SCARBOROUGH'S GIANT
- Nov 14, 2016
- 3 min read
If you're looking for the GTA's pride rock, you've come to the right place. Although I can't guarantee you the animal kingdom, I can promise that this is one of the greatest lookouts in city. Whether you're an early-bird or night-owl, this is without a doubt the best place to catch the sun kiss the horizon. This is the perfect trail for the city dweller, so change things up this weekend, dust off your sneakers, grab a hiking partner and check out this secret gem close to home.
Towering over the beach bellow at a resounding 90 meters tall (or 25 stories high for those of you that are reading this from your downtown condos), this “rail-less” lookout is not for the faint of heart. This iconic land mark in the east-end of Toronto occupies around 15 kilometers of Lake Ontario’s shoreline and features beaches, parks and a h*ll of a view.
Let’ be real, Toronto isn’t really known for its stunning seascape or its natural wonders, but this one has been hundreds of years in the making. A product of destructive erosion by the freezing and thawing lake, these spectacular clay cliffs have been modeled into truly extraordinarily unique shapes. But what’s a bunch or rocks and clay worth if you can’t have a little bit of fun with them? Not only is this cliff a stunning sight in itself, there are a ton of things to do around the park to surely keep you amused. At its base, you’ll find the cliffs separated from the water by a white sand beach on one side, and a man-made peninsula that stretches out into the lake on the other side. So for all of you that want to play it safe, you can catch a few rays and have a few sandwiches on the beach.
noun: peninsula; plural noun: peninsulas
a portion of land nearly surrounded by water and connected with a larger body by an isthmus; also: a piece of land jutting out into the water whether with or without a well-defined isthmus
(You can pretend like you already knew what it meant... But just in case I thought I’d save you the trouble)
However, if you’re looking to make your way 90 meters upwards to the top of the cliffs above, you’ll need to do so through a network of trails. There are a ton of ways to get up, really, the one you chose determined only by your curiosity and sense of adventure. You can go through trails, woodlands, 7-foot-high Havana style grass, and you might even encounter a few knee deep clay pit along the way, but regardless how you chose to go, you’ll all end up in one place… The cliff.
Proceed with caution.
Here, after your 30 minute and almost all uphill stroll, you’ll find yourself with a view far from the regular. With 3-4 different extensions to the cliff to check out, and next to nothing stopping you from walking right up to the edge, all you have left to do is enjoy the silence and take in the view. If you find yourself exploring this gem on a sunny day, as you look down at the ant-like humans on the beach bellow you, you’ll notice that the water in front of them doesn’t quite resemble a lake, let alone Lake Ontario. In fact, the combination of the clay under-carpet, the mineral mix unique to this region and the shallow waters give this specific part of the lake a tropical teal colour, rival to that of a Caribbean Sea.
So, whether you’re looking for a [surprisingly] quiet spot to ponder in peace, a spot to watch a killer sunset, or just an excuse to get out of your mom’s basement for a few hours, make the most of your time and make your way over to Scarborough’s silent giant.
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