Picturesque boardwalk is perfect place for last-chance fall colours in Toronto

A gorgeous boardwalk through a lush forested patch of Toronto, offering glimpses of a lost river largely buried by infrastructure over generations.

Merrill Bridge Road Park and Williamson Park Ravine are two parks where you can still see traces of the mostly-lost Small's Creek, buried in the 20th century as the city grew around it.

The quiet parks tucked away near Coxwell and Gerrard are home to a boardwalk carving through a densely forested river valley — a stroll that comes alive with intense fall hues this time of year.

While time is running out for road trips across the province, and leaf change is now past peak in most areas, destinations within the city, like Merrill Bridge Road Park
and Williamson Park Ravine, offer a perfect last-chance opportunity to soak in the seasonal hues before the winter chill strips away all leaf cover.

The highlight of the parks is undoubtedly their shared elevated boardwalk that allows the public to descend into a ravine and immerse themselves in brilliant colours.

The boardwalk was replaced starting in 2021 in conjunction with a Metrolinx project to upgrade the adjacent rail corridor, which was met with backlash from the surrounding community.

Though Metrolinx has stated that 60 trees were saved by changes to the initial plan, the project faced fierce resistance due to its impacts on the park and local wetland ecology.

The park network is, in fact, designated as an Environmentally Significant Area in the City of Toronto's Official Plan, citing the space providing "habitats for vulnerable, rare or threatened plant and/or animal species and communities that are vulnerable, rare, threatened or endangered within the Province, the City or the Greater Toronto Area."

However, such designation did not spare the park from modifications to accommodate Metrolinx's corridor works.

Despite the loss of trees and impacts to habitats, construction is now in the past, and Merrill Bridge Road Park is once again a gorgeous place to take a fall stroll in Toronto.

Just catch those impressive colours before it's too late.

Check out this photo gallery of fall colours at Merrill Bridge Road Park and Williamson Park Ravine.