at a glancein&aroundthe neighbourhood
Location
General boundary: Sorauren Avenue to Humber River; Dundas Street West to Lake Ontario Once a pleasantly sleepy community of European immigrants, the High Park area has evolved over the past couple decades into an enclave for educated, affluent Gen X and millennials to raise their families in befittingly organic style.
Neighbourhood Vibes
Recreation
Roncesvalles Village
A walk through Roncesvalles Village – or “Roncy” to its friends – will capture your heart, and stomach, with its small-town European charm. The area is home to many family-owned cafes and shops and as you explore the different boutiques, you may find yourself drawn in by the irresistible aromas that waft out of the local bakeries. Roncesvalles Village’s trove of foodie-approved casual restaurants, health food stores, and gourmet shops. “Roncey” is also known for its indie gift shops, fashion boutiques, and yoga studios. Junction is another hit with smart, young Torontonians, but with an edgier, artier vibe, and replete with small galleries, vintage shops, and coffee bars. The heart of the neighbourhood is the sprawling, leafy High Park, home to a small zoo, an extensive trail network, adventure playgrounds, a leash-free dog park, and scenic pond.
Jamie Bell Adventure Playground
Located at 1873 Bloor St. W. in High Park, it is a family meeting place that was inspired and built by the imagination and creativity of the local community and its children. A fire at the playground destroyed a large portion of the popular structure. This beloved neighbourhood landmark was rebuilt in 2012.
High Park Zoo
High Park Zoo is a small collection of animals along Deer Pen Road, which rises from the eastern ravine up to the plateau near the Grenadier Restaurant. The zoo keeps American bison, Barbary sheep, capybaras, emus, Highland cattle, llamas, Mouflon sheep, peacocks, reindeer, wallabies, and yaks in eleven paddocks. The zoo is open year-round from 7:00 a.m. to dusk.
Colborne Lodge
Colborne Lodge is a historical museum located in an 1836 home built by John George Howard, an architect, engineer, and prominent Toronto citizen who was the first land-owner of High Park. Howard built this house, to house himself and his wife Jemima Frances Meikle. Across the street from the lodge is Howard's tomb, a cairn monument of Howard and his wife. The fence gate for the cairn is originally from St Paul's Cathedral in London, England. It dates from 1714, designed by Christopher Wren. Howard had it shipped from London in 1875.
Gardens
On the hill to the east of Grenadier Pond, extending up to Colborne Lodge Road, is a landscaped ornamental garden area. There is a 'rock garden' extending from the top of the hill near Grenadier Cafe, extending south-west nearly to the pond shore. Along Colborne Lodge Road is a hanging garden and ornamental garden with fountains, the 'sunken gardens. At the bottom of the hill, nearly at the shoreline is a large maple leaf-shaped flower bed, visible from the top of the hill. The area was a tobogganing area in the early 1900s. Toboggan-runs were constructed from the top of the hill extending down to the pond's ice surface. Wedding photography is no longer permitted in the hillside gardens area North of Colborne Lodge is the High Park Children's Garden. It offers programs for schools in the fall and spring, and day camps during the summer for children to learn about growing plants and Toronto parks The Children's Garden and Colborne Lodge hold an annual 'Harvest Festival' in the fall. It includes craft activities, pumpkin-decorating, gardening displays, traditional games, and rides on horse-drawn wagons. North-east of the Grenadier Cafe are High Park's 109 allotment gardens. To the east, south of Centre Road, are the High Park greenhouses. Since 1956, the High Park greenhouses have produced millions of annuals and perennials for Toronto's park system] The nine interconnected greenhouses provide a view into the way the plants are grown and distributed across the city. The greenhouses are not normally open to the public but are occasionally opened to tours. Further north, around the High Park Forest School, are several examples of outdoor sculpture in the former sculpture garden. The sculptures were commissioned and placed around the area for a 1967 international symposium. Several of the sculptures are placed within the forested area. Since the symposium, several sculptures were relocated to other Toronto locations. One was relocated to Corktown Common and another to Iceboat Terrace, west of Spadina Avenue.
The Grenadier Cafe
A 300-seat restaurant and outdoor patio area are located in the center of the park at the intersection of West Road and Colborne Lodge Road. The restaurant opened in May 1958 as a dining room and coffee shop, known as The Grenadier.[44] The outdoor patio area was added later. Due to the condition in the Howards' conveyance forbidding the consumption of alcohol in the park, High Park is the last "dry" area of the City of Toronto, and the Cafe restaurant and banquet hall is not licensed to serve alcohol.
Transportation
High Park is accessible by TTC: * The High Park and Keele subway stations on the Bloor–Danforth subway line * The 501 streetcars, 506 streetcars, and 80 Queensway bus routes * The 30B Lambton bus loops inside the park from Victoria Day to Labour Day Automobile access is allowed to most of the park, although several roads are closed to vehicular traffic. Parking lots exist at the Bell playground and zoo, at Colborne Lodge, at Grenadier Cafe, High Park pool, and the north-western children's playground, as well as along some roads. On Sundays in summer, the roads are closed to traffic. Colborne Lodge Road does not allow through traffic from The Queensway beyond the parking lot for the lodge. People can walk or bicycle to the park along roads and streets and enter the neighbourhood. They can take the Martin Goodman Trail along Lake Ontario to points south of the park.
Restaurant & Retail
- La Cubana
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The dishes at La Cubana, are based on ideas and memories of Cuban dishes, but with the chef’s personal touch, putting a spin on Cuban favorites. With 4 locations in the Toronto area, this is a favorite for locals and tourists.
- Bloom Restaurant
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Bloom Restaurant features a Nuevo-Latino Cuisine, a fusion of Latin American dishes with a North American touch. Their Cuban Chef Pedro Quintanilla and their Peruvian Maitre D' Pedro Salvin will make you feel as if you are in a Latin Oasis in the middle of Bloor West Village.
- Queen's Pasta Cafe
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When all you can think about is food, Queen’s Pasta Cafe in Bloor West Village is the place to go for top-notch taste, an enticing menu, and friendly service. Their specialty is fresh pasta and they’ve been making it for more than 30 years!