Don North Trail (Wilket Creek)

Following northwest on the trail you will come to a junction which acts as a meeting place, a rest station or terminus to Sunnybrook Park, Wilket Creek or Edwards Gardens.  Wilket Creek park is surrounded by mature oak and maple trees, sloping trails and ravines.  The creek is surrounded by ferns and cattails. A peaceful and beautiful portion of the trail.

Another popular parks for meet ups and family picnics.  The Terry Fox run usually starts at Wilket Creek.  The park itself is accessible from Leslie Street north of Eglinton Avenue.  This portion of parkland will eventually merge into the famous Edwards Gardens.  

Don North Trail (E.T. Seton Park)

Travelling further northwest on the trail and you will ride into E.T. Seton Park. A park which was obtained by the City of Toronto in honour of E.T. Seton in the 1960’s.  Originally it was to be the future site of the Metro Toronto Zoo, but now the established parkland abuts the Ontario Science Centre.  Spacious and abundant with parkland and trees, it is a good site for fundraisers, picnics, BBQ, and the new Lung Cancer Canada Grove.  Kind of a weird name but there is a portion of the park that contains a unique grove of trees.  The ‘healing circle’ is a path leading to the heart of the Grove which is a circle of 8 large limestones, with trees surrounding it. If you purchase a tree, the tree will be transplanted and a bench with a plaque will have your name on it.  The cost of the tree is $1,000. a piece.  


Oh, by the way, there's also plenty of parking if you choose to bring your vehicle to the park!

Don North Trail (Flemington Park)

Don North to Flemingdon Park

Flemingdon Park (the West Don)

There is a terminus, which I mentioned earlier in the blog ("Don River Trail") which indicates that you can either go to Taylor/Massey Creek park, follow the Don River downtown or cross the bridge to Charles Sauriol Conservation Reserve which ends up at Edwards Garden (north). This is a long trek, but a really nice ride going north.  The entire trip is a slight incline but barely noticeable.  


Entering the Conservation area, there is a bridge which overlooks the DVP to the east.  Up and over and down into Flemingdon Park travelling westbound. The land historically was owned by Robert Fleming and sold as public land after his death in 1925.  A multicultural area, post second war highrises developed in 1961 turning into public housing and low income section of Toronto.  The reputation has improved since the new millennium, and since 2000, the addition of new middle upper class homes and developments have increased property values.


History out of the way, just enjoy the pics for now! The goal is Edwards Gardens, so I decided to break up the journey into park parts :)

Crothers' Woods

An awesome find, a relatively untouched area of the Don Valley since 1793, but the area has had it's share of history.  If you're interested you can link up the history section on wikipedia at Crothers' Woods.  

The wooded area is a welcome cool down especially after a heated ride through the valley under the hot sun.  It's much like a trip up north once you enter into the mountain biking terrain.  Lots of maple and oaks around.  I am not an agile enough athlete to handle the bike  through the woods, but working on it.  Prefer the smoother trails by far, but sometimes you run into rough territory to get to the good stuff.  

Here's some pics of some of the surroundings.  I really need a better camera, especially for the film footage.  Summers winding down and perfect timing too as the trails have pretty much been all but covered soon.