Rouge Beach is not red. The fine, soft sand that covers most of the beach is pale and white, a gleaming contrast to the deep blue of Lake Ontario and the muddy waters of the nearby Rouge River mouth.

The Rouge River is red, so far as rivers go. French explorers renamed the Rouge in the late 1700s, inspired by the way the river's red clay banks melt into the water as it flows past. Before then, the Rouge was known as "Katabokokonk", an Iroquois word meaning "river of easy entrance."

Marie Curtis Park Beach is exactly what a local park and beach should be - a convenient, free, accessible resource for anyone and everyone who lives in the area. It is probably also the last true neighbourhood beach left in Toronto.

Unless you live near the Toronto-Mississauga border, it is unlikely that you have been to Marie Curtis Park. It is at the very end of the Queen streetcar line at the bottom of a residential street in the Long Branch area.

It's hard to pin down the precise spirit of Cherry Beach. The most important thing to know is this - people like it here. Head to Cherry Beach on a Saturday afternoon in the summer and you will have a hard time finding a parking space. The bike paths nearby are humming with cyclists. Pedestrians trek down Cherry Street to find the water's edge. It's just one of those places that Toronto is blessed to have.

There are three reasons to go to Hanlan's Point Beach: the sand, the view, and the flesh.

The last reason - nudity - is optional. You don't have to take your clothes off to have a good time. You can remain covered, stick to the "clothing mandatory" end of the beach, and enjoy the dunes and the cityscape in their own right.

That said, Hanlan's Point Beach is most famous for being one of Canada's only two official nude beaches. (Wreck Beach in Vancouver is the other.) Skinny-dipping is the main attraction.

Gibraltar Point Beach beckons you. The water is clean, deep, and rock-free. It practically begs you to plunge headlong into the cool waters of Lake Ontario on a hot summer day.

Opened in 2007, Gibraltar Point is the newest beach on Toronto's roster. Because it's new, or because it's not labelled on the tourist maps of the Toronto Islands, or because it is at the furthest point from any ferry terminal, Gibraltar Beach remains virtually empty on days when Centre and Hanlan's Point beaches are packed with people.

Ward's Island is a world unto itself. It is close to downtown, yet removed. It is dense, yet open. It is cottage country in the heart of Canada's biggest city.

Technically, "Ward's Island" does not exist. You can take the ferry to the Ward's Island ferry dock. You can walk there from Centreville Amusement Park. You can see it from Cherry Beach or Leslie Spit. But there is no such place as Ward's Island.