This past weekend (May 4 – 5) I took part in a couple walks out of several that were scheduled for this annual event. Here’s part 1 of 3 for the two walks that I chose to do.
Walk 1 – Walking the Ravines:
The walk began at 11am and a large group of maybe 20 or so people showed up to meet outside of Castle Frank Station.
Castle Frank Station Meeting Spot
The regularly scheduled tour guide was changed to a gentleman who works at the Evergreen Brickworks. He gave us a brief introduction to walk and the things we would notice en route to our final stop, the Evergreen Brickworks.
We walked through part of the Rosedale residential area and stopped in a park that use to be part of a private property of a resident. It was given to the city to encourage the use of green space. There was a gate pointed out to us that indicated that former use of the park.
We continued on walking through the park and through another portion of the residential area till we reached a path that was an entranceway into the ravine system. Our tour guide stopped halfway down the path to give us more information on Toronto’s ravine system.
Ravine
The ravines and the creeks and rivers that run through them is a distinctive feature of the Toronto. Much of the ravine system in Toronto has remained untouched and in its natural state. It extends from central Toronto and connects to the Oak Ridges Morraine in the north. Due to Hurricane Hazel and the destruction it caused in 1957, Toronto chose to ban construction in the ravines. This is the main reason why it remains mostly parklands and untouched.
Path Entering Ravines
Ravine Paths
As we continued to walk downhill on the path admiring the trees, we stopped at the end of the path. Our guide pointed out a couple different paths – one going westward and the other going east. Since our final stop was the Evergreen Brickworks, we were going east.
Brief Stop in the Ravines
Walking Through the Ravines
The final leg through the ravines had us walking alongside roads on our right with the forested area on the left.
Entering Evergreen Brickworks
We made it to our stop which will be written about in my next post.
