PARKS 2

One of West Hill's many secrets is hidden right out in the open. Colonel Danforth Park is one of the jewels in the Toronto Park system. Located at Kingston Road and Lawson Road, the winding descent into the valley of the Highland Creek, makes this one of the most spectacular of the city's parks.


The heavily forested banks of the Highland Creek Valley stretch high above the visitor while the cool waters of the creek meander and sing their way to the the Great Lakes. If Kingston Road is the commercial backbone of the community, Highland Creek is in many ways its hearts blood. Its clear waters were the very reason West Hill was founded here in the first place.


While Colonel Danforth Park offers graceful and secluded sites for family picnics, fewer large groups make use of its grounds. This gives the park a more intimate feel, a private pleasure for families.

The parks' major attraction is the paved trail that wanders its way across bridges and through wilderness areas to the very mouth of the creek as it empties into Lake Ontario. From Guildwood through Morningside Park, through the grounds of the Scarborough Campus of the University of Toronto, to the Lake, the nearly 10 kilometer trail is a major source of pleasure for those seeking solitude, the beauty of nature or just an excuse to stretch their limbs.