Outdoor adventures in Toronto will take you on an escapade through the city this summer. Explore Toronto’s lush ravine system, along the Don or Humber rivers, or uncover some secret urban trails for an epic day outside.

Here are my picks for the top outdoor adventures in Toronto this summer.

Bike the entire Toronto Beltline

Start your Beltline journey on the York Beltline Trail and make your way east to the Kay Gardner Beltline. You’ll eventually find yourself winding through lush Mount Pleasant Cemetery before eventually drifting down to the tree-lined paths toward Evergreen Brickworks.

Travel the Leslie Street Spit

There are few urban outdoor settings more quintessentially Toronto than our favourite manmade peninsula. Travel through discarded bricks and debris to this five-kilometre urban getaway.

Follow Toronto’s concrete river

If you’re a person who likes nature and concrete, imagine this controlled watershed like Toronto’s dirty, way less romantic version of The Seine. You can (legally) follow its hard shores as Black Creek snakes south of Eglinton.

Embark on an urban scavenger hunt

If you want to experience the city with a new set of eyes, try an scavenger hunt set in the city. It'll test your knowledge of Toronto and your problem solving skills, all the while forcing you to explore the city that you already call home.

Mountain bike the length of the Don River

If you love a good mountain bike trail, tracing the Don River will be a real treat. You'll have to spend some time plotting out the route, and you'll inevitably hit the road at some parts, but you can ride mostly on trails all the way from the waterfront to Bayview and Steeles.

Paddle to the Islands

Rent a canoe or kayak and head out from east end of the harbour with a backpack full of food for lunch on Toronto’s favourite archipelago before paddling home to the mainland.

Travel east to west on the Waterfront Trail

You can travel from Etobicoke all the way to Scarborough, if you have the quads for it. Bike, hike—hell, try rollerblading—from the Humber Bay Shore entrance to the cozy lanes on Queen’s Quay, before hitting Lakeshore and the Eastern Beaches boardwalks.

Explore Ontario Place

Basically a little town all its own, you can spend at least a couple of hours exploring the ins and outs of this swath of land on Toronto's west waterfront. Potential political plans might change the landscape soon, so take advantage of those fire pits while you're at it. 

Go urban river kayaking

Yes, you can do this. Rent a canoe or kayak from Paddle Toronto and head down the Humber river before arriving underneath the Toronto skyline. The current gets nasty after the Arch Bridge, but the view is worth the effort.

Hike from Bluffer’s Park to Rouge Beach

If you want to make an adventure out of one of Toronto's most amazing geological features, try hiking the Scarborough bluffs from Bluffer’s all the way to Glen Rouge Beach. You'll have to do some beach-walking, but this is a beautiful journey.