Best Nature Trails to Visit This Fall With Your Dog
October 12, 2020
You don’t have to venture too far to find a great place to walk your dog in the GTA area and this time of year with the beautiful fall colours is the perfect time to do it. Here are just a few of the parks and nature trails you'll want to check out:
Sunnybrook Park
Address: 1132 LESLIE ST
For the nature lover, Sunnybrook Park in the West Don River Valley is deemed an Environmentally Significant Area because of its plant and animal diversity.
On a good day, you can see Great Blue Herons and Red-winged Blackbirds and snapping turtles in the water.
Sunnybrook Park was once a farm in the late 1800s, belonging to Joseph Kilgour and was later bequeathed to the city of Toronto in 1928 upon his wife’s death.
Once home to the Metropolitcan Police, the barns are the original Kilgour stables that now serve as a public riding school.
It even has an off-leash area for large and small dogs with trails on either side.
Sunnybrook Park is nestled in the Don Mills area of Leslie Street, just south of the Bridle Path and north of Leaside. Accessible by the Don Valley Parkway: Leslie & Eglinton
Sherwood Park
190 Sherwood Avenue
Situated at the bottom of a steep driveway off of Sherwood Park and Mount Pleasant, you’ll find the offleash dog park that gives you several country trails through the forest, alongside a scenic creek that feeds into Sunnybrook Park.
Dogs are free to wander offleash, but they’ll need good recall because the fencing is full of holes and the gates at both ends of the park are always open.
Lots of steep hills and stair climbing at Sherwood Park, so be prepared to give yourself and your dog a really good workout. Perhaps not the best place for senior dogs or older dogs with joint problems.
It gets very busy in the morning and at midday when the dog walkers bring their charges for their daily exercise. So make sure your dog is well-socialized before you head over.
Beautiful and shady in the summer, muddy in the spring and slippery in the winter. Wear proper hiking gear.
High Park
1873 Bloor Street West
The largest park in the city, High Park has it all. From beautiful waterfront trails to diverse woodland hikes, there’s everything your dog will love, there’s even a zoo and tons of squirrels.
If your dog is well-behaved off leash, then head over to the leash-free part of the park. Just one warning, it’s not completely fenced-in so make sure your dog has excellent recall. You can venture off leash along the trails through the woods or stop by the park for some refreshing water and some socializing.
Cedarvale Park
443 Arlington Ave
If you go to Cedarvale Park, you have to hit the trails and head into the magnificent wetlands. Venture down the winding path, walk under massive bridges, and surround yourself in 15-foot bulrushes and reeds. Truly an experience you’ll never forget, right in the middle of the city east of Bathurst Street in Forest Hill.
Before you head off for the wetlands, stop off at the off-leash dog park so your canine can let off some steam. You’ll have to keep them on leash when walking through the trails. There are too many nesting birds and delicate flora and fauna you don’t want Fido tromping all over.
With so many beautiful parks and woods running through the GTA, why would you venture anywhere else? It’s all right here in your backyard. Just remember to take a towel for Fido. He’s gonna get dirty and probably wet too, oh joy!