On what was supposed to be the final morning, we entered Toronto Pearson Airport to catch an 11:00 am Sunday flight back to Washington, DC. We finally threw in the towel around 6:00 pm after American Airlines repeatedly postponed the departure due to mechanical issues with the incoming flight. Unfortunately, by then all favorable options were exhausted and we rebooked a flight two days later. That gave us another full day in Toronto on Monday and then we would try to get home again on Tuesday.
Also now I know what happens when you go through immigration and customs for the United States in a foreign airport that has a pre-clearance facility, and then don’t travel onward to the United States. Toronto Pearson is one of those airports. An airline gate agent escorts you through a side door, checks in at a security desk, and then releases you into the domestic baggage claim area. Then you just walk out of the airport like everyone else.
We went back to the same airport hotel and booked rooms for another two nights.
Return to Toronto Island Park
We already experienced a jam-packed couple of days in Toronto by that point. So what did the family want to do now? I suggested the Hockey Hall of Fame. It’s supposed to be really good, and of course Canada, eh? But nobody else wanted to go.
I think the kids felt they missed out on something special at Toronto Island Park when they slept-in a couple days earlier. They wanted to check it out, and sure, I didn’t mind going back. There was plenty of stuff left to do there.
We felt like old pros now, knowing exactly how to catch the ferry and where to go once we arrived. However, this time we would do it by bicycle and cover the rest of the park. There was a bikeshare station at the ferry landing but we walked right past it and went to the other side of Centre Island where we had additional options. There we rented a quad bike with a shade canopy; so imagine four wheels, four seats, four sets of pedals in the rough shape of a passenger vehicle, with two people up front and two behind. It was a lot slower and probably a lot more inefficient than four individual bicycles but the fun factor was considerably higher.
Hanlan’s Point
First we pedaled to the western end of the park at Hanlan’s Point, all the way to the edge of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, which occupies the far end of the island. I’d love to use this airport someday if only to ride the little ferry that connects it to downtown Toronto. Unfortunately you can’t get to the airport from the park, although actually, maybe that’s a good thing. Bicycles and runways probably don’t mix.
However, we did go all the way to the ferry landing and watched one of the Hanlan’s Point ferries arrive. Most of the people disembarking headed towards nearby Hanlan’s Point beach. This was much calmer and a bit more remote than the area around the Centre Island ferry landing. The beach here is both LQBTQ+ friendly and in parts clothing optional. There is plenty of signage along the periphery so that people can choose to partake or avoid, and everyone seemed to respect the full range of preferences.
Ward’s Island
Then we pedaled all the way to the other other side of the park, to the far eastern extreme on Ward’s Island. I had seen on a map that people actually lived here. Further research led to the Toronto Islands Residential Community Trust Corporation, the entity that oversees this. Many of these modest cottages sprouted here in the years after World War 2 to alleviate a housing shortage, and they remain to this day.
A number of years ago, the city wanted to evict everyone and create more parkland. However, the residents pushed back and actually won, but under strict oversight that limited who could move here and under what conditions. So about 250 small residences dot parts of Algonquin Island and Ward’s Island. I guess the residents have to take the ferry pretty regularly to buy groceries and such, but they have affordable housing with amazing views only fifteen minutes from downtown Toronto. They do have a few additional amenities too, like a handful of restaurants, a nice park in their literal backyard, and even an elementary school for the little ones.
Centre Island Beach
From there we pedaled back to the bicycle rental stand on the Lake Ontario side of Centre Island. It was right next to the beach and a pier extending out into the lake. I’m not much of a beach person but this one looked nice and people seemed to enjoy it. We didn’t linger long though. We pretty much covered all of Toronto Island Park by this time and we headed back to the ferry.
Toronto Railway Museum
So back downtown now, we walked towards the base of the CN Tower once again. There was one sight left to see: the Toronto Railway Museum. It occupied the same locomotive roundhouse building (map) as the brewery we visited a couple of days earlier. For anyone going to the museum I would recommend getting the guided tour of the train cars outside that are on display too. The museum itself, within the roundhouse, is a nice introduction. However, it’s also pretty small. A lot of the museum actually involves the rolling stock found on the adjacent grounds.
Brewery #13: Amsterdam Brewhouse
We had a full day but we still had time for an early dinner at one remaining brewery. It was only about a ten minute walk from the museum to Amsterdam Brewhouse. And that was the final brewery of the trip so my list of breweries has a much larger Canadian representation now. However, the catalog skews heavily towards Ontario so it looks like I’ll have to go visit some of the other provinces to balance things out.
Toronto Waterfront
The brewpub was located along Toronto’s waterfront so we finished our bonus day with a stroll along the shoreline. Then we walked over to Union Station and took an UP Express train back to the airport station. From there we walked to the hotel, went to bed early, and prepared to leave Toronto the next morning.
Nearly Stuck Again!
And then the same pattern started repeating itself. The next day began with a two-hour flight delay but this time we didn’t let the airline string us along. We rebooked immediately with a layover at LaGuardia and got out of Canada as quick as we could. We just needed to get across the international border where we would have more travel options. I loved Canada, and I do want to explore a lot more of it, but we were all tired and ready to get home.
Articles in the Ontario Series
- Choices
- Downtime
- Lake and Mountain
- Penetanguishene and Beyond
- Lake and Caves
- Owen Sound
- Toronto Orientation
- Toronto Tourist
- Bonus Days
See Also: The Complete Photo Album on Flickr.
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