In preparation for Canadian Invasion 2007 (the 2003 Invasion involved 2 days in Vancouver, BC while we visited relatives in Seattle, WA.) we wnt to visit Toronto. My wife and I have been to Toronto several times, but our kids haven’t ever been. We want to do this cheaply, so we’re going to camp. My question is: is there a campground at the end of a TTC train line? We visited Washington DC on the cheap by camping at Greenbelt State Park, at the end of the Metro Green line, and I’m hoping there’s something similar in the Toronto metro area. Also, we were planinng on seeing: Casa Loma, the CN tower, maybe the science museum, Chinatown, walk along Bloor near Yonge. Is there anything else new to see since 1988?
The TTC is entirely urban. It’s quite an underdeveloped train system as a whole. Unless you want to camp on a railway easement, I don’t think you’ll have much luck with this.
ETA: But if being on a bus route is fine, you could try here:
You can almost get there by bus: take the GO Bus from Union Station to Newmarket, change for Sutton West and Beaverton, then get out at the intersection of Highway 48 and Park Road, east of Sutton West village. That’s about a two-hour bus ride. From the intersection, there’s a twenty-minute walk to the park gates, though; not that great, especially if you’re loaded down. You’d be better off exiting the bus in Sutton West and taking a taxi.
Sibbald Point tends to be a wee bit crowded at times, though.
There is a campground on the very edge of the western most part of finch ave further up past humber college but on the toronto side of the 427. While it is available and should be a modest walk to the ttc stop at most, camping availability is going to be spotty at best , it always appeared busy.
If you’re willing to go a little further out, Bronte Creek Provincial Park has a nice camp ground. It’s in Burlington, near the border with Oakville, both cities are served by the GO Transit system (as does Hamilton, even further west). GO has a direct bus to Toronto’s Union Station, which is the TTC hub for pretty much the entire city (be it metro, streetcar or bus). I think you might have to drive from the campground to the GO station, but there is plenty of commuter parking, so I don’t see it being a problem. I know the Express from Hamilton to TO Union is about 50 minutes bus ride.
I highly recommend the Ontario Science Centre… I loved going there, and I went as a university student! Lots of fun for kids and adults.
If you walk along Bloor west of Yonge, you’ll pass the Royal Ontario Museum, which is close to finishing the Lee-Chin Crystal, an extension that looks, yes, crystalline. Next to it is the Royal Conservatory of Music, which is undergoing its own expansion program. The Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art on the east side of Queens Park has also had an expansion.
The Powers that Be have evidently decided that the north side of Bloor there by the ROM is a bit junky, especially over towards Bedford Street, so several of the small shop buildings there are being torn down for–incredibly–condos.
If you visit the Ontario College of Art and Design, you can see their extension obove, supported on metal columns: the Tabletop. And the Ontario Gallery of Art around the corner has its extension going up on its roof.
A little further east, at Queen and University, is the new Opera and Ballet House.
Old Chinatown at Dundas and Spadina is still there, though it seems a little tattered to me. If you want modern Chinese-style merchant action, go to the Pacific Mall at Steeles and Kennedy Road (near Milliken GO Train station).
You might also want to check out Little India along Gerrard west of Coxwell (take the streetcar along Gerrard). The smells and colours!
The TRCA operates two campgrounds in the Toronto area: Indian Line and Albion Hills. Indian Line campground, the one Declan mentioned, is in the northeast corner of the city of Mississauga, right next to the northwest corner of the city of Toronto, off Finch Avenue, west of the 427. On the TTC RideGuide map, look Westwood Mall, Humber College North Campus, and especially for Wild Water Kingdom (a water theme park).
This is a LONG way out by public transport. It looks like you could take a TTC bus (red lines on the map) to Humber College, then a Mississauga bus (orange-yellow lines) along that part of Finch, but the GO bus (dashed green lines) mentioned in the campsite’s web page would be a better and faster bet for getting to downtown. That bus is the Brampton local, so it probably stops near the campground.
I believe this is the Glen Rouge campground mentioned earlier.
If so, it’s just off Highway 2 in the valley next to the bridge. This is the extreme eastern end of the city; the river next to it is the city boundary. The nearest TTC route is the 85A Sheppard East route that goes down to Rouge Hill GO-Train station, but that’s at the top of a long hill. The Highway 2 GO bus goes by there; I don’t know whether it stops in front of the gate, though. Again, this looks like a job for a taxi (or a friendly Doper) if you have any amount of stuff to carry.
One good point about Glen Rouge: if you can get to Rouge Hill GO station, there’s a train every hour to downtown between 9 AM and 11 PM, along the Lakeshore East line, even on the weekends, and it takes only about half an hour. GO Transit. Most of the other train lines don’t have weekend or off-peak service.
Glen Rouge may be the way to go, then. We did about a 45 min commute from Greenbelt MD into DC and had plenty of time to do what we wanted. We’re not big shoppers, so we won’t be carrying a lot back to the campground. Looking at the GO fares, I think it might be cheaper to drive to McCowan or Scarborough Centre and park. I’m looking at the TTC site right now to see which has parking. I don’t mind driving a bit, especially if it will save some money. Looking again at the system map, driving west on Lawrence Ave. to the Lawrence East station and park there looks like an option. I’ll be looking into it more. Thanks, all for the help. I’m surprised that the subway hasn’t expanded much, if at all, since we were there last in 1988.
Oh, you’re bringing your own car? I hadn’t realised that. Yes, Glen Rouge would be the way to go. The Rouge Valley is very nice. Plus there’s a hill between you and the 401 there.
Lawrence East might be a good place to park… according to the TTC Parking page, parking there is only $2/day. (It’s one of the most underused stations in the system.) I was going to suggest parking at Don Mills on the Sheppard Line; that would get you over to Yonge Street a lot faster, but Lawrence East is just as good. You do have to change trains at Kennedy, though, and the ride in is long.
Seriously, consider the GO Train from Rouge Hill at least once. It’s a lot faster, more spacious, and comfortable than the subway.
