Wilderness in the city: Tommy Thomson Park, Toronto, Canada

I hadn't been to the Leslie Street Spit in over 20 years. The last time I was there, my daughter, @natashahall, was just a wee girl. I was in the mood for a hike on the last day of the Canada Day long weekend. Finally, it was going to be a day without rain. It had been an extremely wet couple of months, and this weekend was no exception. I wanted to go somewhere different but not too far afield.

Tommy Thomson Park is located on the man-made peninsula known as the Leslie Street Spit that juts 5 kilometers into Lake Ontario. Toronto is North America's 4th largest city, but you wouldn't know it from inside the park. The park is about 9 kilometers from downtown Toronto and is home to a variety of wildlife, in particular birds. There are wildflower meadows, sand dunes, marshes, beaches and cottonwood forests. People come to the park to cycle, hike, fish and more.

In the photos below you can see some of the bricks, concrete, etc. that went into creating the man-made peninsula starting five decades ago.

I brought home a water-worn piece of brick. It makes a great paperweight, pen or paintbrush holder.

I'll be going back to Tommy Thomson Park very soon! You should go, too!

sources:
http://tommythompsonpark.ca/