The West Credit River is one of the gems of the Credit River system and Southern Ontario . The majority of the West Credit River corridor is natural, vegetated with forests, wetlands and beaver meadows. The riparian zone of the West Credit, or the area where the land and the river intersect, is considered stable and in generally healthy condition from its headwaters to where it meets the main branch of the Credit River at scenic Forks of the Credit Provincial Park . Soil types and the geology of this headwater region create the effect of a large sponge: rain and melt water percolate through the ground to reserves below the surface. This water not only feeds the lush wetlands and gorgeous streams of the West Credit but also moves under the ground to supply areas of the Credit River further downstream. The cold groundwater inputs in the West Credit River are vital in providing habitat for the subwatershed's self-sustaining population of heritage brook trout. Three settlements lie along the West Credit from where it originates in Wellington County to where it meets the Main Branch of the Credit River at the Forks of the Credit :the Villages of Hillsburgh, Erin and Belfountain.
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