Best Bike Trails Toronto
September is Bike Month and what better way to celebrate is to go out and ride your bike! Toronto has a great selection of biking infrastructure to ride your bike, whether you wanna hit the dirt trails with your mountain bike or the open roads with your road bike… there is something for every cyclist. Toronto has a great selection of multi-purpose recreational trails around the city with scenic views through parks & nature. This is a list of some of the most popular and scenic cycling trails in the city of Toronto.
SAFETY FIRST!
Before you head out to ride, it is highly recommended you wear a helmet to protect yourself and to have lights on your bike to help you see, as well as helping other cyclists, pedestrians and motorists see you coming.
What I ride with:
Lights: Cyclepartner Elite-700
Helmet: GIRO Fixture MIPS Helmet
Don Valley Trail
The Don Valley Trail is one of the most popular trails in Toronto that runs along the Don Valley River. This trail runs from downtown all the way to North York by being connected through various parks surrounding the Don Valley River, therefore there are many entrances to enter the trail. The trail cuts through some of Toronto’s most popular parks like Edwards Garden, Sunnybrook Park, Lower Don Parklands, East Don Parkland, and many more!
HEADS UP: There is a section between Bond Park & Betty Sutherland Parklands is, where the trail ends and requires you to take the streets around York Mills to Lesmill Road, Valleybrook Drive and Duncan Mills road to continue back onto the trail through Betty Sutherland Parklands.
Trail Directions: CLICK HERE IF THE MAP DOES NOT LOAD
Reverse the directions if you are coming from downtown.
Ride through the ravines at Duncan Creek Trail to the Leslie Street crossing into East Don Parkland.
East Don Parkland will lead towards Leslie & Sheppard Ave East. From there, continue into Betty Sutherland Trail Park, which will lead you to Duncan Mill Road.
Make your way through Valleybrook Dr, Lesmill Rd, and onto York Mills to the next trail connection into Bond Park.
At the end of Bond Park, it intersects with Lawrence St, which will take you into Edwards Garden. From there, it will lead into Sunnybrook Park then ET Seton Park and finally the Lower Don Valley Trail all the way to Corktown Common, where you’ll be able to bike onto the Martin Goodman Trail.
Leslie Street Spit (Tommy Thompson Park)
Originally Leslie Street Spit was a man-made landfill, however it has been converted to an urban park for recreational use. Leslie Street Spit is a great alternative to Centre Island if you want the scenery of the Toronto skyline on your ride. This park is a great place to run, walk and bike with its paved trails in the park. (Some areas of the park are gravel trails, but the major trails are paved).
There are two ways of entering the park, either from the Martin Goodman Trail near Uwin street or from Leslie Street at the north entrance.
Humber River Trail
The Humber River Trail is a similar trail to the Don Valley River Trail, however this trail runs along the Humber River in the Etobicoke area. It begins at the Humber Bay Bridge branching off from the Martin Goodman Trail and leads all the way up to North York. This trail also connects to the Finch Hydro Corridor Trail entrance on Norfinch Drive by exiting the Humber Trail at Weston Road and Finch Avenue. The Humber River Trail passes through scenic parks, waterfalls and historical areas like Old Mill.
Trail Directions: CLICK HERE IF THE MAP DOES NOT LOAD
Reverse the directions if you are biking down from North York
Start at Humber Bay Bridge, continue on the trail until you reach the end at Stephen Drive.
Head north on Stephen Drive, turn left at Riverwood Parkway, right into Humber Valley Road, which leads you back onto the trail in King’s Mill Park.
Follow the trail to Old Mill Road, take a right turn onto Old Mill Road over the bridge and a left turn into Etienne Brulé Park.
Continue on the trail until you reach Lundy Ave, then take a left turn and bike south on Old Dundas Street to continue back onto the Humber River Trail.
The trail will lead you all the way to the intersection of St. Phillips Road & Weston Road. THERE IS A STAIRCASE HERE, WHERE YOU’LL HAVE TO PUSH YOUR BIKE UP (OR DOWN) THE RAMP! - YELLOW MARKER
Head north on Weston Road then make a left turn onto Cardell Ave. Bike to the end of Cardell Ave to continue on the Humber River Trail.
Once you pass Summerlea Park, you have to options to whether turn left (to continue onto the trail north) or right (to Finch Ave & Weston Road, where you can connect to the Finch Hydro Corridor Trail)
Martin Goodman Trail
Take a ride on one of the most popular multi-purpose trails in downtown Toronto; the Martin Goodman Trail. The Martin Goodman Trail stretches 56km long from east to west, starting at Woodbine Beach and all the way to Humber Bay Bridge. It runs along the waterfront of downtown Toronto and offers amazing views of Lake Ontario, as well as passing by many parks and attractions along the way. This trail also directly connects to the Lower Don Trail & the Humber Valley Trail, allowing you to explore more of Toronto via the trail network.
Notable Stops
Woodbine Beach
Leslie Street Spit (Tommy Thompson Park)
Lower Don Trail
Sugar Beach Park
Harbourfront Centre
Billy Bishop Airport
Trillum Park / Ontario Place
High Park
Humber Bay Bridge
Finch Hydro Corridor Trail
The Finch Hydro Corridor Trail is a multi-purpose recreational trail that runs east to west in North York, Toronto. It runs along the hydro transmission towers beside Finch Avenue. This trail begins at Middle Field and McNicoll Avenue stretches all the way to Norfinch Drive. The trail gets interrupted at McNicoll Avenue & Kennedy Road until it resumes at Pineway Blvd. The second interruption is at Willowdale Avenue, where you will have to cycle on Bishop Avenue across Yonge Street, then re-enter the trail at Hendon Park just past the Finch Subway Station parking lot. This trail is relatively flat, except for a couple notable hills along the trail and it is nicely maintained and smoothly paved; perfect for cyclists to hit their top speed!
Notable Stops
G Ross Lord Reservoir
Instead of taking the turn into G Ross Lord Park early, ride to the end of the trail and stop for a break at the G Ross Lord Park Reservoir. Once you are ready, take the trail back and make the turn that will lead you into G Ross Lord Park and onto the further parts of the Finch Hydro Corridor Trail.York University
Exit the trail at Sentinel Road and bike north on Sentinel Road until you reach the York University Campus.
G Ross Lord Reservoir