Walking the Beach

If you hurry, you will see the most amazing art structures on the Beach. There are 5 "warming stations" between the bottom of Wineva and the Balmy Beach club.
Here's a link to the Toronto Star article, with some amazing pictures.
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/02/16/warming-stations-bring-joy-to-torontos-frozen-beaches.html


They will be on the beach until March 22, 2015, so hurry!
I've seen them twice. My walking group started at the Riverdale Bridge and walked down through Corktown Commons.
This is a frequent stop on our walks, as it only takes about 20 minutes to get there.
http://www.friendsofcorktowncommon.com/sample-page/about-the-park/

 
It is the venue for some events for the Panam games, including a new YMCA and housing for George Brown students.

We had coffee at Plan 29, which used to be Mountain View coffee, on Logan near Lakeshore.
From there it was about a 50 minute walk along the Martin Goodman trail, paralleling Lakeshore, to the first warming station.
On my second visit, there was more climbing involved, as each structure is build around a lifeguard station. My favourite was the one with a fire pit, still burning on a sleety Saturday morning.
The walk back to the bridge takes about 75 minutes, if you go cross country, through Orchard Park and Greenwood Park.

Corktown Common

You could almost believe you were in the country - if you didn't notice the tremendous amount of building that is going on in the background. Corktown Common is a multi-use urban greenspace located in the West Donlands. When construction is completed, there will be a venue for the Pan Am Games, housing for George Brown students and a new YMCA.
Meanwhile, it is a great destination for our group, as it takes about 25 minutes down the Don trail to get there.





Here is an overview taken a few months ago, looking south, though you cannot really see the Lake, which is another 10 minutes down the trail.





 Here is a link to an article about the opening.
http://www.reminetwork.com/articles/waterfront-toronto-opens-corktown-common/

Choices for coffee after the walk include Balzac's, in the Distillery District - another 10 minutes away, though it will be closer when they reopen Front street and Cherry Street, both closed during construction.
Meanwhile, we walk though Percy Park, which I think is the smallest park in Toronto. Here is a link to an interesting article about it.
http://deconstructedcity.blogspot.ca/2010/11/picturesque-percy-park-pleasantly.html

Another nearby coffee shop is Merchants of Green Coffee, on Davies street, just north of Queen.
http://merchantsofgreencoffee.com/
Merchants is a favourite destination when Jasper(the dog) accompanies us, as he is welcome here.

Happy Hiking