Lover’s Leap

Lover’s Leap. . The beauty of Elora's rivers and cliffs has long distinguished it from other villages. Lover's Leap was named by the village's 19th-century residents who came to terms with Ontario's long Indigenous history by conflating it with the natural landscape. Moved by the majesty of the cliff, they contrived the story of a heart-broken Indigenous maiden who leapt from its heights in despair at news of her true-love's death. Similar tales circulated in other places. The historical validity of such stories is questionable but the name Lovers' Leap continues, forming a tangible link to Elora's early European settlement more than to the area's much-longer Indigenous past., By the mid-1870s, residents recognized the beauty of the gorge, but the priority of industry and a general lack of stewardship led it to function more as an industrial dumping ground than a tourist site., It wasn't until the end of that decade that a concerted effort was made to improve the landscape and in 1880 the railway began offering tourist excursions from places like Toronto. Since then, people have ventured from near and far to spend an afternoon picnicking at the Rocks, the familiar name given to the limestone walls of the gorge. The opportunities for recreation they afford continue to be appreciated, as do the majestic views, such as those experienced from atop Lover's Leap. ,