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Ed's Sk8toronto Website TORONTO AREA SKATING ROUTES Below can be found a list of Toronto area skating routes which I can recommend and my rating. For information on MAPS of Toronto area trails click HERE. |
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| TORONTO WATERFRONT ROUTES: | RECENT INFO [2008] | LAST SKATED | |
| JJJJ | Martin Goodman Trail (West End) | [Apr/09] In good shape | April/08 |
| JJJJ | Martin Goodman Trail (East End) | [May/09] In fine condition | May/09 |
| JJJ | Leslie Street Spit | [May/09] Same as always | May/09 |
| JJJ | Port Union | [Apr/09] Branch up Highland Creek is in poor shape north of Lawrence | April/09 |
JJJJ |
Toronto Islands | 2007 |
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| JJJ | Waterfront Trail (New Toronto-Long Branch-Port Credit) | [Apr/08] No surprises | April/08 |
OTHER AREA WATERFRONT ROUTES: |
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| JJJJJ | Hamilton Beachfront Trail | Great | 2008 |
| JJJJ | Bayfront Park (Hamilton) | Good | 2007 |
| JJJ | Waterfront Trail (Oshawa-Whitby) | Not worth a trip to Oshawa | 2007 |
| JJJ | Waterfront Trail (Ajax) | Not bad | April/08 |
| ??? | Niagara Circle Route | ? | Never |
TORONTO'S RAVINE ROUTES: *see notes below |
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| JJJ | Upper Humber River Valley (West Branch) | Ok | 2009 |
| JJJ | Upper Humber River Valley (East Branch) | 2007 | |
| JJ | Lower Humber River Valley | 2007 |
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| JJ | East Don River (North of 401) | 2007 |
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| JJJ | Sunnybrook Park | A big mess -not worth skating here | 2009 |
| JJ | Taylor Creek Park | Bad Shape | 2007 |
| JJ | Lower Don Valley | In terrible shape | 2008 |
* Ravine Routes Toronto ’s ravines and river valleys are a terrific recreational resource and are often great places to skate. In general these paths are more lightly used than the ones beside the lake and may be a better bet on warm weekends (to avoid the crowds). The ravine routes require a higher skill level to skate than the waterfront routes. There are a great variety “settings” to be found in the ravines –all the way from “open” parkland with wide lawns and plenty of picnic tables around, through open meadows with tall grass and a few trees to dense forest –where some skaters may feel less than "safe" if skating alone. In general, the skating season in the ravines starts several weeks after the routes along the lakeshore because it takes a while longer for things to dry out. The ravine routes are also subject to occasional flooding and because of the forested nature of many routes they are often not a great place to skate until 24 hours or more after a significant rainfall. On the positive side, the ravine routes are less exposed to the wind than the ones on the lakeshore. Skating the ravine routes is always a little more challenging that the lakeshore routes in terms of hills. Often the path is quite flat but sometimes the route leads out of the flood plain and then back down (to avoid cliffs, marshy areas etc). Always, the ravine routes are gaining elevation as the pathway follows the river towards its source. I always try to skate “up grade” first and then enjoy the downhill stretch coming back. Even a 1% slope makes a noticeable difference. Latest update: April/08 |
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