Make Time to Walk

Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time. ~Steven Wright

I was born a walker. Growing up in a one car family that my father needed to get to work while living in the outskirts of town meant that if you wanted to do anything or go anywhere you relied on your feet. This was so ingrained that I did not bother get a drivers license until I was 25. When I moved to the city in my early adulthood, I relied on buses to transport me to work until a strike taught me that the hour and a half walk to and from was reasonable and pleasant, at least on the good weather days. For seven years, while living in the car-obsessed and sidewalk-phobic suburban USA, I slowly lost the habit, but I've been gaining it back, going on almost daily adventures of urban exploration.

It never ceases to amaze me how little many of my friends know of their own backyards, even when they have lived in the area all their lives. We have traded an adventurers' soul for the mundane, stress inducing car commute, even driving to the store a few blocks away. Reassessing my own life and stress, I came to the realization that I was a lot happier as a walker, in the fresh air, in nature, interacting with people, seeing the small little things that make city life or country living so pleasurable, and which often get missed in the car.

I'll share my favourite walks and memories in and around my current home of Toronto, as well as Halifax, Chicago and Paris. Take a stroll with me.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

This Ain't No Skatin' Blog! Colonel Samuel Smith Park, Etobicoke

Skates unloved
Skates unloved...

I’m about to admit a deep dark secret, one so profound that it will likely cause mysterious men in sunglasses, black hockey jerseys and toques to enter my house in the dark of night, confiscate my passport, my VHS collection of CBC shows and bottles of maple syrup before whisking me off blindfolded to an undisclosed location deep below the 49th parallel.  

I can’t skate.

There, I feel better now that it’s out.  The number of times that I have donned ice skates can probably be counted on one hand.  And each of those occasions involved more time spent on my ass than on my feet.  For a short time before I took the plunge into motherhood, and therefore sensibility, I did inline skate,  but they always felt better and sturdier.  The wheels are pretty thick and it always felt I had a solid base to work with.  I was never any good at it and again had my fair share of embarrassing on-my-ass time, but I could awkwardly propel myself around parks for some exercise and that was all that mattered.  Ice skates I can’t seem to master.  Tottering on those thin little blades, ankles going here there and everywhere, gliding on sharp knives while everyone else is gliding by on sharp knives.  It’s cold, your toes ache, the skates are as hard and uncomfortable as hell.  I have a lot of respect for people who do it for a living because I have never had anything but a miserable experience on them.  

Thank goodness that this is not a skating blog because then were would we be?  With very few entries, that’s for sure!  This is a hiking blog!  But all the hoopla about the new skating trail at Colonel Samuel Smith Park has gotten me thinking about it and so with that I’ll take a few moments of your time to rave about the park. 


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I used to live a few blocks away from the park, when my children were still small enough to be carted about in strollers and wagons, and we spent lots of time there enjoying nature and fresh air and the water.  I had all but forgotten about it after we moved until I was lamenting the lack of choices to exercise my dog and a friend pointed out that there was a new dog park there.  Always looking for new experiences for both myself and my dog, I took the time to drive down several times in October to check it out.  Chatting with another dog owner, he mentioned that the City was building an ice rink there, but he wasn’t sure where.  My friend and I kept our eyes open for it while we roamed but never saw heads or tails of an ice rink, but now I understand the confusion.  This the first ice trail in Toronto and I can’t think of a better place than here.  It’s nice to see the City developing new ways to get people using their parks all year long.  I can’t tell you how many great parks that I have explored over the past year that have been relatively empty but popular parks like High Park remain crowded all day long, seven days a week.  Anything that gets people out, exploring their City and putting to good use everything it has to offer is a good thing.  And the buzz generating around the ice trail will hopefully also get people excited about what is in general a buzz worthy park.

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Wetlands
That’s not to say that there hasn’t been controversy over the development of the ice trail.  There have been concerns about the impact it will have on the local environment and the species which make it their home.  Compromises were made and the final design was in the end considered tolerable.  I always have very mixed, stomach tightening feelings about such matters.  I like to think of myself as a fairly green person and love nature.  But when you live in the City, surrounded by concrete and smog and traffic and noise, it becomes very easy to forget about the natural world.  We have removed ourselves too much from that natural world and these parks can go a long way to bringing us back.  Finding an appropriate balance between our needs and those of the world around us is difficult and not to be taken lightly and we certainly need to take steps both individually and as a whole to keep our impact minimal.  But if it takes a skating rink, which is located close the to the entrance of the park, to get people, especially children, outdoors and into the real world, then let’s do it.  

Colonel Samuel Smith was a Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada in the early 1800’s.  Born in New York, a loyalist and veteran of the American Revolutionary war, after the war he continued his service under the crown, spending time in England and in New Brunswick  and finally being stationed in the Niagara Region.  Upon his retirement he purchased a 1,000 acre tract (comprising the area between Kipling Avenue and Royal York Road, Bloor Street and Lake Ontario) in Etobicoke and became one of the first settlers in that region. 

The grounds where Colonel Sam Smith Park are located were formerly part of grounds of the Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital, an important part of our City's collective history.  Opened in 1889, this hospital complex ran for almost 100 years until it’s closure in 1979.  Despite its use in some movie and television productions, it fell into disrepair for a number of years.  Much of the complex is now used by Humber College, Lakeshore Campus.


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A reminder that we're still in the City - A view of downtown Toronto
This particular area of Etobicoke is vibrant and active and one of my favourite areas in all of Toronto.  There are lots of independent shops and small, good restaurants and lively pedestrian activity.  Out of the three waterfront parks in this area, this has always been the one that I have noticed to be most used, at least during the weekdays. There is also great access to the park as the Kipling South bus goes right into it.  Numerous species of birds, turtles and beavers can be found here and there are plenty of new, helpful interpretive signs that provide a little bit of insight on much of the local wildlife and environment.  A small wetlands area has been created, which is one my favourite features of the park, it is very picturesque.  Another feature that I love is that it is right on the lake.  Except on the hottest, most still days, there is always a little bit of a breeze and, just like nearby East/West Humber Parks, there is a really great view of the downtown core on clear days.  There are plenty of trees throughout and it is really pretty to visit in the fall.  Trails take you right out to the peninsula and it's great vistas of Lake Ontario.  The trails are part of the Waterfront Trail system which is an ongoing effort to have an extended trail system along the Lakes and St. Lawrence. 

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Trees were getting bare

On my last visit there, I went with a friend.  We hit the new dog park first and gave our dogs a good run and then hit the trail.  It was a gorgeous sunny day, although a little on the brisk side, with a good wind.  There were plenty of people out and about except on the long stretch along the peninsula, fellow dog walkers, students and a lone jogger.  This isn’t a massively large park, you could do the whole thing in a leisurely stroll in less than an hour.  But there are all sorts of different environments to check out, from wetlands, to shrubby, rocky waterfront.  Trails are mixed with mostly light gravel surfaces and some paved paths.  If you want to extend your walk, stroll west through my old haunting grounds on Lake Promenade about 20 minutes to Marie Curtis Park, another charming waterfront park with a forested trail following Etobicoke Creek.  The neighbourhood in this area is an interesting mix of old cottage/bungalow style homes and newer, more upscale development and is a great walk.  This is a great park for families with a small playground nearby and lots of learning opportunities around every corner.  


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New dog run.
Useful Information: 

  • Duration of Walk:  Roughly one hour (based on short legs, picture taking and doggy care)
  • Difficulty:  EASY.  Relatively flat terrain.  
  • Parking/Getting There:  TTC:  (Subway) Get off at Kipling Station on the Bloor line.  Take the 44 Kipling South straight into the park.  It is the last stop on the bus run. (Streetcar) The 501 Queen Route heading rest stops right at Lake Shore and Kipling and the park is just a short walk down Colonel Samuel Smith Park Dr.   Parking:  There is paid Green P parking available in the park.
  • Washrooms:  There is a bathroom at Williams Coffee Shop.  Only available on weekdays.
  • Local Coffee Haunts: There is a Williams Fresh Cafe on the Humber Campus.  Strangely, it is not open on weekends. 
  • Safety Factor:  SAFE.  There were generally lots of people around, good for daytime treks.  As always though, you should be mindful of your environment and the people around you.  
  • Special Equipment: No.  Sneakers should be fine.
  • Suitable for Dogwalking?:  YES.  But please keep your dog on a leash.  There are sensitive habitats and dogs can be very disruptive.  

Links of interest:

Colonel Samuel Smith Park



Waterfront Trails

Guided bird walks:

Citizens Concerned about the Future of the Etobicoke Waterfront

Star Article (with video) on the new ice trail:

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/917950--ice-trail-is-like-a-walk-in-the-park-on-skates




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