When I was a kid growing up in the Junction in the 1990s, many people were still wary of entering the water out of fear of pollution. We typically swam at Gus Ryder pool in Etobicoke, which was built right on top of the beach.
But over the last 40 years, Rust Belt industries have largely disappeared and city infrastructure has improved. Much of the city’s wastewater is now treated before it is dumped into the lake. Toronto’s beaches today are much cleaner, and as breathtaking as they are numerous.
It would take a lifetime to learn all the coves and stretches of land where the city meets Lake Ontario, which is known in Kanien’kéha (the Mohawk language) as Kaniatarí:io, meaning “Beautiful Lake,” and as Niigaani-gichigami in the Anishinaabe language, meaning “Leading Lake.”
Here are three of the best, in my opinion, along with a few tips for your visit. Even a short visit to the lake is deeply grounding for me, and a refreshing reminder that it’s so easy to forget the inland ocean from which our sandy city slopes away.
1. Hanlan’s Point Beach (Toronto Islands)
A clothing-optional beach, Hanlan’s Point is widely recognized as one of Canada’s oldest surviving queer spaces, and also possibly the first beach in the world to have a municipal ordinance explicitly permitting nude bathing (since 1894). In 1971, it was selected by activists as the site for Toronto’s first public gay and lesbian gathering of the Gay Liberation era, a secluded space located far from the closest police department.
I remember my first visit vividly. It was winter, and it was the first time I tried on cross-country skis, while on a sleep-over science trip with my elementary school class at the Island Public School.
I also remember when, in 1999, a group called Totally Naked Toronto won their battle to decriminalize their cruising ground by enshrining the beach as a clothing-optional space, eliminating the pretext the police used to bother them.
As I grew into my adulthood as an artist and as a gay guy with a penchant for both ecology and queer history, I hold this beach dear to my heart.
Tips
- In the last 10 years, Hanlan’s Point has surged in popularity. It’s still a delight, but expect crowds on weekends. Visitors will also notice that erosion has swept away a lot of the beach’s sand. Fortunately, the city plans to add 20,000 cubic metres of sand in 2027
- Bring your bike if you want to visit more of the Western Beaches from the ferry terminal
- Pack all that you need before you arrive at the island, and pack it out with you
- Respect the vibe of the space. Put your camera and phone away
- The beach is nestled in a sensitive dune ecology. Try not to trample the plants, even if you’re hooking up with a friendly stranger! Bonus points if you offer each other tick checks. The pesky parasites are on the rise in Toronto grasslands
2. R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant (The Beaches)
I love to visit Lake Ontario during the winter and during storms, not just on sunny summer days. Nothing beats the melancholy of the little strand at the foot of the Harris Water Filtration Plant at the east end of the Beaches, at the foot of Victoria Park Avenue.
The Art Deco temple to water purification, still in use, presides over a precipice where the lake meets bluffs.
This beach and the adjacent lawns offer the most incredible and sweeping views over the lake. On a clear day, you can catch eerie views of the cliffs straight across the lake on the New York side.
If you’re lucky enough to catch a summer moonrise from here, it may well give you a Lake Ontario hyper-fixation like mine!
Tips
- These beaches are near residential areas, so acoustic music is your best bet here
- Check the water quality before swimming here. Head to the City of Toronto’s “Water Quality for Toronto Beaches” website or get the “Swim Drink Fish” app
- The shore here is a bit rocky, and can have strong currents. If you want an easier place to swim or wade in the water, you can stroll to the nearby Kew-Balmy Beach by foot
3. The Leslie Street Spit & Tommy Thompson Park (East End)
The Leslie Street Spit was created out of the soil excavated from the building of the subway and the foundations of the city’s downtown core. Now known as TommyThompson Park, it stretches five kilometres out into the lake.
Its ponds and coves were designed and planted by human hands, and the reptile and migratory bird life that thrives here stands as a testament to the power of regenerative planning.
The spit’s charm is in its remoteness, and in the twisted rebar and crushed construction materials that form its foundation. Its eastern side is especially rough and industrial.
As a young artist around the end of the 2000s, I participated in a series of rituals and performances that ended in bonfire reveries at the tip of the spit near the lighthouse. It’s a perfect place for solitude, birding and ritual!
The fishing is also great here. Many people eat fish from Lake Ontario, a healthy way to connect to foodways and harvesting traditions. I don’t eat fish from the lake, but my dad does, and we have a mutual understanding that we don’t “yuck” the other’s “yum.”
Tips
- Unfortunately, swimming isn’t permitted here (and while it is possible in some places, there are lots of hazards). Nearby Cherry Beach is a good bet for a more relaxed swim
- The Ontario government publishes fishing regulations with a guide to how much of each species of fish in Lake Ontario is safe to eat
- There have been 334 species of birds recorded here. Download the Merlin Bird ID app, or grab a birding book from the library
