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High Park is Toronto's largest public park featuring many hiking trails, sports facilities, diverse vegetation, a beautiful lakefront, convenient parking, easy public transit access, adog park, a zoo, playgrounds for children, a couple of eateries, greenhouses, picnicareas, a bunch of squirrels and various events throughout the year.
On this website you can find information about High Park to help you plan your visit and to learn what makes this beautiful park a true gem in the Southwestern part of Toronto. You can also view pictures of the park either on the photo gallery page or using the image slideshows located on every page.
From wild forests to the Chinese gardens and the famous Japanese cherry trees High Park has a truly genuine and beautiful vegetation - well taken care of by the city. Regardless of when you visit the gardens are always beautiful.
A walk along the Grenadier Pond on the west side of High Park will make you forget you are in the largest city in Canada. You will find ducks, geese and hiking trails by the lakeside. A popular destination by runners, hikers and families alike.
The park has a designated off-leash area for dogs and several paths where dogs are allowed to run free. While the dog park is not completely fenced in it is surrounded by natural borders such as thick bushes and trees.
The mini-zoo at High Park has llamas, buffalo, bison, deer, peacocks and a few other animals including cats and pigeons:) The zoo is open from 7am until dusk. Free admission.
Tennis courts, baseball diamonds and soccer fields are all present inside the park but many other sports can be played on the large grassy fields.
The Jamie Bell Adventure Playground is a large, unique play area designed in part by children. Make sure to include a visit to this adventure park this summer with your kids!
The 18 designated picnic areas seat hundreds of people. Reservation required for larger groups.
Whether you are taking your bicycle, the subway or your car these maps can help you get to the park and to find your way around the park once you arrived.
If you know of any updates or other info that we missed while we were reviewing High Park please send us the updates. Your feedback keeps the site up to date and accurate for everyone to enjoy. Thank you!
Ask and answer questions, read reviews and post your comments on the High Park forum pages.
I've been to High Park many times but each time I bump into something new, discover yet another hidden corner or see a beautiful tree I never noticed before. Let me give you an idea just how large the park is: me and my two-year-old Golden Retreiver were zig-zagging through the park one day to take pictures but she got tired so I had to return with my camera two more times to take some more shots. Few other dogs have as much energy than young Goldens. Yup, that's how big it is.
If you really want to see the many faces of High Park you need to go in spring when nature is wide awake and everything is in full bloom, you also need to go in the fall when golden leaves cover the ground as far as the eye can see and you need to go in the winter to see just how beautiful ice and snow can be. Don't always come during the busiest times; High Park is most peaceful and relaxing early in the morning and after twilight. Here is a list of holidays in Canada 2016 to help you plan your visit.
High Park is home to a bunch of cherry trees, called Sakura trees, that bloom in April or May - depending on weather. The beautiful white and pink cherry blossoms attract thousands of visitors to the park each year.
Around blooming season I visit the park occassionally with my camera to take new pictures and post new info and updates to this site.
The park is easily accessible by streetcar and subway (see directions). If you're in the area it's worth to take a walk around the park as the neighbouring streets are very nice with lots of mature trees and interesting house fronts. The arts and crafts shops and cafés on Bloor West are also within walking distance from the park.
High Park is operated by the City of Toronto and you don't have to pay an admission fee to visit it.
The short answer is that you can do pretty much everything that can be done in most large parks:) High Park's 399 acres in the middle of Toronto is an excellent getaway for children and adults of all ages. There are many designated children's playgrounds, sports facilities, 18 picnic areas, hiking trails, large green spaces, waterfront trails, benches galore and the list goes on and on.
If you need additional information about High Park please call the City of Toronto Customer Service Centre at 416-338-0338.
This website is maintained independently and it is not affiliated in any way with the City of Toronto or other High Park related groups. For more information you may visit the officialCity of Toronto website pages about High Park.
Toronto's High Park is located at 1873 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON, M6R 2Z3, Canada.
View map of High Park to help you get around once you're in the park. This map is from the park itself, I took a picture of it when I was in the park. Click here for a Google map.
The park is open year-round, 24/7. There is no charge to enter the park, entry is free for everyone.
Subway: Get off at High Park station on the Bloor-Danforth subway line between Keele and Runnymede stations. The park's north entrance is a two minute walk from the station.
Streetcar: Take the 508 Lakeshore streetcar and get off at the Parkside or Colborne Lodge stops or take the 506 Carlton streetcar all the way to the High Park loop by Parkside Drive.
Bus: Take the 80 Queensway bus route which runs between Keele subway station and Sherway Gardens. Get off at the Howard Park Avenue stop on Parkside Road.
Tips for people visiting from the far east/west end of the GTA: Park at Kipling or Kennedy subway stations - parking is free on the weekends - and take the subway to High Park station. This saves time and frustration due to traffic and your parking spot is guaranteed. Parking can be hard to come by on busy days in the park.
The park is located between Bloor Street and The Queensway and is bordered by Parkside Drive on the east. The main entrance is from Bloor Street - turn south at High Park Avenue.
The other car entrance is from Parkside Drive: turn west onto High Park Blvd. The south entrance from The Queensway doesn't get you too far into the park. You can drive up to Colborne Lodge and the children's picnic area where the road loops around and leads you back out of the park. If you want to drive deeper into the park use the Bloor St. or Parkside Dr. entrances.
Note that on Sundays and on Statutory holidays between May 1 and October 1, cars can only enter through the Bloor street entrance except if you have a picnic permit for sites 22-26 in which case you can use Deer Pen road entrance.
You may use the sidewalks by the main car entrances but there are also many paths leading into the park around the perimeter all around the park.
Parking at High Park is free and you are almost guaranteed to find a spot. Almost, except on stat holidays and around the time when the cherry trees are blooming in late April and early May. I have been to the park on busy days and found a spot in 10 minues. The two main parking lots are by the restaurant atop Hillside Gardens and by the zoo but parking spaces are available alongside the roads as well. No parking between 1am and 6am any day.
Please obey the speed limit signs inside the park! Cyclists riding at 40+ kmph, you too, please slow down; High Park is not a place to practice speed laps! There are lots of kids and elderly folks near and on the roads and if this is not enough for you to slow down then think of the cops who are frequently present in the park at almost any time of the day. The photos on the side show a few parking lots at High Park - the one with only one car is at 7am - a perfect time to visit if you don't like big crowds.
Pictures of parking on busy days which are long weekends and around cherry trees blooming - this is why everyone is encouraged to take public transit, bike or walk to the park whenever possible.
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