Roma Heritage Trail

AMonument Trail

0.7 km loop | Full access | The trail is marked in yellow on the map and begins at the Trail Head

The Monument Trail is dedicated to French, Gaelic and English-speaking pioneers who settled and worked this land between 1732 and 1900. From the trailhead sign, the path takes you to the Brudenell Point” where a monument commemorating the designation of the site as a National Historic Site is located.  Also at the Point are a number of stone placards and pictures explaining the history of the site.

A path off to the left leads into open woodland on a lightly graveled surface. If you are lucky, in early June you might catch sight of the delightful Pink Lady’s Slippers, the provincial flower.  You can also access the Brudenell River beach area from the trail.  Be careful descending the path to the shore, as it is steep.

The path follows the Brudenell River where Frenchman Jean-Pierre Roma’s established his fishing settlement in 1732.  Also, in this area are the early 1800s homesteads of the Scottish settlers, the Macdonalds and the Shaws. Father of Confederation, A.A. Macdonald, was born on the Roma site in 1829.

B Homestead Loop

1.4 km loop | varied terrain | The trail is marked in blue on the map.

The Farmstead loop connects to the Monument Trail, and can also be accessed from the trail end (to the left of the Pavillion).  Several open glades glisten with bright green mosses, flowers, blueberries or ferns in the morning dew. Pine needles carpet the path which climbs toward an elevated knoll that was once a cleared field. A drystone dyke crosses the trail, marking the old field edge. You may be able to see wagon ruts on the trail, as this route was used by the Scottish settlers to bring goods to their homestead. On the far side of the knoll the trail crosses bottomland where a creek from the central bog flows to the shore. The path follows the river to the northern tip of the property and then turns inland to return to the start.

 CWarblers’ Way

0.9 km return | varied terrain | The trail is marked in green on the map

Warblers’ Way is located off the Farmstead Loop and can be accessed from the Trail Head or Trail end.  The trail saunters towards the Brudenell River before looping back to the Farmstead Loop. You will pass through a pine grove remnant of the large forest encountered by Roma in 1732. Watch and listen for birdlife, including many varieties of warblers, eagles and waterfowl.

DTrail of the Pioneers

2.4 km return | varied terrain  | The trail is marked in red on the map

Trail of the Pioneers can be accessed from Warbers’ Way and the Farmstead loops. The trail skirts around a significant peat bog and remnants of a large pine forest. The bog ecosystem is unlike the rest of the site with characteristic wetland trees, plants and insects. Watch for fireflies in late June and a variety of dragon-flies all summer.

ERiver Run

3.5 km return | varied terrain | The trail is marked in blue on the map

PLEASE NOTE: THIS TRAIL HAS NOT BEEN RECOVERED FROM THE 2022 HURRICANE FIONA. PLEASE DO NOT ACCESS THIS TRAIL AT THIS TIME.

River Run leads to the furthest point of the Roma property, cutting through the same forest that provided much needed lumber for the French and Scottish settlers in the early 1700s to the end of the 1800s.