Don River Trail

the flow of the Don

On a recent trip into an old haunt, I took these pictures of one of the nicest trails in Toronto, the Don River trail.

It starts at Edwards Gardens as you head south towards the Lakeshore, and covers over 13 kilometres, which is a nice trek whether you're running, hiking or biking.  The pavement is smooth for the most part and offers a wide range of photo opportunities as you can see here.

Entering the Don Valley

Since first discovering this trail in 2005 I've seen lots of physical changes to it over such a short time.  The land on either side of the path has been bulldozed in some areas and opened up to expand to further forests to discover, as well as new bike trails into Crothers Woods.

on route to Crothers Woods

natures' lovely mess

There are new additional waterfall features that have been added to the southern flow of the Don River as well.  I wouldn't compare this to the more spectacular flows of the Niagara Escarpment but for an urban city as large as Toronto, it's still pretty incredible to find as much parkland as still exists here.  One of the locations of the new waterfall features is south of the footbridge on the west embankment as the Don Valley Parkway and Don Mills Road conjoin. 

When the Don Valley Parkway was first built up in the 1950s and 1960s to meet the growing demands of the commuting city, some geographical changes to the land surrounding the Don River involved a pretty large engineering project.  

Port Lands

spooky reflections

I see a lady's face, do you?

new Don Waterfall (handheld-no tripod, no good)

I have no idea what he's doing here

For example two of the hills within the valley were leveled out and the soil was used for grading the highway.  The railways and the Don River were then diverted, as Don Mills Road was expanded along with Eglinton and Lawrence Avenues.  I don't want to dwell on the details of the projects as much as the damage that the price of modernization caused the Don Valley and the river flow of the Don River, which was soon inundated with pollution, heavy flooding and sediment-laden waters.  In other words the Don became a filthy, neglected, polluted mess.

I actually remember when my father would take us down the DVP when we were kids, telling us to hold our noses because it smelled so bad.  It may have been funny then as children, but as an adult, I can tell you nothing upsets me more than polluted waterways.

Guard House - Cherry Beach circa 1930

the docks of the Guard House

Thankfully, in the early 1990s a public forum gathered much steam at the Ontario Science Centre of all the appropriate places to start up a task force to 'Bring Back the Don'.  I'm happy to say than now, over 20 years later, it's just a beautiful sight and sound to hear the crashing flow of the Don over rocks and ridges while making her way south into the Lake Ontario.

Busy bee

So, once you find yourself at the the Lakeshore, if you have enough energy left, scoot across to Cherry Street past the Port Lands Ship Channel all the way down to Cherry Beach where you'll find lovely views of the Lake, the Life 'GuardHouse' circa 1930 and pretty interesting people.   

..life's good..

Entering the Don Valley

Abandoned bridge on the trail

In the midst of all the hubbub of a city of over 5 million in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), you can still find a man swinging on a hammock with a guitar in his hands, toque on his head, and a song in his heart... life's good.

Tabor Hill Iroquois Burial Mound

Taber Hill also spelled Tabor Hill is an Iroquois burial mound in Toronto, Ontario. It is located near Lawrence Avenue and Bellamy Road in Scarborough. The cemetery was discovered on August 17, 1956 when a steam shovel was in the process of demolishing the 60 foot high hill. The soil was being transported for use in construction an overpass for Highway 401 and the cleared site was then intended to be turned into a suburban subdivision.

After digging some one hundred feet into the hill the workers found a large collection of human bones. The ossuary was eventually found to be about fifty feet long, seven feet wide, and one foot deep. An estimated 472 individuals are believed to have been buried there. The burial dates to about 1250 CE.





The provincial government expropriated the site, exchanging it for land elsewhere in the area. It was proclaimed a cemetery and has since been administered by the city. At the top of the mound is a memorial with a historical plaque on one side and a prayer written by an Iroquois leader on the other. While designated a cemetery, there have been concerns that the area is often used as a park. Tobogganing is an especially popular activity on the steep hill.

Fenelon Falls

We are very fortunate to have access to hundreds of waterfalls in Ontario.  When I was a child my parents always took us to Niagara Falls at least two or three times in the warmer months.  My father loved it there, and that was when I first fell in love with the everlasting flow and beauty of waterfalls.  Some are more majestic than others.  Some are man made and some flow naturally from rivers and streams, and I love the philosophy of water flow. The ever changing movement.  

Fenelon Falls located in the Kawarthas is a popular spot in the summer months mostly due to cottage goers and tourism.  There are only about 1500 permanent residents there, so it gets pretty quiet the rest of the year, I'm sure.  This spot is popular due to both the "Locks" and the Waterfalls, which is known as the 'jewel of the Kawarthas', though the setting of this 'jewel' is located in the downtown core of Fenelon rather than surrounded by nature. These 'Falls' were created as part of the Fenelon River, a part of the Trent-Severn water system. 

The "locks" are still pretty popular though with curious onlookers as eager boaters patiently await to get through to the other side.   The popular 'Locks' is actually Lock 34 and if you  click here you can see it in action.  Once on the other side of the lock, the boats bolt into the open water of the Trent to tow an excited water skier or drop a line in the water to fish in a quiet corner somewhere.

I used to spend a lot of time here in the 90's, almost every weekend as a matter of fact and was amazed by how much it had changed.  One thing I noticed was the local theatre sadly was boarded up as this was almost full on weekends with the latest films.  


One thing I wanted to do this time while taking a picture of the falls, was to finally checkout the Fallsview Restaurant.  It always looked so exotic to me.  Though the view is quite stunning as you enjoy a meal on the terrace, you will probably find conversation will be difficult as the falls are extremely loud as it powers an hydro-electric dam as well.  

High Falls (Muskoka)

I was thrilled to finally get a shot of 'High Falls' in Bracebridge on the way back from a recent trip from Algonquin Park.  

High Falls is located in a Water Park which has 4 other waterfalls all coming together here.  They're all located on Clear River and fed by Lake Muskoka.  

There are also many old growth forest trails that connect to the Trans Canada Trail system. 

If you're planning a day of it, you can rent paddle boats, row boats, and kayaks here to get up close to the falls without any dippy surprises anywhere so it's safe for everyone.  Speaking of dippy surprises, High Falls is also known as the "Niagara of the North".  I don't know if I would go that far, but it's a pretty impressive water flow over the falls at 9 cubic metres a second with a 15 metres drop down the cliff.  

Almost 150 years ago the local farmers used to come here after a long days work to this spot to swim, relax and fish because of the awesome abundance of pickerel in the water.
 

If you are like me and like the look of a 'natural' looking waterfall, you might be a little disappointed to see a metal bridge up top which is the generating station, that runs automatically into the town's centre.
However this is a necessary part of civilization, and it doesn't really interfere too much to the beauty of High Falls.    

If you ever do spend more time here to enjoy the surrounding trails, you might want to climb down along the side of the falls to see a beautiful little creek, called Potts Creek. (named after a family who once lived at the falls).  It has a 15 metre drop with an upper and lower falls.  As for me that will be another time! By the way, Wilson's Falls looks like a beauty which is also within proximity here.