A Connector Finally Back Under the Tracks
If you’ve been missing the quiet stretch of trail that ducks under the rail corridor just behind Corktown Common, good news: the Bala underpass is open again. After more than 3 years of construction, walkers, runners and cyclists can once more slip through that dark tunnel and keep rolling along the Lower Don without bouncing back onto Bayview traffic.
Our camera went back through on a bright morning, and the path feels like itself again. The underpass’s red-and-white safety stripes still mark the entrance, trees press in close on both sides, and the trail stretches ahead toward the river corridor that locals have been waiting to reclaim.
Along the Don, Out Toward Taylor Creek
This mixed-use path hugs the shore of the Don River, travelling under steel trusses and a shady canopy as it climbs the valley. It’s the kind of Toronto shortcut that makes a longer ride or walk feel connected instead of interrupted, linking the Corktown Common side of the valley up toward Taylor Creek and beyond.
A little farther along, another long-awaited reopening waits: the footbridge by Riverdale Park Road. For what felt like forever it sat behind chain-link fencing while construction dragged on. Now it’s back in the rotation, which means you can choose nature over the car-choked edge of Bayview again.
Hidden Gems on an Old Route
If you’re new to this stretch, take your time. After a closure that lasted more than 3 years, plenty of people will be. The route still hides the small finds people love down here, including the famous gargoyle monsters of the Don watching from the valley walls. Keep going and you’ll land near Pottery Road, the head of the Lower Don Trails, with E.T. Seton Park and the wider Don system within reach.
The City of Toronto reopened the stretch from the Bala underpass to the Queen Street Bridge in November 2025, then opened the Lower Don Trail from Corktown Common to E.T. Seton Park on August 1, 2026, with stair access from Queen Street, Dundas Street and the Riverdale Park Bridge also open. One piece of remaining work is the new accessible sloped pathway on the north side of the Riverdale Park Pedestrian Bridge, and a temporary trail closure is planned after the Thanksgiving long weekend to finish that connection. For now, though, the underpass and the main trail corridor are yours again.
Finally, it’s a simple joy: lace up, hop on a bike, and take the Lower Don the way it was meant to be taken.
Watch the reel on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytorontonews/reel/DeB0qQEO6y2/