Humber Arboretum Trail

A must-see through the Humber Valley is the Humber Arboretum. It's a really beautiful trek in Toronto’s west end. It covers over 250 acres of botanical gardens and natural, wilder areas that surround the West Humber River.

The Arboretum is located just behind the Humber College North Campus at the intersection of Humberline Drive and Humber College Blvd., so there's lots of parking available.  If you'd rather take a bus or go on foot, it might be of interest to note that there is an express bus from Kipling station to the college.  Terrific way to get there and save on gas.

Once you arrive, you can choose either to take in the beautiful surroundings of the manicured lawns and flourishing flora at the Botanical Gardens in the Arboretum first, or take a walk through many of the marked nature trails through the Arboretum.  I liked the "Meadow Walk" which had 3 separate gates.  Others include the "Survival Path", "Boardwalk", "Beech Vista", "Woodland", "Pondview" and "Garden Circle".  All these nature trails are encompass the Arboretum and excellent tools for educational purposes as well.

The areas surrounding these paths are filled with meadow flowers and forested areas of over 1700 different species of plants and old and new native trees.   The trail paths following out of the Arboretum will take you northwest from this point towards Humberwoods Park in the direction of the Indian Line Campground where you will come across the Claireville Dam & Reservoir, constructed in the aftermath of Hurricane Hazel.

Further northwest still is the Claireville Conservation Area, which is an 848-acre natural and forested area located on the border of Toronto and Brampton. It is one of the largest tracts of land owned by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA). Not all trails in here are accessible on bike, which is why it is sometimes a good idea to leave your bike at home.

Claireville is an unsupervised conservation area and supposedly has coyotes and deer (I've only seen a few bird species, though). Although Claireville is a passive conservation area, so it's popular with ‘birders’.  So, if your photographic interest is birds, then this is a good find.   I will be returning soon before summer's end to take a look at Claireville Conservation Area.  Unfortunately I have little patience unless I am alone to take any wildlife photos.  If I happen to see something, I will do my best to capture it.  Maybe you will have better luck!

For now, I am just content to take pictures of scenic landscapes. If you enjoy looking at the scenes, the photos will take care of themselves.

Happy Trails!

Mount Pleasant Park

After dinner, we decided to go for a walk through the Mount Pleasant Cemetery (been here before see blog), located in the heart of Toronto.

I was elated to find something at least a little different.  I saw an Eastern Grey Squirrel, which is less common than the typical black squirrel I have seen around.  This one looked as though it was praying.  Fitting for a cemetery, I suppose.  There were lots of vibrant colours around from lilacs to Maple trees, which was a nice change from the more common greens found in the late spring and summer time.
   

Some interesting finds tonight were the interesting "FREE MASONS" which had some masonry work toppled over?  A very small grave stone etched, "MOTHER FATHER" which I found very very sad.  In keeping with Father's Day coming up this weekend, I am hoping to be able to take my own father out to a trail which I think he'll enjoy that is close to him, and easy for him to walk through.

I also saw a tombstone marked, "King Stark" which can only be appreciated by die-hard Game of Thrones fans!!

Just for a point of interest, there are several guided tours than can be personalized to suit your schedule.  This goes on all year long.  In the guided tours you will hear about some of the nations leading citizens and families.  Some of whom went on to achieve wealth and fame in Canadian and Toronto history such as the Massey and the Eaton families.   Others are William Lyon Mackenzie King (Canada's longest serving Prime Minister, Mary Pickford (world's first movie star), while still others will be names are unknown to almost everyone today. 

Whether you are part of a guiding tour on going for a stroll on your own, there is over 83 hectares of land space dating back over 130 years ago, full of mature trees and shrubs inhabiting all kinds of species of birds and squirrels. All in all there are several picturesque and dramatic views as the geology contains several plateaus, ravines and valleys that you will enjoy.