Scarborough Bluffs

OAE (Outdoor Art Exhibit) 

A Toronto mainstay in the summer.

Hundreds of artisans vie for your attention 

and a chance

at being snapped up by a local gallery.

Toronto never a dull moment

In my continuous search for exciting anddifferent locales to photograph, I've started practicing tourism in my home town, namely Toronto.  

 Retiring from my career as a flight attendant has clipped my wings and has forced me to concentrate

on adventures and outings closer to home.  

Hot Dog Vendors on Queen Street West

 It is a city made up of neighbourhoods, each distinctlydifferent from its neighbour. It's a city always changing. A huge and steady influx of immigrants, who seem to come in different ethnic waves have added  design, colour and taste sensations as they establish themselves.  New restaurants, shops and cultural events all become a reality because of Toronto's accepting arms. Take some time to become a tourist in your own city......and if you are a tourist from afar, search out the quirky, the hidden and the  beautiful in this wonder of cities.

A very hot Monday in July at the Scarborough Bluffs

The Scarborough Bluffs  Hike the Scarborough Bluffs are a naturally occurring phenomena located at the foot of Brimley Rd. in Scarborough, also called Bluffer's park. Plenty of parking at the base (at this point in time the top parking lot is blocked off) the good news is that  the parking is free weekdays until 5 pm. at which time it switches to 75 cents / half hour.Bluffers Park

At its highest point, the escarpment rises 65 metres (213 ft) above lake level and stretches for 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) along the shore of Lake Ontario, east of Toronto. It was first named in 1793.
The Bluffs are known and studied worldwide and are considered a "geological wonder" and they are unique in North America. Fabulous Trail Map  The escarpment forms the old shoreline of Glacial Lake Iroquois, formed after the last  Ice Age about 20,000 years ago, which left valuable geological records as the part of the escarpment by the lake. The alluvial deposits from the bluffs erosion, drifted westward to form the Toronto Islands

Looking East towards Toronto

Where did the name come from? Elizabeth Simcoe the wife of our first Lieutenant Governor in Upper Canada, John Graves Simcoe, was reminded of her home in Scarborough, in Yorkshire Scarborough, Yorkshire.  The Yorkshire cliffs are primarily made up of Limestone, whereas these bluffs are mostly clay sediment and fossil remains, the look is similar 

This is a pond which is one of four at the bluffs called Dunker's Flow that captures and holds sewer water from the city of Toronto's storm drains. It works by a means of natural purification which enables the water to make it's way back to the lake with many of the nasty and toxic materials removed. The solid pollutants and particles sink to the bottom and as the water moves from pool to pool.The  vegetation removes even more, cattails a common marsh sight store toxins in their tubular roots. One can see from this third pond that the water is healthy, and is creating a wonderful ecosystem for all manner of wildlife  I spotted a heron and there are many redwing blackbirds in the cattails and the delightful sound of bullfrogs, other than that, quiet.....total quiet. .Dunker's Flow 

As you can see this is a healthy pond,with none of the recognizable sewer water odour.



You can cross the ponds on elevated boardwalks in many places.

Clear water on the Lakeshore

 I was amazed at the water quality, very clear with no visible algae washing up on shore anywhere. I can't say that I noticed any fish, but people were fishing so they must be there, especially off of the landfill points.Aerial View of Bluffers Park .   We have had a very warm summer and no rain to speak of, so the sewer system is not overloaded. The water at the shore was quite warm, although the official water temperature July 12th was 51 degrees F.  That's cold, really cold, compare it to Lake Erie the same day 74*F,  that's 23 degrees difference.

The shapes created by erosion are spectacular and would be terrifying if you were
standing on the edge looking down.  I don't recommend it, the shape of the hills
makes it impossible to erect barriers, so it is strictly use at your own risk. Every
year someone falls to his death, usually young, often at night.

This is the storm sewer outflow and yes, here you can
smell that lingering sewer "eau de cologne" before it
runs into the storage ponds of Dunker's Flow.

 

 I wouldn't want to fall into this pool, nasty.

I was here on a working day Monday and it was almost as if I had the park to myself.  As I was walking through the vegetation I started to think that I was a wonderful target for robbery and mayhem..... but who in their right mind would be in this beautiful place thinking thoughts like that.  Lots of rustling in the bracken, just birds, chipmunks and hopefully not coyotes. Make sure your dogs are on leash!!!

Cathedral Bluff

Another sign of a healthy pond, water lilies in bloom and the sound of bullfrogs.

Another view of a healthy wetland, which is helping to keep
our lake clean.

There are miles of sandy beaches to be found on Lake Ontario, this is just past the Marina.  There is an outdoor shower, a foot was shower and washrooms.  Make sure you take shoes the sand is very, very hot and although it looks wonderful, glass could be lurking just beneath.  Water quality is generally good and on a year without much rain it improves drastically.  This is a supervised beach and is not a rocky shore so it's great for kids.  

 Restaurant in Marina The Marina has a boat launch and a restaurant open to the public. It also has house boats which have started me dreaming of a second home on the water.

Hiking trails abound, good footwear is a must. Sandals and flipflops fill with gravel and sand very quickly. It is really hard to see , but there is actually a person standing on top of the Bluff.....tiny in comparison.

 If I didn't know better, I would think I was in the south of France in provence.

I highly recommend a days outing to the Scarborough Bluffs, you will be in awe of this free show that our city puts on........and bring your bathing suit!