Want to swap city noises for bullfrogs, birds and other marshland dwellers right in the heart of the city?
Tommy Thompson Park’s history may be dirty (a parcel of man-created land for construction waste), but nature has won this battle and flourishes on this narrow, artificial peninsula jetting out to Lake Ontario.
About a 1.5 hour walk or 25 minute cycle from Leslie Street to its southern point, visitors who cross the floating bridge and reach the very tip are rewarded with clear views across the lake and the Harbour Light(house) which is nestled above shrubs and greenery growing around the hilltop on which it’s situated.
If you don’t make it all the way to the end, no worries. Throughout the park are singletrack footpaths to the water’s edges with fantastic snapshots of the city’s core.
Oh, and who is Tommy Thompson, you ask? He was the first Commissioner of Parks from 1955 – 1981.
For the park’s hours of operation, visit https://tommythompsonpark.ca/visitor-information/