Back in August, I checked out the Bartley Smith Greenway in Vaughan and looked into how it would fit within the larger Vaughan Super Trail initiative. However, there is one other existing trail that would form part of that Super Trail which is the William Granger Greenway (a.k.a. Humber River Trail). I used my day off yesterday to explore that trail as well as how it could connect with Toronto’s portion of the Humber River Trail.
My journey started at Vaughan Metropolitan Centre along the Highway 7 bike lanes. Unfortunately, protection is lacking for this stretch which ought to be fixed ASAP.
At Applewood Crescent, the bike lane and sidewalk are moved to a multi-use path in the middle of Highway 7 to make crossing Highway 400 safer.
Unlike east of Highway 400, the bike lanes west of the highway are raised cycle tracks. These left turn boxes are also frequently used.
Islington Avenue at Langstaff Road has a multi-use path on the east side to make getting to the Boyd Conservation Area easier.
The Boyd Conservation Area has no shortage of picnic shelters.
The William Granger Greenway starts at this sign. While the path is initially narrow, it widens considerably shortly after.
A commemorative plaque could be found which acknowledges use of the river by Indigenous peoples. Very fitting for Truth and Reconciliation Day.
I spotted a beaver dam a short distance into the trail. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a good shot of the couple of beavers swimming in the water.
Approaching Rutherford Road. The path immediately past the underpass was pretty rough.
A trail pavilion at Rutherford showed a detailed map. Post markers indicate points of interest, but the map doesn’t indicate what they are.
After the trail pavilion, the uphill path was in poor condition. As with the Bartley Smith Greenway, the trail alternates between gravel and paved sections.
This trail feels peaceful with the adjacent river and would be a nice place to catch the coloured fall trees. The hills are also more challenging than on the Bartley Smith Greenway.
The trail signage says Humber River Trail instead of William Granger Greenway.
The trail veers right just before Major Mackenzie Drive. Note there are a decent number of benches placed along the trail.
This was one of the few distance wayfinding signs I found with hiking times indicated. It would be nice to have more of these wayfinding signs along the trail, as well as replace some of the older signs.
The trail ends at Bindertwine Park.
Fortunately, Stegman’s Mill Road has a multi-use path on the north side. Too bad it ended one block before Islington and Kleinburg Village.
A uni-directional cycle track was installed for southbound only along Islington in Kleinburg.
The northbound cycle track ends just past the McMichael Gallery driveway and appeared to still be under construction.
Along Islington from Major Mackenzie to just north of Rutherford, multi-use paths can be found on both sides of the road. It’s unfortunate there isn’t a west side multi-use path from Rutherford to the Boyd conservation area to avoid having to cross the road twice.
The multi-use path abruptly turns into Dr. McLean Park. Just before the picnic shelter, a brand new trail could be seen on the left.
The trail is so new that it’s not yet open! I believe this path will become part of the Humber River Trail.
There are trails on both sides of the Humber River from Woodbridge to Highway 7. However, I should caution the west one through Veterans’ Park is not part of the Humber River Trail.
The informal path that allegedly exists to connect with Toronto’s Humber River Trail starts at the back of Veneto Centre which can be accessed from Kipling Avenue.
Long story short, I DO NOT RECOMMEND this shortcut. Several fallen trees were blocking the single track and there were a few rough parts where I had to hike the gravel bike. You are probably better off using Islington from Highway 7 to Steeles since it doesn’t have a Highway 407 interchange.
Should the Humber Trail gap be filled in, it will most likely be placed closer to Islington per this Feasibility Study Map and therefore avoid the Veneto Centre property.
After passing Highway 407, the trail gets a lot better. I like this double bridge photo including the rail trestle bridge.
The path towards Steeles Avenue is a grassy downhill.
Of course, there would be graffiti under the Steeles Avenue bridge.
Back to Toronto’s Humber River Trail at last! It was starting to rain a bit, so I had to pick up speed to head back home.
As with the Bartley Smith Greenway, the William Granger Greenway could also use an audit to improve the trail quality – preferably paved where possible – and add (or update) wayfinding signage. Speaking of which, the City of Vaughan is working on a trail wayfinding strategy which I encourage you to submit your feedback by Tuesday, October 6. Finally, I would encourage those of you who live in Vaughan to ask your election candidates to fill the Humber River Trail gap to Steeles as soon as possible.
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