Ed's Sk8toronto Website TAYLOR CREEK PARK OVERVIEWAlthough Taylor Creek Park is not an exceptional place to skate I am including it here for two reasons. First, it is linked to the bike paths in the Don Valley. Second, this is the path on which I first started to skate, back in 1998. The path leads from Don Mills Road at the Don Valley Parkway (DVP) to Victoria Park Ave and is about 6k round trip. Don't try to skate this route after a rain. There are a couple of low spots on the path that create puddles which completely block the route to skaters for a day or two. PARKING Good parking is available off Dawes Road (near the east end of the trail) or off Don Mills Road just north of The DVP (at the west end). From Don Mills Road take the park road under the DVP and proceed to the large parking lot not far past the bridge. THE ROUTE
From the west end of the Taylor Creek path it is easy to link up with the Lower Don Valley Route. Just follow the road under the DVP and pick up the path as it passes under Don Mills Road. To get to Sunnybrook Park You must cross the Bowstring bridge, cross the tracks and follow the awkward wooden ramp under Don Mills. Once past the ramp skate to the north. Latest update: May 2007 The map below is from the Toronto Parks and Trails Map. To get a hard copy of this map or to view the map in PDF format click HERE. This map is part of Section 9 -Taylor /Massey Creek. The dashed red line shows the Taylor Creek trail as described. The dashed yellow line is part of the route in Sunnybrook Park. The dashed blue line shows the top part of the Lower Don River Trail.
|
The path leads east from the big parking lot near the DVP. After only a few meters the path splits into two and joins up again 200m further along. The path on the north side is better. In total, there are 4 pedestrian bridges crossing Taylor Creek or its tributaries. They are all tricky and caution is advised. In general, the pathway has decent asphalt except for a couple of short rough stretches. The parking lot at Dawes Road is also pretty rough. To get to Victoria Park it is necessary to skate through the Dawes Road lot to the point where the pathway leads under the Dawes Road at the bridge. When the path approaches Victoria Park it splits. One branch leads up a set of stairs. The other goes up a steep hill. For this reason it is best not to approach the Taylor Creek pathway from Victoria Park Ave. When the path splits it is time to turn back.