By James Rayner
The last few installments of this blog have featured Toronto’s fortunate location on the shores of one of the Great Lakes. Toronto is also blessed with a number of rivers and creeks that have carved valleys throughout the city. Unfortunately, in many cases, our forebears filled in many of these valleys and ravines, treating them as impediments to road building and housing.
Some local examples are the Keele and Bloor intersection, Bloor and Clendennan, and Christie and Bloor. Streams like Garrison Creek and Taddle Creek now only exist in sewer pipes. Even more locally, King George’s Road and Queen Mary’s Road are both built atop streams that are permanently assigned to an underground existence.
However, Etobicoke is still blessed with three vibrant waterways that have not been channeled underground: the Humber River, Mimico Creek, and Etobicoke Creek. We are so fortunate to still have these streams with their valleys for walking and biking. In this article and subsequent ones, I will share some of the walks that the Walking Club has undertaken in these ravines.
Let’s start with the Humber River. A good place to find walking trails is Summerlea Park which is located on Albion Road, just north of Elmhurst Drive. There are parking lots on both sides of Albion with lots of spaces serving three trails. Park on the west side of Albion Road (West Humber Parkland) and take the trail northwest, passing under Islington Ave., Kipling Ave., and Martin Grove Rd. until you come to Highway 27 and Etobicoke General Hospital (William Osler).
Passing under Highway 27, you enter the grounds of Humber College with its arboretum, featuring dozens of varieties of trees and trails. Continuing north-west, the trail ends near Highway 427 and there even is a footpath that will take you to the beginning of the Claireville Conservation Area. This is quite a long walk; we have broken it in two parts, going as far as Highway 27 in the first leg and from Humber College to Highway 427 on the second.
The photos are from a walk that the Walking Group took last fall along the Humber River.
As you can see, the grounds along the walking trail are well maintained.
Parts of the trail are bright and sunny, while others are cool and shady.
Since the walk was in the fall, nature was ripening her crops on conifers…
…as well as deciduous trees,
… along with wild grapes.
Wild purple asters were also in full bloom.
Wildlife also likes the location by the river. In the Humber River, we saw this heron…
…as well as Mallard ducks.
This chipmunk is keeping a watchful eye out for predators.
And, of course, budding artists have left their mark on the landscape.
Is this Luigi Super Mario under the bridge?
This walk is only one of many along the banks of the Humber River. Future editions of this blog will continue the journey along this heritage river.
Probus Club of Kingsway-Islington 