Lake to Lake Route in York Region

The Lake to Lake Cycling Route is a 121 kilometre bike route from Lake Ontario to Lake Simcoe and was part of York Region’s pedestrian and cycling master plan approved in 2008. Having done the Toronto stretch already, I was curious to check out the route in York Region. On Friday, I brought my bike to Bradford GO station and ride south to Toronto.

Map of Lake to Lake Cycling Route (Via York Region)

Connecting Southern Ontario's Rail Trails

Over the past few years, I have had the chance to ride several regional trails in southern Ontario; starting with the Greater Niagara Circle Route in 2016. I have since done the Oro Medonte Trail from Barrie to Orillia, the Georgian Trail from Collingwood to Meaford, the Brantford to Port Dover trail, the Elora Cataract, and part of the Omemee Rail Trail near Peterborough. However, a look at Google Maps show there are a lot more regional bike trails, along with some significant gaps. Let’s look at some of these regional trail gaps and how they can be filled.

Map of current bikeways per Google Maps

Toronto Loop (and a Protected Intersection)

On Sunday, April 24, Albert, Mark, Arthur, and I from the Toronto Community Bikeways Coalition joined urban planner Al Rezoski for a ride covering the Toronto Loop. This recreational loop is 81 kilometres long which consists of the Martin Goodman Trail, Humber River Trail, Finch Hydro Corridor, and the Don River trail system. The loop is one of Mayor John Tory’s long term initiatives which has the potential to encourage cycle tourism in the city. Before starting by Queen’s Park, Al showed us a map of the loop and highlighted the following seven gaps which we planned to stop at for discussion. Some of these gaps will be addressed with the latest bike plan.

• Stephen Drive (north of The Queensway)
• Weston Road (between St. Phillips Road and Cardell Avenue)
• Finch Hydro Corridor (between Weston Road and Norfinch Drive)
• G Ross Lord Park (near Finch Avenue and Dufferin Street)
• Yonge Street (at Hendon and Bishop Avenues)
• Betty Sutherland Trail (between Duncan Mill and York Mills Roads)
• West Don River Trail (near Eglinton Avenue and Leslie Street)

Toronto Loop highlighted in orange with the seven gaps circled

Elora Cataract from Belwood to Elora

The day before we biked around Peterborough, we rode along part of the Elora Cataract Trailway; a 45 kilometre trail from Elora to Forks of the Credit Provincial Park. We started in Belwood about halfway between and parked at Belwood Hall.

A Peek Into Peterborough

This past year has lead to several new cycling adventures north, south, and west of the Toronto area including Sudbury, the Georgian Trail, the Brantford to Port Dover trails, and the Elora Cataract. However, Helen and I hadn’t brought our bikes east yet which was what we did on a rainy Sunday morning when we headed to Peterborough.

Brantford to Port Dover Rail Trails

Biking from Brantford to Port Dover along the rail trails is a 100 kilometre return trip which is possible to do in one day. However, we split the trip over two days and turned back at Waterford both days. Unlike the Georgian Trail which had views of Georgian Bay and of the Blue Mountains, this trip is focused on agriculture. I also took Jun N’s advice to park at the Colborne Common Shopping Centre in Brantford for the first day.

Georgian Trail from Collingwood to Meaford

For those who want to enjoy some cycling outside of Toronto, a lot of rail trails can be found across Ontario. Some of them can be accessed by GO Transit such as Oro Medonte, but many require getting to them by car for a day trip. During the Labour Day long weekend, Helen and I rented a car to bike the Georgian Trail from Collingwood to Meaford and the rail trails from Brantford to Port Dover.

Biking (and Hiking) Around Sudbury

With COVID-19 making international travel impractical for the foreseeable future, it was time to look closer to home for vacation. Helen and I spent this past week near Sudbury. A place with great hiking, lots of blueberries, and even a few pleasant surprises when biking around.

Biking Barrie to Orillia

Since moving to the Greater Toronto Area in 2008, the only GO train line that was easily accessible outside of rush hour was the Lakeshore line from Oshawa to Aldershot (just outside of Hamilton). However, GO Transit has expanded service on its Barrie, Kitchener, and Stouffville lines in recent years as part of their Regional Express Rail program. This includes year round weekend service to Barrie in December 2016 and to Niagara Falls since August 2019. Having gotten curious to check out the Oro Medonte Rail Trail, Helen and I brought our bikes on the GO train to Barrie last weekend to try it out.

Barrie's old Allandale train station

Toronto to Brampton (via Eglinton and Etobicoke Creek)

The first time I biked in Brampton was during last year’s “Bike the Creek” event. Since both Mississauga and Brampton have their own trails along Etobicoke Creek, I was curious to find out how cyclists from Toronto could get to Brampton. With Friday being a day off and a need to lose some steam from Thursday’s Fordian slip of an election, I found out by biking the Humber River, Eglinton West, and Etobicoke Creek Trails; a roughly 90-kilometre round trip!

Biking Brampton's Etobicoke Creek

 

While I have biked both east and west of Toronto, my experiences north of Steeles Avenue have been limited to training rides for the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer in 2014. Thanks to a suggestion from Helen, we took part in Bike Brampton’s “Bike the Creek” ride on Saturday, June 24. Not only did it give me exposure to cycling north of Steeles, but it is arguably one of the best organized rides in the Greater Toronto Area with hundreds taking part.

Capital Cycling Charms - Part 2

Part 1 of the Ottawa cycling series focused on urban bike routes. Getting a more complete picture also required some exposure to suburban infrastructure, which we experienced on Day 2.

Our route from Ottawa's Little Italy to Kanata

Capital Cycling Charms - Part 1

Ottawa River and O-Train Pathways

When I attended Spring Bike Ottawa in March 2015, I couldn’t properly evaluate their cycling facilities due to the weather and lack of bike share. After cycling in Montréal in February, it was only a matter of time Ottawa would be revisited; something Helen and I did in late May.

Beyond Ajax ... Cycling in Whitby and Oshawa

As far as Durham Region goes, Ajax is the Region's cycling leader and Pickering is the laggard. (more on this here) However, the Region has six other municipalities; those being Whitby, Oshawa, Clarington, Uxbridge, Brock, and Scugog. Thanks to a Strava map provided by Joe Arruda, I checked two more municipalities off my to-do list with a 29-kilometre ride from Whitby to Oshawa GO stations on Sunday, November 13.

Sheltered bicycle racks at Whitby GO station

Loop Around Prince Edward County

While the Niagara Region may be the biggest focus for cycle tourism outside of Toronto per the “Investigating Impacts of Cycle Tourism in Ontario” study (more on this here), another region which ranks among the top five is Prince Edward County. Getting to Niagara Region “sans voiture” is easy with GO trains during the summer and buses with bike racks year-round. Prince Edward County, on the other hand, requires transporting bicycles via private automobiles, given there is only one VIA train per day which stops at Belleville and offers a baggage car for transporting bicycles at a cost of $25 one way. On Saturday, October 8, Helen and I set out to Picton (a 2.5-hour drive east of Toronto) and do a 70-kilometre loop around the County.

Birdhouse City - just outside of Picton

Get Ajax Moving - Part 1

Before I left Ajax five years ago for Downtown Toronto, I used to bike the Duffins Creek and Waterfront Trails regularly, but was not familiar with other cycling facilities in the area. Having heard good things about cycling in Ajax from various sources and their most recent maps indicating a Minimum Grid in the making – thanks in part to Ajax Mayor Steve Parish being a cyclist - I wanted to learn more first hand. My two three part Ajax discussion will focus on a ride done on Saturday, September 3 and what the Town of Ajax and the Durham Region Cycling Coalition (DRCC) are doing to improve cycling.

Map of Ajax to Rouge Hill ride (48 km) - Note Google Maps did not have the
new Carruthers Creek Trail marked yet and Rossland Avenue was closed.

Niagara By Bike

Aside from the 2014 Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer from Toronto to Niagara Falls, all my cycling trips were limited to one day. Thanks to the suggestion of a fellow cycling advocate (Helen), I rode the Greater Niagara Circle Route from July 15 to 17 with her and another friend.

Stop! Hammertime! Cycling in Hamilton

While MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This” is one of my favourite hip hop songs, the Hammer I am referring to is the City of Hamilton. This nickname is loosely based on its steelmaking heritage, though a Raise The Hammer article mentioned its origins were in the music and arts circles; only entering the mainstream over the past decade. Just as how Toronto rapper Drake coined “The 6ix” last year as Toronto’s new nickname.

On Sunday, May 22, I biked 80 kilometres from “The 6ix” to the Hammer for some Ride For Heart training. Here are some cycling observations I made along the way.

Hamilton skyline from York Boulevard