High Park is Perfect for Nature Lovers, with so much to see and do it’s easy to fill your day! Here are some of our personal favourite activities.

Hiking Trails

The hiking trail at High Park is ideal for all ages and all levels of ability.  Coming in at 5.1KM, it takes just over an hour to complete the loop.  Many people use this trail for hiking, mountain biking, and even snowshoeing.  The trail is open all year round and some areas are available for off-leash dog walking as well.  So grab your favourite pooch, and a cool bottle of water and spend your afternoon inside one of the city’s most beautiful greenspaces. 

Birdwatching

High Park is home to over 260 bird species, including some exotic transients. Remember the infamous escaped peacock of High Park from 2015? Though roughly 150 species can be spotted at any given time.  Birdwatching is a year round pass time at High Park, with a beautiful variety of birds to spot in any season. Spring, of course, is the most anticipated birding season, as the migrations start and many beautiful species come and go.Starting the season off are the beautiful Robins and along come the Warblers and Baltimore Orioles to name a few. The park comes alive with flashes of brilliant colours. Bird migration will be hectic until early June. Hotspots include the eastern shore and hills of Grenadier Pond, Spring Creek Raving and all wetlands.  For a complete list of birds in High Park visit the park’s website. Here you’ll also find good birding practices, including how to approach, or not, a baby bird in distress. There are many baby birds in the park during the spring season. Check out the site and learn to be a good citizen when bird watching in the park. 

Discover more reasons to love High Park in this blog post right here.

Keep the kids happy

Getting the kids off their screens and into the sunshine is easy at High Park.  The north playground features a large, brand new climbing structure with multiple slides of all sizes.  This is perfect for big kids and little kids to play together.  The park also has a toddler area, with fun rides such as the merry-go-round and baby swings.  In the warmer months, High Park has an excellent splash pad for the little ones including a wading pool, sprinklers, fun water cannons.  As a parent, there are permanent muskoka chairs installed, making it easy and comfortable to keep an eye on the kids in the water. Pack a lunch or visit the Grenadier Café and have a sunny snack al fresco at one of the many picnic tables complete with shade umbrellas. 

The High Park Zoo

That’s right, this incredible park also has a great little zoo full of interesting animals, and educational opportunities.  Established in 1893 for the deer, the zoo’s animal paddocks have always been a popular attraction. Today, over 120 years later, the Zoo’s 11 paddocks are to a variety of animal species from around the world including bison, llamas, the famous peacocks, reindeer, highland cattle, emus and everyone’s favourite capybaras, Bonnie and Clyde. So named as they went on the run together in the spring/summer of 2016. They spent the summer living their best lives within the park, and eventually were captured and brought back to their barn within the zoo.  They have since had a few babies, and you can stop by to feed the capybaras, and other residents, by booking a Meet The Keepers tour through the park’s website. 

Dogs are family too!

When we say High Park has something for the whole family, we also mean dogs.  With an 8KM off-leash hiking trail and a massive off-leash dog park, known as Dog Hill, this is definitely your furry friend’s best day out.  Get Fido onto the trails and into the park where they can romp and play with all the other lucky pooches of High Park. The off-leash areas are clearly marked with maps posted throughout the park.  Be mindful as the trails occasionally intersect with non-off leash areas, however there are signs posted.  This is a great way to get those steps in for the whole family.  

In addition to all of the above, High Park is also a sports hub for the city of Toronto. With outdoor tennis courts, an outdoor pool, basketball courts and a baseball diamond, many sports teams come to High Park to practise and play.  The park also has outdoor ice skating and two indoor curling rinks available.  These are open to all and public access and drop in times are available on the park’s website.  

Check out some of our favourite West End dog parks here.

High Park Nature Centre

An afternoon spent at the High Park Nature Centre will leave you smarter than when you arrived.  With so many educational programs designed for people of all ages, this is a great place to learn about the park and also the fauna and foliage of Southern Ontario. With ecological restoration programs designed to engage children and families alike. Through these programs, guests learn about park stewardship and take part in planting native grasses, wildflowers and removing invasive species. The Nature Centre is an invaluable resource within the park, and is a not-for-profit organization.  Find out how you can get involved by checking out the Nature Centre website at http://www.highpark.org/programs/high-park-nature-centre/   

The cherry on top?🍒

The cherry on top of this pretty much perfect city park is the High Park Cherry Blossoms. One of Toronto’s top tourist attractions in the spring, the High Park Cherry Blossoms are renowned.  Over 2000  trees were gifted to Toronto from the  Japanese ambassador to Canada, as a thank you for accepting relocated Japanese-Canadians after World War II. At least 100 of these gifted trees were planted in High Park around Grenadier Pond.  The blossoms open near the end of April and beginning of May, and it is a spectacular sight to behold.  Every year the park is descended upon for the annual Hanami, the Japanese word for flower viewing. To find out when the flowers will be open, a volunteer-run website tracks the progress of the blooms, indicating the best time to head over to the park. 

We have some insider tips on our blog post here on how to beat the crowds and where to find the best spots for optimal cherry blossom viewing. To keep an eye on the blossom progress, check out sakurainhighpark.com  

High Park is one of our absolute favourite parks in the city, there is always so much to see and do.  We love to come here with our families, our dogs, and even sometimes on our own for a quiet nature walk to re-center.   

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