Autumn afternoon at High Park, Toronto

This weekend, we decided to take advantage of Toronto’s final weekend of road closures for the ActiveTO initiative and go on a bike ride through High Park.

Located west of downtown and north of Humber Bay, High Park is the second largest municipal park in Toronto, spanning 400 acres. It was originally opened in 1876 based on a bequest of land from John George Howard to the city, which stretches south from Bloor Street West to The Queensway just north of Lake Ontario. It is bounded by Grenadier Pond to the west and Parkside Drive to the east.

High Park features a hilly landscape, with two deep ravines that span its entire north-south distance. One-third of the park remains in natural state and has a rare oak savannah ecology.

There are several points of interest, including Colborne Lodge historical museum, the hillside gardens, the zoo, the Grenadier Cafe, and the amphitheatre. There are also numerous sports fields, a hockey rink, a pool, tennis courts, playgrounds, a dog off-leash area, nature trails, and picnic areas.

Springtime every year draws large crowds seeking to catch a glimpse of the seasonal cherry blossoms, and autumn is the perfect time for a visit to view some fall foliage.

12 responses to “Autumn afternoon at High Park, Toronto”

    1. It’s that time of year again!

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  1. I was going to comment about how I can’t believe your colors aren’t further along, but then I checked with a map and realized that, despite you living in the country to the north, Toronto is actually farther south latitudinally than we are!

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    1. Yup, that’s why we can’t really complain about our winters to people from the Midwest!

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  2. Sounds like a great place for a ride! Beautiful pictures, I love the fall colors. But I would LOVE to see the cherry blossoms as well 🙂

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  3. This looks absolutely Amazing. Toronto was on our list this year but then ☹ You’ve made us think of the city in a totally different way.👍

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  4. Love those fall colors! High Park looks like a place I’d love to explore whenever I visit Toronto!

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    1. It is a beautiful park! Hope you get a chance to visit someday.

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  5. […] delicate blooms starting around late April every year. The most popular destination is undoubtedly High Park, although this experience has become tarred in recent years by the destructive behaviour of crowds […]

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  6. […] High Park in Toronto’s west end has become one of Gizmo’s favourite spots in the city. This is one of the few places where she will walk for hours without plopping down like an immobile blob. We’ve taken her to the High Park Zoo where she met various creatures, but was not very interested. […]

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