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Ed's Sk8toronto Website
WATERFRONT TRAIL (NEW TORONTO - LONG BRANCH -PORT CREDIT)
OVERVIEW
This trail extends the trail system along the lake shore from the Toronto waterfront all the way out to Port Credit. The trail is part of the Waterfront Trail System (see below). It is a shame that the link to the Martin Goodman Trail West is a 3k skate on Lake Shore Blvd, or the adjoining sidewalk. For the most part, this trail is excellent and is situated on either very quiet residential streets or in parks. (Normally street skating is beyond the scope of this website but I am including it here because it is part of the Waterfront Trail System, it's a neat area and pretty safe place to skate.
There are great maps of this route available at the website for the Waterfront Trail. The main site for the Waterfront Trail is: http://www.waterfronttrail.org/ .The three maps that pertain to this particular route are: http://www.waterfronttrail.org/maps/wt-2_07.pdf ; http://www.waterfronttrail.org/maps/wt-2_08.pdf and http://www.waterfronttrail.org/maps/wt-2_09.pdf. To look at these maps you need an Adobe Reader (Version 5). You can download version 6.0 for free at: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
PARKING
A large portion of the trail is on residential streets so parking is unlimited. One very convenient spot to access the trail is from Marie Curtis Park, which is situated close to the midpoint of the trail. To get there, go south on Browns Line from the 427-QEW area and head west on Lake Shore Blvd. Marie Curtis Park is located only a few hundred meters along on the south side. There are public washrooms on the east side of the river.
There are several other parks along the lake shore which have parking lots. Check the maps.
THE ROUTE
The trail
starts at First Street in New Toronto (just a bit west of where Royal York Rd hits Lake Shore Blvd W). Here, Lake Shore Blvd moves far
enough away from the shoreline that there is a network of streets and
houses between the lake and Lake Shore Blvd. In this area, the path stays
very close to the lake by winding along the residential streets or cutting
through little parkettes and larger parks. The streets are really quiet
and cars are no problem. The first couple of times through, this
route is confusing. For sure, you will make a couple of wrong turns but you should consider this to be part of the fun. Sometimes there are spray painted arrows on the asphalt. The arrows (usually) point in the right
direction. A general "rule of thumb" is to always stay as close to the lake as possible (unless there is a "dead end" sign). This really cool section of 'trail' goes along for about 4k and
ends at Marie Curtis Park.
Heading west
from Marie Curtis Park the path is a quite new (smooth), very wide and lightly used
bike path. The first kilometre or so goes through a hardwood bush and is
pretty neat. After that, the path becomes a bit frustrating because
the are no less than 10 speed control gates, which are intended to slow down cyclists and skaters for some of the fairly frequent road and driveway
crossings. The route is far away from the lake as it passes the Lakeview Generating Station (the proximity of the lake is one of the neatest features of the trail) but this is partly made up for by the good quality of the asphalt.
Once past the water treatment plant and the generating station,
the setting becomes park-like before emptying onto
quiet residential streets for the run into Port Credit. Through the residential area, stay as close to the Lake as possible. The pathway through the Port Credit waterfront is delightful -but busy. A quick note: the path into the Port Credit Harbour area is located at the south (lake) end of Elmwood (not along the Lake Shore as shown on some maps).
The Port Credit harbour area is a pretty skater friendly place. Try exploring the area to the north along the east side of the Credit River and also the area west of the harbour in the vicinity of Saddington Park.
For the most part, beyond Port Credit the Waterfront Trail is situated on the south side of Lake Shore Road for the next 3k. Skaters have to use the sidewalk or the boulevard between the sidewalk and curb. Although it is not difficult skating it is less than inspiring. Finally the path plunges south into Jack Darling Park for a brief run beside the lake before heading north again and following a convoluted route through some residential streets. Unless you live close-by this portion of the Waterfront Trail is not worth seeking out.
Thanks to Anthony Morris and Toronto-Blading for introducing me to this route.
Last Update -May 2010