Scarborough Bluffs Park (Waterfront Trail)

Entering Bluffers from Brimley Road south

One of the first views while descending into Scarborough Bluffs Park (the "Bluffs") from Brimley Road, will be the awesome view of Lake Ontario as well as the colourful masts of the Yachts below lined row by row.  The Bluffs is an escarpment in Toronto, Ontario which forms most of the eastern portion of Waterfront Trail. At one point the escarpment is as high as 65 metres (215ft) and spans more than 14 kilometres (8.5 miles).  There are views from the escarpment that look as though you aren't in Toronto anymore, but rather some rugged coast land in England or Scotland.  I imagine this is where Elizabeth Simcoe (wife of John Graves Simcoe) was inspired to name the area 'Scarborough' after 'Scarborough, England'  when they settled in Toronto in 1793.  

View from east end of Bluffs

It's a geological wonder.   The escarpment formed the old shoreline of Glacial Lake Iroquois which appeared after the last ice age.  When you are up close to the escarpment you can see it looks like clay which has been baked and cracked.  In fact parts of the 'alluvial deposits" which are sediments that have been reshaped by the water,  had settled westward to form the Toronto Islands that exist now. 

Dunkers Flow Balancing System

Different areas of Bluffers Park

Was fortunate enough to catch a 'birds eye' view of a Blue Heron on the far northwest shore of Bluffers Park.  I believe this is where they nest.  Around the nesting area of the wildlife here there are long docks that are locked and gated off.  There is a purpose for this particular area because it is a stormwater treatment system that was specifically designed and invented by Karl Dunkers of Sweden.  The purpose is to reduce the harmful effects of polluted runoff that flows from the City's storm sewers before it enters Lake Ontario.  If you want to read up on the design it is called the "Dunker's Flow Balancing System" 

Alluvial deposits

Bluffers Park  has a Restaurant, Yachting Clubs, Boat ramps, a Public beach and Picnic facilities and on any given pleasant day, you will most likely see gatherings of people, having picnics, sailing, or hiking through the many trails north of the lake closer to the bluffs, where there is an overgrowth of wildflowers and hidden coves.

Keep in mind though there are plenty of access points along the escarpment where there are no barriers, and erosion does occur along the edges and certain conditions like rain or snow can make the clay-like sandstone extremely slippery when wet.  Common sense takes precedence over curiosity here.  Especially since there are so many vantage points along the bluffs for great views without risking your life to do it :)

Guildwood Park / Guild Inn

I wasn't hungry on Saturday when the Taste of Danforth opened its streets up.  Hundreds of soak-drenched folks were enjoying the multicultural food and music festival while they temporarily took over the streets of Greektown.   

From somewhere around Jones Avenue to Broadview on Danforth in Toronto , the Tastes of Danforth festival runs until August 12th, where there are plenty of souvlakis and burgers, food stalls, and cooking demos are happening.  


But....I wasn't hungry :)  Instead, I Explored Toronto and a little rain never hurt anyone anyways, and in my thirst for more historical sites, the famous Guild Inn came to mind.

East of the Scarborough Bluffs is the quirky Guild Inn, an Arts & Crafts style mansion dating back from 1914 set among quiet lakefront park lands.  It was an artist's colony formed during the Depression: the garden has a collection of sculptures, Ionic columns and gargoyles rescued from condemned city buildings during the 50s.  


The Guild Inn or rather the estate was bought in 1932 by Rosa and Spencer Clarke who established it as the Guild of All Arts.  It was a rent free colony where more than 100 artists and artisans lived there creating sculptures, weaving , painting  woodworking and ceramics.  More and more visitors came to see their work and eventually guest rooms and dining rooms were added to the Inn.  

During the second war, the Guild was turned over to the Government and it was used by the Women's Royal Navy Service as a training naval base.  It was also used as a hospital for a while too.  

But eventually in 1947, the art colony was once again given back to the the Clarks and more and more acres were added to the property, but in the 50s the property taxes became so high, they sold off a lot of their land to developers.  This land now houses gorgeous homes and is known as Guildwood Village.  

Sadly, today the Guild Inn is a skeleton of its previous glory days, with danger and keep-out signs, asbestos and mould warnings inside.  Although the Inn is closed the Park is used and maintained by the City of Toronto, and people come to use the structures for weddings shoots and private functions.  I'm hoping that someday another Inn will be built and it will once again come back to its former glory, with its breathtaking views of the bluffs and Lake Ontario how could it possibly lose. 


 If you want to check out more of my pictures from the Guild Inn Click Here