Dark Trolley Tour

The Dark Trolley Tour is a fun ride along Hamilton’s picturesque waterfront… at night… with dark history and ghosts!

Relax as stories are told over the mic of Hamilton’s open-air Harbourfront Trolley cars.

Featuring the Ghosts of the Great Lakes, death and burials in the quiet deep.  Plus the cursed Heights, and stand on the site of Canada’s tragic historic train disaster for a story you’ll not soon forget.

Popular hybrid dark history / ghost tour.  With Free and easy parking beside Pier 4 Park

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Pier 4 Park Courtyard (by building)

64 Leander Drive, Hamilton MAP
(Start in main Pier 4 courtyard at Trolley Stop #4)

Dark Trolley Tour Prices

General . . . . . . . $17.00

+ HST Tax / Small Booking Fee

Book for Dark Trolley

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Upcoming

  • Tour Dates
    • On-Hiatus
Tour info
Niagara's Dark History Tour - duration
Ghost Walks Type of Tour
Dark Trolley Tour Hamilton - parking
Mature Content on Tour - not recommended for young kids
Dark Trolley Tour Hamilton - Wheelchair access

group bookings for this tour
private walks information

FAQ & Interesting Info

Why we are different from other Tours?

A focus on masterful storytelling at a reasonable price (with no hidden fees!).  First, we’ve put special attention into respecting the ghost story.  Also, with a dedication to traditional styles mixed with natural (and interesting) odd history.  This is our specialty since 2003.

Reviews | What people are saying…

Ghost Walks of Hamilton
Excellent
4.9
Based on 634 reviews
Did the Hermitage walk last weekend. It was great. Tyler was a great storyteller, and overall the ambience was excellent.Only issue is that there were a few very refreshed hicks partaking in the walk as well, who continued cracking beers and drinking during the walk. I'd like to see the organizers keep that particular element out of this type of experience. You know what's a great mood-killer? Someone who reeks of whisky and beer who thinks they're a comedian.
We had Erin as our guide who was an absolutely fabulous story teller. She made the experience so great with the tales she told. I learned so much history about a place I live in that I had never heard before.
Great experience. Did the Dundurn castle and bus tour. Was an awesome outing.
My husband and I had such a wonderful time listening to some of Hamilton’s dark history on the bus tour with Daniel and bus driver Al. Exploring Dundurn castle after dark felt really special and the guides there were extremely knowledgeable. 10/10 would recommend it was awesome!2024Would just like to pop back on and say because we had such an amazing time last year we decided to do the hermitage ruins tour this year. We had a great time with Geoff as our guide as he was very knowledgeable on the history as well as a great story teller. It was a unique experience getting to walk the path in the dark. Again, I highly recommend you try it out.
We enjoyed it but I wish that people were told to keep voices low on the walk. We had a group show up, half of whom had been on the tour before. They were smoking pot and laughing and talking loud the entire time. It took away from the experience. The guide was amazing and funny and a good story teller. I didn't enjoy it because of the large group ruining the atmosphere for the entire group
We did the Dundurn Castle and Bus Tour and had a great time. All the guides were very enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and entertaining. Everything was run very smoothly. They were also very accommodating when I asked to switch our tickets to another date
Fantastic ghost walk at Hermitage Ruins with Erin as our tour guide. Lots of great stories and historic info. Thanks Erin!
We had fun on this tour. Erin was a great story teller.
We did the Dundurn Castle bus tour and ghost walk. It was great. Tyler was very knowledgeable.
The hermitage ruins ghost walk was full of fun and historic spooky stories. I loved that they had a psychic on site to add to the ambiance and overall enjoyment. We managed to capture some great photos as well under the full moon. Such a great experience! Will definitely do another ghost walk in the future. Erin was a great tour guide.
We really enjoyed the ghost walk in Dundas. Tyler was an excellent storyteller and very informative. He also had a good sense of humor. Even though it was raining last night, we still enjoyed it even my kids. There was a great turnout in our group. Highly recommend taking the tour.
Went for a tour of the Hermitage Ruins in Ancaster! Had Geoff as our tour guide. He was very knowledgeable and friendly! We never felt like we walked too far before there was another story and it was cool to have most of them occur around the places where we stopped. We were super impressed with his patience and graciousness with dealing with a small section of the group that kept talking over him when he was trying to share stories. Would happily take a tour with this company again ☺️
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Why are dates and times missing when booking?

When a date or time slot is missing in the Booking… If a missing time, that tour time is sold out.  A missing date, means the entire night is sold out.

Harbour History — The Shanty Town

Driving along the Old Shanty Town

Dark Trolley Tour feature story — Called “Squatters”.  Houses slapped together along today’s Waterfront Trail leading to the Desjardins Canal.

At its height, 120 structures lined the shore before and under the bridge.  Not only low-income families.  As you can see in this picture… some very normal and well-built houses.

Hamilton Harbour History - The Old Shanty Town

All types of folks from the city.  This included Railway Workers, Machinists, Hydro Workers and even a painter.  One family even owned a motorized boat (the height of luxury!)

But the Shanty Town’s reputation was horrible in the City of Hamilton

Lies being spread by officials to turn the citizens against them.  It’s because they saw the High-Level Bridge as the Gateway to Hamilton.  Everything perfectly beautiful, except the Shanty Town.

Plans to beautify the Harbour setting the moral tone of the city.  TB. McQuesten spearheaded this new conservation area.

Yet the citizens supported the Shanty residents!  Until a fire 1931.  Two kids died and City Official screamed, “If only they paid taxes!  Were on the grid.  Firemen could have saved those kids.”

And the citizens agreed.  $100-$250 offered to each household to leave peacefully.  Most accepted, but not all.  Some turning their houses into boats and floating into the Harbour.

Harbour History — Monster of Burlington Bay

From Kingston’s Daily News – published August 17th 1877

Having heard reports recently of an extraordinary monster being in the waters of Burlington Bay (today’s Hamilton Harbour), near Carroll’s Point, a Spectator reporter yesterday interviewed one of the parties who had said last evening that he had seen it.

The fisherman stated that he was out in a single boat trolling for pike, when he noticed a commotion in the water about seventeen yards out from the farthest part of the point. He rowed over towards the place, but before he had gone many boat lengths he saw an object moving towards him.

Monster Trickery 

It presented the appearance of a black log with tapering end in the waterand when near the boat it turned and disappeared from sight, not before it exhibited its mouth, however, which looked like a crocodile.

Another party who claims to have seen it some distance east of the point, states that it has large scales on its back, that only two fins could be seen, one on each side and directly in the centre of the body.

A third fisherman, who lives not far from Oaklands, claimt to have had an oar suddenly snapped from him one evening while rowing in that vicinity, and believes it to have been taken by the monster.

Tracks, as of teeth, were in it when he recovered it in the bay next morning. Mr. Gates, the fish curer, states that a party the other evening became so frightened at its having made a dash at the boat that he is now laid up through nervous prostration.

We give the story as gathered for what it is worth, and leave the reader to investigate for himself.

Should I book in advance?

Yes.  We are limited on space for the trolley.  Advance bookings allows us to guarantee spots for you, and book in additional guides if needed.