, as well as its proximity to a part of the Niagara Escarpment in the north end of the city that includes the Iroquoian section of the Bruce Trail. Are you really going up hill or down. If you drive about 40 minutes northwest of Abbotsford, you’ll come to the city of Maple Ridge- the fifth oldest municipality in British Columbia, located at the northeastern edge of Greater Vancouver. Also known as ‘Spook Hills’ and ‘Gravity Hills’, these mystery mounds typically consist of sloped roadways lined with trees where cars, when put in neutral gear, seem to roll uphill. Here, take the northeasterly Nova Scotia Route 221, also known as Spa Springs Road. In an April 1959 issue of The Vernon News, reporter Miles Overend described heading out the area to investigate the “silly rumour” of the magnetic hill with fellow journalist Harvie Hay. Magnetic Hill, Peterborough: See 48 reviews, articles, and 12 photos of Magnetic Hill, ranked No.7 on Tripadvisor among 11 attractions in Peterborough. However, the arrival of large steamships on the Great Lakes made the small docks of the local ports obsolete, and the increased use of railway is to ship goods marked the end of the commercial wharves. Physically, Burlington lies between the north shore of Lake Ontario, the Niagara Escarpment, Hamilton to the west and Oakville to the east. In 1874, Wellington Square and Port Nelson were incorporated into the Village of Burlington. Today, travelers are informed of the hill’s presence by a sign which reads, in both French and English: To see the hill in action, check out this YouTube video by Lopstick, purveyor of rental cabins in Pittsburg, New Hampshire. I cut the ignition, released the handbrake. Up until the 1980s, an optical illusion existed here that tricked drivers into thinking that their cars were actually rolling uphill when they stopped their cars on the downhill grade and released the brake. Although Caledon’s Magnetic Hill is not associated with any supernatural legends itself, it does produce an eerie visual effect, which YouTuber Kelly Vo demonstrates in this video: Ontario has three more magnetic hills, two of which are located off the northwestern shores of Lake Ontario. If you enjoyed this article and would like to help support this website, please check out our online bookshop: Your email address will not be published. Moncton is home to Magnetic Hill. In the northeastern section of town is a rural street called Dixon Dam Road where objects rolling ‘uphill’ can accrue speeds of up to 20 km/hour (12 mph). Following the Second World War better transportation access due to the new (1939) Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) encouraged both light industry and families to move to Burlington. According to journalist Ben Lypka in an article published in the April 11, 2019 issue of the Mission City Record, recent repaving of McKee Road has destroyed the optical illusion, causing Abbotsford gravity hill to “lose its powers”. Directions. The unwilling captive died of grief, incurring the wrath of a local thunder god. The next day I set out to find the ellusive hill but soon it became apparent that I wasn’t the only one who had read the article. Fundy National Park is located on the Bay of Fundy … Produce from the farms was shipped out via the bustling docks of the lakeside villages of Port Nelson and Wellington Square, as well as Brown's Wharf in the nearby village of Port Flamborough (which was to become Aldershot). Chartierville’s Magnetic Hill was born in 1939, when the road that would become Route 257 was first constructed. Magnetic Hills in Ontario Caledon’s Magnetic Hill The nearest gravity hill east of the Swan Hill Valley is the Magnetic Hill of Caledon, Ontario, located on Escarpment Side Road just off King’s Highway 10, at Escarpment’s intersection with the street leading to Devil’s Pulpit Golf Course. As if to complement the weird landmark, the land surrounding this remote location is associated with an old Indian legend which tells of a beautiful maiden of the Neutral Nation and a young brave whose advances she spurned. Murray Catford, a former farmer of Tarcowie/Bully Acre, tells the tale of an acquaintance that, in the 1930's, had acquired his first motorcar. Shortly after moving to Burlington in 1967 I heard rumours about a magnetic hill in North Burlington. With the completion of the local survey after the War of 1812, the land was opened for settlement. If you ever get the chance, consider paying a visit to one of Canada’s fourteen magnetic hills, some of which may lie in your neck of the woods. Burlington is a city located in at the western end of Lake Ontario. Read verified and trustworthy customer reviews for Caledon Magnetic Hill … Required fields are marked *. About 222 kilometres (138 miles) northeast of Oshawa, not too far from Barry’s Bay and Palmer Rapids, is the tiny community of Dacre, Ontario. Classic French-Canadian Folktales: Volume I. The Magnetic Hill is just 4 km’s North on King Road (a small stretch of road) from Fairview Street Burlington. Visitors give high marks for top attractions and activities such as the casino gaming and shopping in Moncton. Looking back we could see the slight uphill grade which we had just come down. Magnetic Hill Winery, Moncton: Hours, Address, Magnetic Hill Winery Reviews: 4.5/5 Climate Solutions, Climate. If you'd like to find things to do in the area, you might like to visit Casino New Brunswick and Avenir Centre. Economically, Burlington is strategically located near the geographic centre of the Golden Horseshoe, a densely populated and industrialized region home to over 8 million people. If you drive a mere 25 minutes northeast of Bridgetown up the Annapolis Valley, you’ll come to a tiny community called Melvern Square. The next stop on our tour of Canada’s gravity hills is the tiny rural community of Chartierville, Quebec, which shares a border with the state of New Hampshire. Despite all appearances to the contrary, roads on which the ‘uphill’ rollings take place are actually sloped downhill. Entry to Magnetic Hill is $6 and you can drive on the hill as many times as you like for this fee. There, one kilometer south of the junction of Highways 41 and 132, is a place where vehicles appear to coast uphill. Others still ascribe the hills’ antigravitational properties to the work of ghosts and spirits. Among the most mystifying of these creepy locales are Canada’s so-called ‘Magnetic Hills’. Burlington was incorporated into a town. The Magnetic Hill Zoo is closed for the winter. County Line Road, which extends south of town, leads the way through woods and farmland to what one writer described as “a very high ‘magnetic hill’, the summit of which provides a spectacular view of the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the north and rolling hills to the south.” One PEI tourism website claims that “the hill is apparently so steep at its base that, in the days of yore, a wagon driver with a full load of grain could touch the ears of his horses while sitting in his seat”- a characteristic which did not deter rumrunners from using the secluded road during the days of prohibition. Chartierville’s Magnetic Hill lies right on Quebec Route 257, the only road connecting Canada with New Hampshire, just before the Pittsburg-Chartierville Border Crossing. According to BurlingtonGhostWalks.ca, drivers have experienced power failures, engine failures, and the sensation of being electrically “zapped” while cresting the second ‘hill’ near Bayview Park. The Magnetic Hill is an example of a gravity hill, a type of optical illusion created by rising and descending terrain. Find your dream home in Magnetic Hill using the tools above. Use filters to narrow your search by price, square feet, beds, and baths to find homes that fit your criteria. The Magnetic Hill is in North Burlington along a rural section of King Road which runs from Burlington Bay to the top of the Niagara Escarpment. Seeing all the traffic I turned around and went home. Magnetic Hill was formerly known as Bruff's Hill, a name that originated from 35-year-old James Bruff, of Willunga, settling on Section 206, Head of Black Rock Plain, in 1897. Local legend often attributes this bewildering phenomenon to some sort of extraordinary force. Magnetic Hill - Burlington, Ontario Folklore There has been a lot of talk about a hill in Burlington where if you put your car into neutral at the bottom, the car will climb up the hill. The nearest gravity hill east of the Swan Hill Valley is the Magnetic Hill of Caledon, Ontario, located on Escarpment Side Road just off King’s Highway 10, at Escarpment’s intersection with the street leading to Devil’s Pulpit Golf Course. View homes for sale in Magnetic Hill, New Brunswick, property images, MLS® house details and more! I went back a few days later and had the hill all to myself!! Additionally, the city attracts hikers, birders and nature lovers due to the Royal Botanical Gardens located on the border with Hamilton, as well as its proximity to a part of the Niagara Escarpment in the north end of the city that includes the Iroquoian section of the Bruce Trail. This mystery spot has elicited local amazement for at least 60 years. If you drive to the northeasternmost corner of Abbotsford, BC, you’ll find a lonely thoroughfare called McKee Road. Magnetic anomaly It took us a while to figure out where to start and how to do it, but it was fun! Illusionary Magnetic Hills of Moncton. In those early days I must have stopped at every hump in the road between the North Service Road and the top of the Escarpment without ever finding forces, other than my car engine, capable of moving my car ‘uphill’. Magnetic Hill is situated in the north of Moncton, about a 15-minute drive from the downtown area. On Provincial Road 487, also known as Harlington Road, about three kilometres west of Provincial Trunk Highway 83 and about fifteen kilometres east of the Thunderhill Ski area is a place where cars, when put in neutral, seem to roll uphill. Indigenous-owned solar farm opens in remote northern Alberta community. The famous Magnetic hill of Canada is located in Moncton, New Brunswick. On Route 221, about halfway between Melvern Square and an ancient volcanic ridge called North Mountain, is another magnetic hill where, according to one writer, “it looks like you are going down but you obviously are climbing.”, If you proceed beyond Route 221’s magnetic hill, you’ll come to 221’s intersection with Nova Scotia Route 360, which bridges the fishing community of Harbourville, on the shores of the Bay of Fundy, with the village of Berwick, located 15 minutes southeast. Magnetic Hill, ON Weather ... 30+ cm of snow, heavy rain in parts of Ontario with intense system. Some of the city's attractions include Canada's largest annual Ribfest and Sound of Music Festival, Burlington Art Centre and Spencer Smith Park, all located near the city's downtown core.