Personal Review
My take on this trail.
The ride from Toronto to Port Union takes place on the Great Lakes Waterfront trail. This 35-km trip is an adventure with open views of Lake Ontario, a bit of tough climbing, and a dynamic change in scenery. You’ll be biking through beaches, well-tended gardens, forested corridors, and a lot of residential street riding. The longer distance and elevation gain make this ride harder, but rest stops are easy to find along the way.
Harbourfront to the Beaches
The ride starts by heading east from the harbourfront area on the Martin Goodman Trail. The pace is pretty relaxed on this section of the route, and the details are worth taking in. As you exit the core of the city, you’ll explore the developing Portlands neighbourhood – take in the new bridges, new bike lanes, and Biidaasige Park. Take in how your city is alive and continues to grow. Soon, you’ll ride through Cherry Beach, the first beach for this route. It’s quieter, and more relaxed. Cherry Beach is closely linked with Ashbridge’s Bay Park & Woodbine Beach through Leslie St and Lakeshore Blvd. Entering the Woodbine beach area and seeing the full breadth of Lake Ontario, completely unobstructed, always brings a great energy. There’s a lot going on, too much to describe – go ride the boardwalk and see for yourself! At the end of the beach, you’ll bike onto quiet streets with moderate climbs.
Into Scarborough: the climbs and the gardens
The first and second climb are almost back-to-back on Silver Birch Ave, then Fallingsbrook Rd. The R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant is nearby, and many consider it an architectural masterpiece – worth a small detour. As you ride through the residential streets, you’ll cross into Scarborough. You can navigate the local roads using the sharrow markings or via the map above. The Rosetta McClain Gardens serves as another great resting point. It’s small, but the unique structure of the garden and the views from the cliffside create a great atmosphere. You’ll ride through more local roads before reaching a short, but steep 70-ft climb into a wooded area – the path transitions temporarily to a dirt trail. At the top of the climb, you’ll see an overview of Bluffer’s Park framed by lush green canopies and the blue waters of Lake Ontario.
The quiet stretch
After leaving the Bluffs, you’re back on residential streets for 7 km. It’s a bit tough to navigate this section if it’s your first time; follow the sharrow markings and be aware of cars passing. It’s a grind, but you’ll soon arrive at Guild Park, known for its historical gardens. Old architectural relics of Toronto buildings sit scattered through the park – columns from the Bank of Toronto, tall limestone blocks from the old Toronto Star building, and many more remnants. Note that you should dismount if you’re going through the park itself. The final stretch awaits you.
The end of the line
After Guild Park, there’s only a bit more residential riding – somewhere along Copperfield Rd, tall trees and swaying grass surround the trail and the road becomes perfectly smooth. East Point Beach is a welcome sight and officially marks your entry to Port Union. This is where the visual crescendo of the ride peaks. Enjoy the moment as the scenery flows past you. Cobblestone beaches and boulder-strewn breakwaters fill the shoreline, creating calm, still waters in the lake. Little critters hide amongst the foliage, rustling around. And then there’s you, a human being who came from Toronto on a bicycle, enjoying your day and finishing the 35-km journey to Port Union. Life is good.
The end of the ride, not the trail
The ride ends at Rouge Hill GO Station, the closest stop to the Port Union waterfront. I recommend taking the GO Train back to Toronto, but you can ride back the same way you came if you’re feeling ambitious. The review ends here, but the ride doesn’t have to. The bike path continues along the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail eastward to Rouge Beach, Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, and Oshawa. Guides for those stretches are coming soon.
