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| Special instructions Bring picnic food, we'll be stopping to eat lunch somewhere along the way! |
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Directions High Park TTC Station. Meet outside the station, at the intersection of Gothic Ave and Quebec Ave. |
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The Good Lakes, ducks and sunshine, oh my! |
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Where High Park, Grenadier Pond, Western Beaches, Western Ravines |
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Notes From: http://www.torontohiking.com/tohi/high-park-western-ravines.html
High Park is one of the city's oldest parks with a variety of wildlife and vegetation including Carolinian and mixed forest areas. Grenadier Pond is popular for fishing and skating. Toronto's boardwalk dating back to the 1920s follows the Lake Ontario shoreline. The nearby Sunnyside Pavilion opened in 1922. Further on you will pass West Pond (Catfish Pond) with its' spring-fed marsh.
High Park is also the largest park in Toronto, Ontario spanning 161 hectares (400 acres). It is a mixed recreational and natural park, with sporting facilities, cultural facilities, educational facilities, gardens, playgrounds and a zoo. One third of the park remains in a natural state, with a rare oak savannah ecology.
Grenadier Pond, is a large [14.2 hectares (35 acres)] body of water located on the western edge of the park. It is named after the local Town of York garrison of the 1800s and their use of the pond for fishing. There are two local myths circulating about the Pond. One is that British Grenadiers fell through its thin ice when crossing to defend the city in the War of 1812. Other myths include that the pond is 'bottomless', that is, its depth cannot be measured due to the amount of mud. Fishing remains a popular pastime. Fish caught in the pond are safe to eat, and fishing derbies and casting contests have been held there.
The Eastern Ravine starts at the north-east corner at Bloor and Keele Streets as a forested area around a spring-fed pond. The ravine has a small stream winding south to small ponds just north of The Queensway. South of the forested area are the grassy, developed areas for picnicking, the adventure playground, and the zoo. The ponds, which also hold back storm water, drain into pipes and discharge into Lake Ontario. The Eastern Ravine is known to lie over a buried river.
In 1836, John George Howard purchased a 160-acre property in the County of York, to the west of Toronto, for a sheep farm, at the cost of $1,000.00. It was here that Howard designed and built Colborne Lodge, a Regency-style picturesque cottage in 1837 to complement its natural surroundings as the residence for himself and his wife Jemima Frances Meikle. The Howards named their property 'High Park' as it was situated on the highest point of land along the Humber Bay shoreline.
In 1873, Howard and his wife agreed to deed their country property to the City of Toronto. There were several conditions, including that the Howards continue to live at their residence, no alcohol ever be served in the park, and that the City hold the park "for the free use, benefit and enjoyment of the Citizens of Toronto for ever and to be called and designated at all times thereafter High Park". |
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