By James Rayner
At the far eastern edge of Toronto, running west from the Rouge River boundary with Pickering, we find the beautiful Rouge Beach. It is a magnificent stretch of sand and coves that stretches at least 3km west toward the Scarborough Bluffs. The Walking Club visited this park on August 12.
To get there, we took Hwy. 401 east to the Port Union Road exit, took Port Union Rd. south to Lawrence Ave. E. and then Lawrence east to where it ends in the parking lot for the beach.
When we arrived there, we found a large day camp featuring kayaking and paddling for dozens of keen kids.
We also found a family of swans.
Walking under the railway bridge that carries the main CN and GO lines, we passed the mouth of the Rouge and proceeded west along the beach. There are many man-made coves to protect the shoreline from erosion from storms and a beautiful cycle/pedestrian path leading toward Highland Creek.
From the shore, the walker gets a grand view of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Plant.
Along the route there are several sand hills, reminiscent of the Scarborough bluffs.
The day we were there, the weather forecast called for scattered thunderstorms. Luckily for us, there weren’t any storms and the sky was mostly sunny. However, there were storms far out over the lake.
At the foot of Port Union Road, the city has built a look-out and shelter where we rested for a bit and then returned to our cars.
Since we were so far from home, we headed to a local legendary pub, The Black Dog, which is one block east of Port Union Road (at East Drive) and just south of 401. The group was very happy with the quality of the food served—and its price!
Probus Club of Kingsway-Islington 