Lower Don Trail

Taylor Creek/Charles Sauriol branch

Enter Lower Don Trail

Taylor Creek begins branching off at the Charles Sauroil Conservation Reserve Parking lot (Don Mills southbound/DVP). If you pass over the white bridge you can head to north Toronto through the E.T. Seton Park, and Wilket Creek and end up at Edwards Gardens.  The aternative is to head south and accompany the Don River to the Lakeshore. 

Cement pants!

The first thing you may notice on the trail, is what a lot of Torontonians consider to be a bit of an eyesore.  It is an elevated man-made concrete wetlands sculpture known as “The Teeth”, but they look more like a pair of cement pants ! 

Pottery Rd crossing

Trail sights

Leaside Bridge

As you continue on the trail you will have to cross Pottery Road.  I have no idea what they are working on right now, but it is a mess with construction, CATs, gravel and broken lanes.  They have a portion of the path fenced off for trucks and I am really hoping they don't plan on allowing vehicles down into the Valley but I guess I haven't been asking the right questions to the right people.  Once you pass Pottery road, you will continue southbound under the Leaside Bridge (Toronto's alternative "suicide bridge" to the Prince Edward Viaduct (or the 'Bloor Viaduct").  They erected a "luminous veil" which costs millions of dollars to prevent people from jumping 

Lower Don Valleywoods

to their deaths.  The only thing it did do was to cause more people to commit suicide in alternative ways or places.  (I will be covering the "suicide bridge" in greater depth in another post on my blog.)

Prince Edward Viaduct (aka "Bloor" Viaduct)

Further southbound you will see the Prince Edward Viaduct bridge.  I wanted to show you the inner structures of this brilliantly built bridge.  A lot of men lost their lives in the construction of the bridge before it was fully erected. It's really an amazing structure!

You will soon pass under Queen Street (there is a pedestrian bridge above if you want to get off the trail and carry your bike up the stairs to check out the "The Beaches" . The now defunct Eastern Avenue bridge (circa1933).

The defunct Eastern Avenue Bridge (1933)

The old Unilever brothers soap factory has been shut down due to bankruptcy since 2009.  It was a 120 year old factory and ended with a 12 million dollar debt.  Future plans still unknown.  The shut down hasn't seemed to have affected the wildlife around.

Unilever Factory and Lakeshore bridge (east/west trails)

Just up and over the hill and you are at the intersection of Lakeshore Blvd and Cherry St.  From here you can go eastbound on Lakeshore towards the Martin Goodman Trail (see "Martin Goodman Trail" on this blog) or Tommy Thompson Park ("the Leslie Spit").  Alternatively if turn right you follow the trail westbound towards Queens Quay and the Harbourfront (Waterfront trail). 

Oak Ridges Moraine (Brooklin)

Plenty of wildlife exists in bogs and ponds in Brooklin, Ontario.  Brooklin has become increasingly inhabited by people desiring the suburban life.  It branches on the northern outskirts of Whitby and continues to grow yearly.  Old farmland is being overwrought by housing developments and new construction of shopping malls and food stores.


Luckily Brooklin is part of the Oak Ridges Moraine which thrives and is protected by the Conservation protection act in 2001.  Here's a few pictures of a frog we caught, and a dragonfly which took me about a half hour to land the perfect shot :)

Martin Goodman Trail

The Martin Goodman Trail is a multi-use trail with a two way bike path, a walking path, and many hidden trail paths that venture into wooded areas. Walking westward on the boardwalk which runs east and west parallel to Queen Street, you will eventually find yourself with a choice between northbound to Lakeshore Avenue or continue southwest onto the Martin Goodman Trail.  It is all part of the Ashbridges Bay Park.  There are plenty of boat docks, and fishing areas around here as well.

At sunset you can see the breathtaking view of Toronto's skyline and Lake Ontario.  There are access points along the beach specific to the swimmer, the wader and the explorer.  A bird sanctuary houses many trees with birds of varied species.  I happened upon a baby cardinal, but unfortunately it grew way too dark to take any decent photos of them.

Just another trail in Toronto to explore!  It really satisfies enough of the balance of nature, that it isn't really necessary to travel up north to be a part of it all.  The trail extends about 20 km, from the Humber River in the west to Beaches Park in the east and connects to the Don River Trail.

Martin Goodman makes up part of the Waterfront Trail, which extends 900 kilometres from Niagara -on-the-Lake to the Quebec border, along Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. (Parts of the trail have yet to be joined with each other.)

Rouge River Trail

The Rouge River trail is an excellent trek for those just starting out in their hiking adventures! Its a fairly easy one about 10 kilometres long and only a few hills to surmount. The beauty of this trail is the gorgeous Lake Ontario views, and an abundance of natural resources which are inhabited by animals such as fox, rabbits, raccoons, pheasant, grouse and white tailed deer.

The trail is situated very close to the Metropolitan Toronto Zoo so if you are in the mood to go animal exploring you can off the trail and venture north. There weren't any larger mammals around, but I did chance upon a tiny critter just sitting in the middle of the footpath. It was a shy, baby squirrel and the cutest thing I ever saw!




The Rouge River park stretches along Lake Ontario is 11,000 acres of gorgeous scenery set in an urban area found just off of Sheppard Avenue! You will see the odd jogger and cyclist but few were out today. You may even see a horse go by. The trail also follows the Rouge River south where and goes into the Glen Rouge Park and Campgrounds. This may be unusual to find a campground in the city but apparently they are quite common in Europe!

Typical scene you'll discover!

Despite the winds, it was a perfect day out for walking!