Hiking Toronto for Dog Lovers

A favourite trail has become even better! For the past few years, construction equipment has been on the south end of the Charles Sauriol Conservation Area. The construction is now complete, and the new trails connect even more neighbourhoods to this popular area of Toronto. The paved trail was originally from Lawrence Ave in the north to Wynford Drive in the south. Now you can follow paved trails to Wigmore Park or Anewen Greenbelt. Hiking from the Lawrence Ave parking lot to Wigmore Park is 3 km, so an in and out hike is a very pleasant 6 km.  Normally the parking lot and the trails are not maintained over the winter months. However, with Covid-19 still causing havoc, the city has decided to maintain trails this winter to allow people to get outdoors to get exercise and stress relief.  If you are new to this hiking area, maybe you have seen the rainbow tunnel driving on the DVP. This tunnel connects Moccasin Park to Charles Sauriol Conservation Area. There is a parking area ...

Rebooting our hikes Trails explored during the lockdown My last blog entry,  Hiking Toronto in the Time of Covid-19 , published on April 3 at the beginning of the lockdown in Toronto due to the pandemic. Parks and some amenities will open on Tuesday, May 19. Let's hope our efforts to "flatten the curve" were successful, and we can resume more of our favourite activities.  Lucy and I continued to hike daily in the past two months, but only in parks we could get to without driving. Luckily we are walking distance to fabulous trails.  Donalda Golf Course Usually only open to non-members during the winter, the club relaxed their rules until they were closer to an opening day. A groundskeeper said they typically open in mid-April, around Earth Day. We took advantage of this extension and visited often. Golf courses are beautiful in the spring.  .  .  We saw birds, flowers, and the Don River. We spoke to many regular visitors and chatted with members and groundsk...

Hiking to the Rainbow Tunnel Have you ever noticed the rainbow tunnel while driving northbound on the DVP approaching the Lawrence Ave East exit? This post introduces you to a trail where you can take your dog for a walk, and get a photo with the rainbow at the same time. You can get to this tunnel from two different parks: Charles Sauriol Conservation Area and Moccasin Trail Park. To follow my directions, park at the Charles Sauriol entrance at Lawrence and the DVP (1191 Lawrence Ave E, North York, ON M3A 3P9). Map of Trail from Charles Sauriol Conservation Area to Moccasin Trail Park via Rainbow Tunnel History The first thing you'll notice is an old white house. This gothic house is known as the Milne House and was built in 1871. You can read more about the history of this area in the Hiking the GTA Blog . Wildflowers Avoid the paved trails for now and follow the interpretive trail into the wildflower meadow. This is a conservation area, so you...