EVCco
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Urban Wilderness!
- Thread starter EVCco
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EVCco
Senior Member
Eastern Shore - beachcombing
Having explored all of Toronto's known inland waterways, I now set out to examine its outer aquatic edge - that is to say, the lake shore. Of course, I've already touched on it, here and there, during other treks. But large stretches still remain for me to cover. So I'm heading out to fill in the gaps - going from east to west, starting today at East Point Park (with areas further east having already been covered in my Rouge River and East Point Creek / Greyabbey Ravine posts):
An interesting assortment of things seems to wash ashore (or fall from the cliffs above) out in this obscure area of the city:
Down here on the beach, with most of the city hidden above the bluffs, it's somewhat difficult to determine where exactly you are on the map. A creek winding its way into the lake, however, suggests that I should be passing below Greyabbey Park right about here:
The last remnants of natural beachfront now gives way to the Waterfront Trail beneath Guildwood Park:
An apartment building atop Livingston Road marks my entrance into the South Marine Drive Park area; one of the few signs of civilization you'll see out here. Indeed, the combination of early morning, late winter, and the Scarborough shore offers one the unique experience to literally walk for miles through the city of Toronto and not see another living soul:
The lonely, landscaped coastline undulates towards Sylvan Park, and the Bellamy Ravine, where I end this leg of my journey...:
...for a trip up the ravine, and along the edge of Cudia Park, please refer to my Cliffcrest Creeks post. For the rest of the lake shore, further west - stay tuned!
Having explored all of Toronto's known inland waterways, I now set out to examine its outer aquatic edge - that is to say, the lake shore. Of course, I've already touched on it, here and there, during other treks. But large stretches still remain for me to cover. So I'm heading out to fill in the gaps - going from east to west, starting today at East Point Park (with areas further east having already been covered in my Rouge River and East Point Creek / Greyabbey Ravine posts):
An interesting assortment of things seems to wash ashore (or fall from the cliffs above) out in this obscure area of the city:
Down here on the beach, with most of the city hidden above the bluffs, it's somewhat difficult to determine where exactly you are on the map. A creek winding its way into the lake, however, suggests that I should be passing below Greyabbey Park right about here:
The last remnants of natural beachfront now gives way to the Waterfront Trail beneath Guildwood Park:
An apartment building atop Livingston Road marks my entrance into the South Marine Drive Park area; one of the few signs of civilization you'll see out here. Indeed, the combination of early morning, late winter, and the Scarborough shore offers one the unique experience to literally walk for miles through the city of Toronto and not see another living soul:
The lonely, landscaped coastline undulates towards Sylvan Park, and the Bellamy Ravine, where I end this leg of my journey...:
...for a trip up the ravine, and along the edge of Cudia Park, please refer to my Cliffcrest Creeks post. For the rest of the lake shore, further west - stay tuned!
Last edited:
Long Island Mike
Senior Member
EVCco: This entire thread has been a very interesting photo tour of a part of Toronto that the average person never sees...
I have enjoyed the views here over time and it definitely is fascinating...LI MIKE
I have enjoyed the views here over time and it definitely is fascinating...LI MIKE
newearthling
Senior Member
This is the first time that I have checked out this thread EVCco, and it is AWESOME. 
What a great project! Nice photography too.
What a great project! Nice photography too.
EVCco
Senior Member
Thanks guys! Generally, I enjoy bringing these posts to you as much as you enjoy reading them. But unfortunately this isn't always the case - case in point, today's post(s)...
Eastern Shore - mudslogging, pt. 1
This continuation of the week-before-last's journey along the lakeshore turned out to be a bit more than I bargained for. Initially I planned to bypass the whole Cliffcrest area (having covered much of that terrain from above already) and pick up somewhere around Bluffers Park. But then I figured, what's another kilometre, or so, to truly complete the whole shoreline experience? So off I got at Warden Station, to catch the #102 back from whence I came last post - passing, in the process, this fine reminder of my destination:
Things start off well enough as I begin where I last left-off, at Bellamy Ravine...:
...however, somewhere below the aptly named Fool's Paradise, my difficulties began in earnest as the Waterfront Trail ends abruptly, leaving a long stretch of untamed shoreline for only the most foolhardy adventurers (such as myself) to negotiate. Naturally, it had rained the night before, making this treacherous passage all the more treacherous. It's a long, tough slog through quicksand-like muck before finally making landfall again under Cudia Park:
Whereas some challenges are thrust upon you, others are purely of your own making. Reaching Cathedral Bluffs Park I find evidence of some heretofore unknown streams draining into the lake. Being the waterway sucker that I am, I now suddenly find myself slipping and sliding halfway up these muddy cliff faces in order to pinpoint their source. First this one...:
...and then, a little further down the shore, another:
Having wasted a good 45 minutes, or so, doing that, I'm rewarded with the return of a solid trail heading through a wetland towards Cathedral Bluffs Beach:
Finally, I enter the multi-peninsular Bluffers Park - heading first out into the upper arm. With its unique mix of waterfront, marina, and mountainous bluffs, you could (if you squint hard enough) almost imagine yourself in Vancouver, or some such place - if you should so desire:
Back around the yacht docks and houseboats of the park's central portion:
Then, at last, down into the lower peninsula:
Over 100 pictures, and 2 hours into my trek, and I've only now arrived at where I originally planned to start! But things don't get any easier, as you'll see in part two...
Eastern Shore - mudslogging, pt. 1
This continuation of the week-before-last's journey along the lakeshore turned out to be a bit more than I bargained for. Initially I planned to bypass the whole Cliffcrest area (having covered much of that terrain from above already) and pick up somewhere around Bluffers Park. But then I figured, what's another kilometre, or so, to truly complete the whole shoreline experience? So off I got at Warden Station, to catch the #102 back from whence I came last post - passing, in the process, this fine reminder of my destination:
Things start off well enough as I begin where I last left-off, at Bellamy Ravine...:
...however, somewhere below the aptly named Fool's Paradise, my difficulties began in earnest as the Waterfront Trail ends abruptly, leaving a long stretch of untamed shoreline for only the most foolhardy adventurers (such as myself) to negotiate. Naturally, it had rained the night before, making this treacherous passage all the more treacherous. It's a long, tough slog through quicksand-like muck before finally making landfall again under Cudia Park:
Whereas some challenges are thrust upon you, others are purely of your own making. Reaching Cathedral Bluffs Park I find evidence of some heretofore unknown streams draining into the lake. Being the waterway sucker that I am, I now suddenly find myself slipping and sliding halfway up these muddy cliff faces in order to pinpoint their source. First this one...:
...and then, a little further down the shore, another:
Having wasted a good 45 minutes, or so, doing that, I'm rewarded with the return of a solid trail heading through a wetland towards Cathedral Bluffs Beach:
Finally, I enter the multi-peninsular Bluffers Park - heading first out into the upper arm. With its unique mix of waterfront, marina, and mountainous bluffs, you could (if you squint hard enough) almost imagine yourself in Vancouver, or some such place - if you should so desire:
Back around the yacht docks and houseboats of the park's central portion:
Then, at last, down into the lower peninsula:
Over 100 pictures, and 2 hours into my trek, and I've only now arrived at where I originally planned to start! But things don't get any easier, as you'll see in part two...
EVCco
Senior Member
Eastern Shore - mudslogging, pt. 2
Before moving on, let me take you back a little over a decade ago, to 2002 and a tale alluded to sometime earlier in this thread. It was my first visit to the Scarborough Bluffs and my inexperience was really on full display as, shortly after taking the photos below, I ended up tumbling most of the way down one of the hillsides pictured above - no bluffing!:
Fortunately, with the aid of a few well-placed trees, my trajectory took a somewhat oblique, sidelong course down the bluffs, as opposed to the more direct route right off a cliff. Still, once I had reached the bottom my troubles were not at an end. Dazed and dirt-covered, I began walking along the beach towards the nearest signs of civilization - Bluffers Park. Then, out of nowhere, I noticed a decidedly uncivilized character following behind me - well back at first, but gradually closing distance. In my mind's eye he seemed all of 7 feet tall, no shirt and covered in "amateur" tattoos, with a plastic bag wrapped around his hand!? I quickened my pace but soon found myself running out of dry land. A literal gulf had opened between me and the only way back to the city above, leaving me stranded to meet my fate. Cut back to today (or, rather, yesterday), where I now find myself at the very same impasse - only this time on the other side:
Experience has since taught me that even the most unlikely progress can be achieved through mere perseverance, and so I undertake yet another muddy slog, skirting around the rim of the sheer cliff walls until I reach stable ground once again - right by the spot where I must have stood over 10 years ago. Back then I had no such confidence in accomplishing this feat, and so I simply turned around and prepared myself for a right proper plastic-bagging (whatever that would entail!). As things turned out, however, the monstrous stranger had no malice in mind. Apparently he had just fallen down the bluffs as well, and was following me because it looked like I knew where I was going! And as for the plastic bag? Well, he had merely burnt his hand on a car's tailpipe earlier in the day. A perfectly reasonable explanation (?). So back the two of us headed - where I head now, through Scarborough Heights Park and Rosetta McClain Gardens:
This rather monotonous stretch of beach and rock piers continues below the Harrison Properties around Birchmount Road. All these rocky outcrops, however, seem to make a perfect playground for an animal I had yet to spot in my travels - the mink! Typically, I was unable to get any pictures of these fleet flipper-footed fellows, but if you want to get the idea there's a few excellent shots of some locals pictured here:
Yet more of the same from the Toronto Region Conservation Authority Lands to Crescentwood Park:
The final leg now, from under the Toronto Hunt Club to the famed R.C. Harris Filtration Plant at Victoria Park Ave:
And so concludes the Scarborough section of the Toronto lakeshore...and believe me, it couldn't have come soon enough! Knees and feet aching, covered in mud and caked with clay from the waist down, I laid out on the lawn of the Harris Plant exhausted - content if I didn't see the Scarborough Bluffs again for at least another 10 years.
Before moving on, let me take you back a little over a decade ago, to 2002 and a tale alluded to sometime earlier in this thread. It was my first visit to the Scarborough Bluffs and my inexperience was really on full display as, shortly after taking the photos below, I ended up tumbling most of the way down one of the hillsides pictured above - no bluffing!:
Fortunately, with the aid of a few well-placed trees, my trajectory took a somewhat oblique, sidelong course down the bluffs, as opposed to the more direct route right off a cliff. Still, once I had reached the bottom my troubles were not at an end. Dazed and dirt-covered, I began walking along the beach towards the nearest signs of civilization - Bluffers Park. Then, out of nowhere, I noticed a decidedly uncivilized character following behind me - well back at first, but gradually closing distance. In my mind's eye he seemed all of 7 feet tall, no shirt and covered in "amateur" tattoos, with a plastic bag wrapped around his hand!? I quickened my pace but soon found myself running out of dry land. A literal gulf had opened between me and the only way back to the city above, leaving me stranded to meet my fate. Cut back to today (or, rather, yesterday), where I now find myself at the very same impasse - only this time on the other side:
Experience has since taught me that even the most unlikely progress can be achieved through mere perseverance, and so I undertake yet another muddy slog, skirting around the rim of the sheer cliff walls until I reach stable ground once again - right by the spot where I must have stood over 10 years ago. Back then I had no such confidence in accomplishing this feat, and so I simply turned around and prepared myself for a right proper plastic-bagging (whatever that would entail!). As things turned out, however, the monstrous stranger had no malice in mind. Apparently he had just fallen down the bluffs as well, and was following me because it looked like I knew where I was going! And as for the plastic bag? Well, he had merely burnt his hand on a car's tailpipe earlier in the day. A perfectly reasonable explanation (?). So back the two of us headed - where I head now, through Scarborough Heights Park and Rosetta McClain Gardens:
This rather monotonous stretch of beach and rock piers continues below the Harrison Properties around Birchmount Road. All these rocky outcrops, however, seem to make a perfect playground for an animal I had yet to spot in my travels - the mink! Typically, I was unable to get any pictures of these fleet flipper-footed fellows, but if you want to get the idea there's a few excellent shots of some locals pictured here:
Yet more of the same from the Toronto Region Conservation Authority Lands to Crescentwood Park:
The final leg now, from under the Toronto Hunt Club to the famed R.C. Harris Filtration Plant at Victoria Park Ave:
And so concludes the Scarborough section of the Toronto lakeshore...and believe me, it couldn't have come soon enough! Knees and feet aching, covered in mud and caked with clay from the waist down, I laid out on the lawn of the Harris Plant exhausted - content if I didn't see the Scarborough Bluffs again for at least another 10 years.
EVCco
Senior Member
Eastern Shore - plant to plant
In anticipation of some long-awaited warmer weather, let's say we head out to the beach today - or, more specifically, to The Beaches...or, more accurately, The Eastern Beaches - to culminate our coverage of Toronto's eastern shoreline; beginning with historic Balmy Beach, and beginning at the historic R.C. Harris Filtration Plant:
Just west of Balmy Beach, and even further west of Scarborough, we have Scarboro Beach, once the site of a popular amusement park, and now the site of Beaches Park, and one of the area's last remaining beachside structures, Leuty Lifeguard Station:
On to our third beach now (evidence that this is indeed The Beaches - plural - and not merely, as some would have you believe, "The Beach"), Kew Beach:
The fourth and final beach of The Beaches is Woodbine Beach. You may have already noticed that I've been sprinkling in a few photos from previous trips to the area - well, here's a whole bunch from one of my first visits in February of 2003 (some of which also appeared in an earlier thread from 2010):
I complete my exploration of the Eastern Shore in Ashbridge's Bay Park, bookended as I began with a view of yet another utilitarian landmark - looking out across Coatsworth Cut towards the Ashbridge's Bay Sewage Treatment Plant:
In anticipation of some long-awaited warmer weather, let's say we head out to the beach today - or, more specifically, to The Beaches...or, more accurately, The Eastern Beaches - to culminate our coverage of Toronto's eastern shoreline; beginning with historic Balmy Beach, and beginning at the historic R.C. Harris Filtration Plant:
Just west of Balmy Beach, and even further west of Scarborough, we have Scarboro Beach, once the site of a popular amusement park, and now the site of Beaches Park, and one of the area's last remaining beachside structures, Leuty Lifeguard Station:
On to our third beach now (evidence that this is indeed The Beaches - plural - and not merely, as some would have you believe, "The Beach"), Kew Beach:
The fourth and final beach of The Beaches is Woodbine Beach. You may have already noticed that I've been sprinkling in a few photos from previous trips to the area - well, here's a whole bunch from one of my first visits in February of 2003 (some of which also appeared in an earlier thread from 2010):
I complete my exploration of the Eastern Shore in Ashbridge's Bay Park, bookended as I began with a view of yet another utilitarian landmark - looking out across Coatsworth Cut towards the Ashbridge's Bay Sewage Treatment Plant:
EVCco
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