Etienne Brule Park is part of the Humber River Trail in Toronto, which is about 32km long. A lot of these trails can be reached by car, bus, subway or even Go Train, so there's really no excuse not to get out and experience them.
The Etienne Brule Park is just north of King's Mill Park, Humber Marshes and South Humber. It runs from Old Mill Road to Lundy Avenue. They've made plenty of improvements based on the Humber River Fisheries Management Plan. The plan is to improve the movement of the fish in the watershed and of course to protect the fish during the early stages of growth as well.
One of the first things you'll notice entering the park lands is the Old Mill Bridge which has been there since 1793 when Toronto's first Industrial building "The king's Mill" was built. It's purpose was to supply the wood for the construction of Fort York. The bridge today isn't exactly the same one, but it was modified in 1916. One further note about the Old Mill (Inn and Spa) and the Bridge is that they are now designated under the Heritage Act. Basically what that means in a nutshell is that historically it is documented, protected and never to be destroyed.
Going even further back to a day of September 19, 1615 when Etienne Brule became the first European to see Lake Ontario, maybe even the first to see Georgian Bay, Lake Michigan, Lake Superior and Lake Huron. He was the first to live among the native people and learn their ways. All this at a ripe of age of 20 years old.
Here's a .pdf file on the Humber River Fisheries Mgmt Plan
Sherman Falls sits pretty right in the middle of a pretty town called Ancaster. The flow is always good here because its comes from the Ancaster creek where it flows over the Niagara Escarpment.
If you drive, just park on the side of the road (everyone does it) where Old Dundas meets Lions Club road. Sherman is on your left. Just a hop, skip and a jump and you're into a lovely forested cove with tall aspens and birch trees.
If you are fortunate enough to live in Ancaster, its about a kilometer along Old Dundas road, not far from the Ancaster Mill Restaurant. Canterbury Falls is in the area as well. There's a hike up above the Sherman Falls as well, but will have to return for that sometime soon.
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Last year some helpers from the Iroquois Bruce trail club replaced the 25 year old bridge that ran across Ancaster Creek with a new one made of Douglas Fir. It only took them a couple of days to construct it, but members of club volunteer their time and materials to projects around the city to help maintain the Bruce trail and others. Some of them have ties to Dofasco so they are able to bring tools and equipment in the effort.
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Sherman Falls is 17 metres high and 8 metres across. You'll find excellent directions to get here if you click this:
Updates: As of October 2, 2016: There is a no parking zone by Sherman Falls.
A very popular venue, the Old Mill Inn and Spa is an English-style Inn and restaurant. It was originally a saw mill built in 1793. In 1914, it was owned by R. Home Smith who opened it as "the Old Mill Tea Garden". Following that the Inn was used as a dance hall for during the Big Band era in the 20's. More recently in 1983 it was designated as a 'Heritage Property' by the City of Etobicoke (now Toronto). Currently it is owned by the Kalmar family. The Spa opened in 2001 with over 47 rooms and 13 suites. The property over looks 2.5 hecacres of parkland surrounding the Humber River making it a perfect spot for weddings, business conventions or a romantic getaway.
When you look at this gorgeous property both inside and out, its not too difficult to imagine that almost 300 years ago the area surrounding the Old Mill, was once used as a fishing and hunting area for the First Nations before the Europeans took settlement here. By about 1720, the French had made it their home calling a small piece of land the Magasin Royale, was was close to the present site of the Mill. They used this fort-like property to trade with different native bands.
50 years later, the English came and built homes, using the Mill to cut lumber. The first homes were built in York, Upper Canada which is now known as Toronto. There are so many beautiful piece of furniture inside, surrounded by lush gardens on the outside, patios, gifts shops and a chapel onsite.
see Etienne Brule Trail
see Humber River Trail
Darnley Cascade once powered the Grist Mill in the early 1800's. Today water flows over layered rocks and is measured as the highest above sea level of all the waterfalls in Hamilton at 223 metres, although its drop is a mere 4 metres making it the smallest of cascades in Hamilton.
You can see remnants of the old Grist dam and off into the horizon is the newer Christie dam. Darnley was a name given by the man who founded Crooks Hollows, James Crooks. He was a Scotsman whose hero was Lord Darnley.
In 1911, the Crooks sold the mill to the Stutts. (see Darnley ruins). Some to this day call it Stutts Falls.
I don't know if it was the gloomy gray skies, or the wind whistling through the trees around me, but I felt very melancholy to think that tragedy had occurred in a setting so beautiful.
One of the first things you'll notice entering the park lands is the Old Mill Bridge which has been there since 1793 when Toronto's first Industrial building "The king's Mill" was built. It's purpose was to supply the wood for the construction of Fort York. The bridge today isn't exactly the same one, but it was modified in 1916. One further note about the Old Mill (Inn and Spa) and the Bridge is that they are now designated under the Heritage Act. Basically what that means in a nutshell is that historically it is documented, protected and never to be destroyed. 
