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It stands up to a fearsome 3m tall and has a distinctive hump between its shoulders. Grizzlies are solitary animals with no natural enemies except humans. Although they enjoy an occasional snack of elk, moose or caribou, they usually fill their bellies with berries and other vegetation.

Pretty much the only place to observe them is from late September to early November in Churchill, Manitoba, one of their major maternity denning grounds. For more information about these fascinating creatures, Click here. Another formidable predator is the wolf, which can be every bit as fierce and cunning as is portrayed in fairy tales, although it rarely attack humans. Belugas are the smallest, typically measuring no more than 4. They are chatty fellows who squeak, groan and peep while traveling in closely knit family pods.

Each one chows down about 40 tons of krill per day. Minkes can grow to 10m and are likely to approach boats, delighting passengers with acrobatics as they, too, hurl themselves out of the water a bit more easily than the lumbering humpback. Everyone loves these cute little guys, a sort of waddling penguin-meets-parrot cross, with black-and-white feathers and an orange beak. They hang out in the Atlantic provinces, especially Newfoundland.

The true ruler of the sky, though, is the bald eagle, whose wingspan can reach more than 2m. It was Canadian banker Charles Broley who first connected the dots between DDT and the plummeting population of these regal birds. That was in the late s, and things have been looking way up since then. Trees cover nearly half of the country, providing living space to roughly two-thirds of the estimated , species of plants, animals and micro-organisms living in Canada.

Stretching from coast to coast and from the US border to the Arctic tree line, they are highly diversified and have adapted to the soil, climate and weather conditions. Further south, tundra transitions to taiga, better known as boreal forest, named after Boreas, the Greek god of the north wind. Cold-tolerant conifers such as pine, fir and spruce thrive in this harsh climate of long winters and short but warm summers.

Ontario hosts the parkland zone, which marks the transition between the eastern forests and the prairies. Trembling aspen is the dominant tree. Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta are best known for their flat prairie grasslands, now mostly covered in cultivated grains.

Short, mixed and tall grasses once blanketed this region but, except for a few protected pockets, these are a thing of the past. BC has the most diverse vegetation in the country. The Rocky Mountain forests consist of sub-alpine species such as Engelmann spruce, alpine fir and larches, with lodgepole pine and aspen at higher elevations. In the rainforest-like climate of the Pacific coast, the trees soar skyward.

There are ancient, gigantic western red cedar, Douglas fir, western hemlock and Sitka spruce species. Some are more than years old, making them veritable Methuselahs of the tree world.

Actually, the pitcher plant chows down mostly on insects, captured via its water-filled trap. Keep an eye out next time you walk through a bog. Flip to it for the lowdown on activities, itineraries, costs and history. Each province also runs its own system of parks and reserves. There are literally hundreds of them, mostly used for recreation but also, to a certain extent, to protect wildlife and historic sites.

Many are just as spectacular as the national parks. The best-organized provincial parks offer similar infrastructure to their national cousins, including interpretive centers, equipment rental and campgrounds. Parks in the territories tend to be small, simple and inexpensive to visit; they are often used for overnight camping, although facilities may be basic. It birthed Greenpeace, for crissake! The group launched from a Vancouver living room in Vancouver is also the home of environmental pioneer David Suzuki, a retired professor from the University of British Columbia UBC who has been writing about sustainable ecology for more than 30 years.

The Green Party www. Alberta and British Columbia offered the strongest support, Manitoba the least. Apparently not. Meanwhile, the clock ticks. The average annual temperature has increased by 0. Take the Yukon. Shorter winters have dissolved their ice-based seal-hunting habitat, and all of a sudden, nearby humans are starting to look like juicy T-bones Click here for more. Climate change also has bizarre economic ramifications.

And the Olympics are headed to Vancouver in , but will there be enough snow for the slopes and bobsleigh runs? Take as much as you want! In the early s, Atlantic Canada faced the horrifying fact that the cod were fished out. The greatest fishery in the world, in business for more than years, was now kaput. Cod were even listed as endangered in For additional information, Click here.

Polar Bear, meet Walrus. They used to be strangers, until global warming brought their habitats together. Most hiking and camping advice is common sense. First, know what you are getting into. Get trail maps and take a few minutes to talk to a ranger about trail conditions, dangers and closures. Rangers can also confirm if your abilities and equipment match the needs of your trip. Once in the wild, do everything possible to minimize your impact. Stick to established trails and campgrounds.

Use a gas stove for cooking or make fires in established fire pits only. When you leave, take out everything you brought in and remove every trace of your visit. Try to learn about local conservation, environmental and cultural issues before your trip and during your visit. Ask questions and listen to what locals have to say. And finally, support tourism companies and environmental groups that promote conservation initiatives and long-term management plans.

Along the same lines, companies strip huge areas of forest and soil cover to access coal, iron, nickel and other mineral resources. These ore deposits are developed all the time, particularly in seldom-visited northern regions such as Labrador and the Northwest Territories, where there is little public scrutiny or attention.

Recently there has been a spate of oil and natural gas development in the Atlantic provinces, much of it on the ocean floor, with untold consequences for marine life for an example of such actions, Click here. In northern Alberta, oil is coaxed from oil sands, a messy process that requires huge amounts of energy and poisons the atmosphere with greenhouse gases Click here for more. Nearby, plans are underway for a controversial km-long pipeline, the Mackenzie Gas Project, to be tunneled beneath the wilderness of the Northwest Territories.

Their website www. Is that good enough? Stay tuned. Not even close. And I can explain it all in two simple words: endless and staggering. No matter what your ability, no matter what your taste, there is something here for you. Adventures for the rank beginner or the seasoned veteran are all over the place, even just on the edge of, and sometimes within, city limits.

Whatever outdoor activity you can imagine, it exists in the highest of quality, right here in Canada. But, for nearly half the year, much of Canada really is snow-covered, and hockey and beer-drinking really are favorite pastimes. But there is so much more here than that oversimplified pictorial and those stereotypical flannels. Welcome to the most abundant, most breathtaking, least busy playground on the planet. Welcome to half the world.

Hills in the flatlands, like Saskatchewan and southern Ontario, are built on available or creatively used geography river hills or garbage dumps.

Damn cold. But instead of complaining about it, Canadians are apt to do something in it. Find a snow-covered hill not too big and slide uncontrollably downhill. Combine this motorized activity with backcountry skiing to access tons of powder. Canadians have a chronic fishing problem. Fish from inside an ice shack, drill into the ice, turn on the space heater and drop your line. Snowpack ranges from 2m to 6m-plus, depending on how close the resort is to the Pacific Ocean.

Medicine Hat, Alberta, with days sans rain. Cross-Country Nordic Skiing Instead of swishing through the snow, go straight on a set of Nordic skis. Most ski resorts in Canada offer a groomed network of cross-country ski trails which are much cheaper than a downhill lift ticket. Compare lung capacity with Canadian national team members at the Olympic site in Canmore, Alberta. Ski Touring Ski touring, downhill skiing with a backpack instead of a lift, is the cheapest way to tap into the deep and dry snow that is world-renowned in BC.

Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park has the most beautiful glacier tours and tree skiing within a single-day tour. Or fly into a backcountry lodge like Blanket Glacier Chalet www.

BC towns like Revelstoke, Nelson and Golden are touring hubs and have a number of shops that can provide gear, maps and information on snow conditions, where to park etc. That said, Canada has revolutionized mountain biking and provides an expansive landscape for two-wheeled exploration.

The entire 18,km trail some of it river routes will link communities from coast to coast to coast and provide for multi-use access to cyclists, snowmobilers, horseback riders and hikers. Check www. Most popular ski areas like Panorama www. Or you could choose shorter regional rides. The east coast, with more small towns and less emptiness, is a fantastic place to pedal, either as a single-day road ride or a multi-day trip. Sure, we use plastic and fiberglass today, but boat design and techniques have hardly changed.

No longer used for hunting, this double-bladed, covered-deck paddlesport is still the most efficient human-powered way to move across lakes and along coastlines. Make sure you have a solid Eskimo Roll for righting yourself when you flip. Luckily www. As old as kayaking, and equally Canadian, is the canoe.

Travel a thousand miles by train and you are a brute; pedal five hundred on a bicycle and you remain basically a bourgeois; paddle a hundred in a canoe and you are already a child of nature. Here are some of our favorites, to help you decide which way to turn your toes. Also, k. Also visit the Parks Canada site www. Watch wild animals, cross unbridged rivers and see not a soul.

Access is via Whitehorse. Take a compass and GPS; the alpine plateau is crisscrossed by a web of caribou trails. An offshoot will head northwards from Calgary through the Yukon to Tuktoyaktuk in the Northwest Territories, with a branch extending east through Nunavut to Chesterfield Inlet on Hudson Bay.

The TCT will be the longest such trail in the world, linking millions of travelers, hundreds of communities and dozens of landscapes. Its entire length will take about days to cycle, days to ride on horseback or days to walk. The now-disbanded organization in charge of the celebrations wanted to leave a lasting legacy, and provided enough seed money to launch the project in This entitles them to have their name inscribed on one of dozens of Trail Pavilions along the route.

So far approximately , people have immortalized themselves in this fashion. The TCT is knitted together from existing and new trails. Much of it, including all of the Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island sections, will run along former railway tracks. For now, the TCT remains a work in progress. More than half of it is currently unstable; it is scheduled for completion in the fall of From here you can march through dense spruce and pine forests that burst into a stunning bright-yellow canopy in the fall.

Then ascend into alpine meadows that are carpeted with wildflowers and surrounded by crumbling glaciers and azure lakes. This trail network weaves together pristine lakes with some of the largest peaks in the Rockies. And the BC Parks system www. There are sizable mountains out east, too. For the serious backpacker looking for the least beaten path and the biggest mountains east of the Canadian Rockies, plan on visiting Torngat Mountain National Park in Labrador.

Though portions are near cities like Hamilton and Toronto, it is surprisingly serene. Backroad Mapbooks will show you the way. Outdoor recreation and camping overviews accompany each book, but make sure you cross-reference with the locals. Canmore, just outside Banff, is the ideal place for beginners and beyond.

Climbing shops, a climbing school www. All levels of climbers bask in the spring sun while climbing the plus gneiss and nice, too! It features hundreds of tours, from day trips to summit missions to epic traverses. While Canadians are practically born on skates, it might take you a couple of hours to get the hang of it.

Skating has spawned many a Canadian pastime and takes regional forms. Grassroots hockey, aka pond hockey, takes place in communities across Canada every night on a frozen surface.

All you need is a puck, a hockey stick and a few friends to live the hockey dream. Winnipeg, Manitoba, notorious for chilly winters, has 3km of cleared ice on the Assiniboine and Red rivers.

In Alberta, you can race in the Sylvan Lake 50km Marathon on a 10km track, the longest in the world. They just don a pair of warm mitts, a down jacket, crampons and an ice axe, and are pretty well ready to take on the most abundant and consistent ice climbing in the world.

Banff, Kootenay, Yoho and Jasper national parks remain frozen for six months a year, and by early November notorious routes like Polar Circus and Curtain Call are in full form. As in summer, Canmore is the place to get started and take a lesson.

With www. Great for climbers, hikers and sightseers. Give yourself a couple of weeks to work your way up ft or m this ice-riddled Kluane National Park massif. For better odds all around, watch out for the more common and visible Canadian critters. The Arctic has tusked narwhals and belugas, while Nova Scotia has humpbacks, minkes and the rare North Atlantic right whale.

Polar bear can be spotted in Churchill, Manitoba on the shores of Hudson Bay. Operators will tour you around the Polar Bear Capital of the World in elevated tundra buggies. At one time 60 million bison roamed the North American plains. Over 50 grizzlies live on this 45,hectare refuge. A few eco-tour operators have permits for viewing this at-risk species.

The mountain national parks Banff, Jasper, Kooteany, Yoho also offer a chance to see these rare omnivores. But driving, hiking or cycling in Algonquin Provincial Park is a golden opportunity to see each and every one. Return to beginning of chapter FISHING It should probably come as no surprise that some of the best fishing in the world can be found in a country that harbors more freshwater than any other. Elaborate native societies based their entire nutritional structure around fish, and fishing has since become a sacred recreation.

Calgary Stampede www. Logger Sports www. See pros carve chairs, hand-saw at lightning speeds and cut trees with pinpoint precision in this heritage event held in Squamish, BC, in the first week of August.

Yukon Quest www. Survivor Kananaskis www. Last one standing wins. Held the last weekend in May on the Kananaskis River, one hour west of Calgary. Less controversial than a hockey scrum, fights at the end of a fishing line are equally exciting.

The fiercer, the longer and the more unpredictable the fish fight, the better. And on just about any Canadian freshwater lake, you could get yourself into a serious brouhaha.

Northern Saskatchewan contains some of the most productive lakes, and many are serviced by fishing lodges. Check local, provincial and federal fishing regulations wherever you are; most hardware or fishing shops can tell you everything there is to know. Scuba divers can become one with one of the most abundant and diverse marine areas on earth from the perfectly-placed ocean cities of Vancouver and Victoria.

Ocean life here also benefits from the cold, nutrient-rich water. June and September are best for mere mortals, but if you want to test some of the fiercest storms the Pacific can dish out, try surfing in winter. First-timers will enjoy the challenge with many great surf schools both east and west. Tofino, outside Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, has a superb choice of surf schools and offers the most variety for learning.

Squamish, BC Click here, benefits greatly from a wind-funneling venturi effect, which gets wild in Howe Sound. No trees hold back the wind; only power-generating wind farms compete for a chunk of the gust. Sheltered lagoons offer safe learning locations for testing kiteboards or seeking shelter during heavy days. Today, horses help all kinds of people, from couch potatoes to the uberactive, get out to enjoy the landscape. Be ready to get down and dirty.

Most Ontarians live in the south within a few hundred kilometers of the US border, where winters are bearable and steamy summers lure folks outside. No longer a steadfast political filing cabinet, contemporary Ottawa is as hip as you want it to be. Year-round, Ontario celebrates its diversity with a cavalcade of festivals.

And if you must seek out wildlife, there are some excellent national parks here too. The first Europeans on the scene were 17th-century French fur traders, who established basic forts to facilitate trade links with the Mississippi River. With the arrival of the British Loyalists around , large-scale settlement began.

The northern continental climate sees bitterly cold winters and mild summers. This creates steady precipitation throughout the year, heavy summer humidity and much milder winters than in the north. That said, the entire province is blanketed with heavy snowfalls during winter. In the south, where most of the population lives, winter snow melts rapidly in spring. As summer draws closer, the strip of land bordering the USA gets increasingly hot and sticky, particularly the Niagara Peninsula.

There are also provincial parks here, offering hiking and camping facilities. Make reservations with Ontario Parks ; www. Charismatic megafauna has largely been evicted from southern Ontario due to development and agriculture, but the further north you travel, the more likely you are to spot hairy roadside individuals no, not lumberjacks. Two Weeks Feel like a road trip? Heading northwest, take a paddle through the expansive Algonquin Provincial Park, visit Manitoulin Island for a dose of aboriginal culture, and try Sudbury and Sault Ste Marie for a history lesson on shipping and mining in northern Ontario.

Continue westward and base yourself in Wawa for a few days. Greater expanses of unexplored nature lie ahead as you roll on toward Thunder Bay and beyond. Air Canada www. CanJet www. First Air www. BUS Greyhound Canada www. Booking bus tickets at least seven days in advance can sometimes halve the fare. The big car-hire companies have offices in larger towns. Click here for key highways. Ontario Northland www.

Its Northlander service connects Toronto with Cochrane, from where buses go to Hearst and Kapuskasing. Dramatic shifts in weather elicit almost schizophrenic behavior from the locals. Humidity clogs the avenues and the streetlife hum approaches a roar. Spanked across the face by bitter February, locals head underground into the PATH network of subterranean walkways. And of course, winter is hockey season! Overlayed by typically laconic Canadian attitude, Toronto is as unpretentious and tolerant as it is complex.

Tommy Thompson Park, an artificial wildlife oasis, juts abstractly into Lake Ontario; the Toronto Islands rustle their leafy boughs at the city skyline. In the British took over and John Simcoe, lieutenant governor of the new Upper Canada, chose the site as the capital formerly at Niagara-on-the-Lake and founded the town of York. The Americans looted and razed York, but held sway for only six days before Canadian troops booted them out and hounded them back to Washington.

Like many big cities, Toronto had a great fire; in about five hectares of the inner city burned, leveling buildings. Amazingly, no one was killed. Well over one million immigrants have arrived since: Italian, Portuguese, Chilean, Greek, Southeast Asian, Chinese and West Indian immigrants have rolled into the city in waves. Just offshore are the Toronto Islands. The Church-Wellesley Village is a gay parallel universe a few blocks to the east. Lester B Pearson International Airport is 27km west of downtown.

MapArt www. Shuffle over to St Lawrence Market for lunch then head up to Bloor-Yorkville to splash some cash in the shops. Compensate with a thrifty dinner in Chinatown.

Afterwards, ride the ferry to the Toronto Islands; hire a bike and wheel away the afternoon. Back on the mainland, nibble on late-night mezes Greek tapas and drinks in Greektown. A trashy night club-hopping through the Entertainment District is a mandatory T.

TheatreBooks Map; ; www. Metro www. Now Toronto www. Toronto Life www. Toronto Star www. Toronto Sun www. Where Toronto www. CIUT Edge Hospital for Sick Children Map; ; www.

Money American Express , ; www. Instead, tackle the banks, or try Money Mart Map; ; www. Thomas Cook www. Tourism Toronto Map; , ; www. Most homeless people are more likely to be assaulted or harassed than to do so to you. The Toronto Islands are where locals retreat for a bit of peace and quiet.

North from the lake, modernity and history collide at Dundas Sq: shopping centers, office blocks, museums and majestic theatres all stake their claim. Suburban East Toronto and The Beaches are less edgy but are still interesting to explore. Car-parking in Toronto is expensive and traffic congestion is an issue; public transportation is usually the best option. Ferries for the Toronto Islands dock here. Its primary function is as a radio and TV communications tower, but relieving tourists of as much cash as possible seems to be the second order of business.

Tours include a brain-scrambling video wall screening footage of past sporting glories, concerts and events, a sprint through a box suite, a locker-room detour sans athletes and a memorabilia museum. In between times the facility hosts everything from wedding expos to Wiggles concerts.

Rooms overlooking the field can also be rented at the Renaissance Toronto. Performances sometimes take place on the covered outdoor concert stage by the lake.

Today, a handful of the original log, stone and brick buildings have been restored. In summer, men decked out in 19th-century British military uniforms carry out preposterous marches and drills, firing musket volleys into the sky.

Tours run hourly from May to September. When lakeside fishers noticed that northern pike were spawning here each spring, the city took it upon itself to create this new habitat. Aside from the pike, look for monarch butterflies, mallard ducks, goldfinches, dragonflies and red-winged blackbirds. Contact the Harbourfront Centre box office left for performance schedules and guided tour details.

Additional attractions like the human-sized MegaMaze and House of Blues concerts at the Molson Amphitheatre ; www. Discounted passes may be available after 5pm and for grounds-only admission. On rainy days, many of the rides, activities and restaurants close. The shuttle runs daily from June to August, and on weekends in May and September, departing every half-hour between 9am and 7pm.

Other events held at Exhibition Place throughout the year include the Grand Prix of Toronto and a slew of spectator sports and indie design shows. At other times the grounds are often spookily bereft of visitors. Financial District The area around Union Station is busy night and day with hot-dog vendors, shivering office workers smoking in doorways and fans heading to hockey games at the Air Canada Centre. Even visitors unfamiliar with this super-fast, ultraviolent sport will be impressed with the interactive multimedia exhibits and hockey nostalgia.

A succession of glass cases displays otter, bear, eagles and carved Inuit figures in day-to-day scenes. Old York Historically speaking, the old town of York comprises just 10 square blocks. But today the neighborhood extends east of Yonge St all the way to the Don River, and from Queen St south to the waterfront esplanade.

The restored, high-trussed South Market houses more than 50 specialty food stalls: cheese vendors, fishmongers, butchers, bakers and pasta makers. Inside the old council chambers upstairs, the St Lawrence Market Gallery ; admission free; 10am-4pm Wed-Fri, 9am-4pm Sat, noon-4pm Sun has rotating displays of paintings, photographs, documents and historical relics.

A few steps further north, the glorious St Lawrence Hall is topped by a mansard roof and a copper-clad clock tower that can be seen for blocks. Chemicals, sewage and fertilizer runoff have traditionally fouled the waters, and, although the situation is improving, only the brave and stupid dare to swim at city beaches. For most citizens, Lake Ontario is simply a big, gray, cold thing that stops the Americans from driving up Yonge St.

For the record, Lake Ontario is the 14th largest lake in the world and the smallest and most easterly of the five Great Lakes: km long, 85km wide and m deep. Be sure to tell the locals all about it. Wedding parties shoot photos against a backdrop of redbrick and cobblestone; clean-cut couples shop for leather lounge suites beneath charmingly decrepit gables and gantries. In summer expect live jazz, exhibitions and food-focused events.

You can peek at the radio newsrooms anytime or attend a free noontime concert in the world-class Glenn Gould Studio. Both are east of the Queen St shopping district. Out the front is Nathan Phillips Square, a meeting place for skaters, demonstrators and office workers on their lunch breaks. The fountain pool becomes an ice-skating rink in winter Click here.

Now housing legal courtrooms, the hall has an off-center bell tower, interesting murals and grimacing gargoyles. Constructed in , the stunning Winter Garden was built as the flagship for a vaudeville chain that never really took off, while the downstairs Elgin theater was converted into a movie house in the s.

Public tours are worth every cent. Click here. When it opened in , it was the first church in Toronto not to charge parishioners for pews. Workshops teach batik making, weaving, knitting and all manner of needle-stuff. Prices will rise once renovations are complete and opening hours are subject to change; check the website for updates.

The Leafs lost their first game to the Chicago Blackhawks in , but went on to win 13 Stanley Cups before relocating to the Air Canada Centre in Over the years, Elvis, Sinatra and the Beatles have all belted out tunes at the Gardens. Rumors that this much-loved piece of city history was going to be demolished were only partly true. The Gardens were bought by grocery chain Loblaws in , with a shopping complex redevelopment slated to begin in early we hope the chunky art-deco facade survives.

The new work involves a magnificent explosion of architectural crystals on Bloor St, housing an array of new galleries. The Chinese temple sculptures, Gallery of Korean Art and costumery and textile collections are some of the best in the world. Kids file out of yellow school buses chugging by the sidewalk and rush to the dinosaur rooms, Egyptian mummies and Jamaican bat-cave replica. The on-site Institute of Contemporary Culture explores current issues through art, architecture, lectures and moving image.

Peruse some 19th-century French chestnut-crushing clogs, aboriginal Canadian polar boots or famous modern pairs worn by Elton John, Indira Gandhi and Pablo Picasso.

Permanent and rotating exhibits cover the evolution of shoemaking, with a focus on how shoes have signified social status throughout human history. Spread over three floors, collections cover several millennia; various rooms focus on 17th- and 18th-century English tavern ware, Italian Renaissance majolica, ancient American earthenware and blue-and-white Chinese porcelain.

The central St George campus is venerable indeed. West and north of U of T lies The Annex, a residential neighborhood populated primarily by students and professors. It overflows with pubs, organic grocery stores, global-minded eateries and spiritual venues. He later lost everything in land speculation, the resultant foreclosure forcing Hank and his wife to move out. The castle briefly reopened as a luxury hotel, but its big-band nightclub attracted more patrons than the hotel ever did, and it too failed.

Lit by Victorian gaslights, the interior contains three generations of furnishings, art and fabrics. Viewing is free, but security regulations are in full force. Dating from , sociable Hart House ; www. Eating here is an absolute joy, and shopping is a blast. The streets are full of artists, dreadlocked urban hippies, tattooed punks, potheads, junkies, dealers, bikers, goths, musicians and anarchists.

Shady characters on bicycles whisper their drug menus as they glide by; hooch and Hendrix tinge the air. The further west you go, the more traditional things become, with aromatic bakeries, sidewalk gelaterias and rootsy ristoranti. Permanent holdings only number about works, curated since , but award-winning temporary exhibitions promote new artists from Nova Scotia to BC.

Completed in , the m bridge arcs 40m above the Don River, linking east and west Toronto. Structural engineer Edmund Burke cunningly included a lower deck for future rail transport in his design.

At a peak rate of one every 22 days, around folks decided to call it quits here. The solution? The park is open to the public on weekends and holidays; cars and pets are prohibited. Summer schedules offer interpretive programs and guided walks, usually with an ecological theme. To get here on public transportation, take any streetcar east along Queen St to Leslie St, then walk m south to the gates. Alternatively, hire a bike or some in-line skates and follow the Martin Goodman Trail all the way here.

Kids follow the farmer around as he does his daily chores, including milking the cows at am. Toronto Islands Once upon a time there were no Toronto Islands, just an immense sandbar stretching 9km into the lake.

On April 13, , a hurricane blasted through the sandbar and created the gap now known as the Eastern Channel. The islands are only accessible by a minute ferry ride Click here.

Squeezed together on a few hundred acres are an antique carousel, goofy golf course, miniature train rides and a sky gondola.

Far Enough Farm zoo presents kids with plenty of opportunities to cuddle something furry and step in something sticky.

Further south are changing rooms, snack bars, bicycle rentals opposite and a pier striking out into the lake. Thanks to climate change, winters nowadays are too mild for it. Bus 30B picks up at High Park subway station, then loops through the park on weekends and holidays from mid-June to early September. The High Park streetcar drops off on the east side of the park. If you exit the park by Colborne Lodge at the south gates, walk down to Lake Shore Blvd W and catch any streetcar back east to downtown.

Elizabeth Simcoe named the spot in after Scarborough in Yorkshire, England. Several parks provide access to clifftops, from where views shoot across Lake Ontario. You can also access the shore at Galloway Rd further east. Unless you have wheels, getting to the bluffs can be a drag, and if you do have a car, parking is limited.

One option is to take the subway to Victoria Park, then bus 12 along Kingston Rd. Nature paths start near the bridge and wind back to the secluded Todmorden Mills Wildflower Preserve www. Along the way you can connect to the Don Valley mountain-bike trails at Cherry St. On the Toronto Islands opposite the south-shore boardwalk and the interconnecting paved paths are car-free zones.

You can also cycle or skate around hilly High Park opposite. A recreational cycling club, the Toronto Bicycling Network ; www. Rental operators include: Community Bicycling Network Map; ; www. Alternatively, hook up with one of the following groups for hardy day hikes: Hike Ontario ; www. These artificial rinks are open daily weather permitting from 10am to 10pm, mid-November to March. Toronto Windsurfing Club Map; ; www. Get off the bus at Commissioners St and walk 10 minutes south.

Beyond the digital stock-market displays, turn left and take the stairs up to the Design Exchange 9; ; www. Shuffle through the basement, diverting right through a zany striped corridor and up some stairs to be spat out onto Temperance St. Pursue the signs to the Eaton Centre 14; Click here , window-shop your way to the north end of the mall then take the escalators up two levels. Queues can be lengthy; most rides operate rain or shine. Wonderland is a minute drive northwest of downtown Toronto on Hwy Exit at Rutherford Rd, 10 minutes north of Hwy Climb a rock wall, catch a criminal with DNA fingerprinting and race an Olympic bobsled at the excellent, interactive Ontario Science Centre Map; ; www.

Over high-tech exhibits and live demonstrations wow the kids and the adults at the back, pretending not to be interested. Also here is the giant domed Omnimax Cinema. Black Creek Pioneer Village ; www.

The village is on the southeast corner of Steeles Ave and Jane St, a minute drive northwest of downtown. A handy online resource for parents is www. Seats 20; bring your own food and drink. Since the s, its cutting-edge productions have focused on radical new plays with contemporary Canadian themes. Post-performance chats with cast and producers happen regularly. Sign up for a workshop on erotic photography or Bondage !

Need a comic book fix? Beguiling Map; ; www. Check the website for events. Shuffle in under the rusty ballroom sign for live bands playing honky-tonk and classic rock. Some of the weirder city festivals include Caribana, with its booty-licious carnival parade; Nuit Blanche a sleepless night of kooky urban art experiences; and the always in-your-face Toronto Buskerfest.

Favorites include: New Tribe Map; ; www. Tat-a-Rama Map; ; www. Way Cool Tattoos Map; ; www. For shorter excursions, just show up and buy a ticket at the quay; reservations are recommended for brunch and dinner cruises.

Keep in mind that ferries to the Toronto Islands offer spectacular city views for half the price! Mariposa Cruise Lines Map; , ; www. Sunday brunch and dinner-and-dance cruises, too. Toronto Tours Map; ; www. Bus Toronto bus tours are convenient, but with TTC day passes Click here being so cheap, a do-it-yourself tour makes perfect sense. Gray Line Tours Map; , ; www. Buy tickets on board. Moose Travel , ; www. ROMBus Map; ; www. Toronto Hippo Tours Map; , ; www.

Cycling tours allow you to cover a bit more territory. Try the following companies: A Taste of the World ; www. Reservations recommended. Civitas City Walks ; city. Heritage Toronto ; www. Reservations not required. ROMWalks ; www. Sights On Bikes ; www. Many events are free. Pride Toronto ; www. Late June. National Aboriginal Day ; www. Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival ; www. Grand Prix of Toronto ; www. Beaches International Jazz Festival ; www.

The air show and Labour Day fireworks take the cake. Caribana ; www. Toronto Buskerfest ; www. Films of all lengths and styles are screened in late September, as celebs shimmy between gala events and the shiny new film-fest HQ. Buy tickets well in advance. Virgin Music Festival ; www. Nuit Blanche ; www. Late September. Readings, discussions, lectures, awards and book signings.

Check hotel websites for internet discounts and package deals. Downtown Toronto offers historic hotels, boutique digs and lakefront properties. Budget beds are harder to find, but there are some top-quality youth hostels around town. A handy online resource is www. Booking agencies are another way to save time and money. During Pride Toronto opposite , about a million visitors descend on the city.

Click here for drinking and entertainment options. In Toronto became the first city in North America to legalize same-sex marriage; apply at City Hall Map; ; www. In September , an Ontario Court also recognized the first legal same-sex divorce. Helpful Toronto resources include: Community Centre Map; ; www. These days the hotel insists that guests sign a waiver stipulating there will be no such free double-plays.

Refurbished throughout, it maintains a few old-fashioned features, including a fine lobby and a warm welcome at the hour reception desk. Rates include health club privileges. Strathcona Hotel Map; , ; www.

Tour desk and on-site pub, too. Fairmont Royal York Map; , ; www. Rates rise with demand. The Epic tearooms and the Library Bar are both worth a look. Beds in quad rooms may not cost any more than those in larger dormitories, so ask when making reservations. Pub crawls and quiz nights keep things lighthearted. Cosmopolitan Map; , ; www. Suites have lake views, bedroom-sized showers and sexy design.

Staff are serene and courteous, directing you to the Asian fusion restaurant, gym and spa. Absolute opulence. Holiday Inn on King Map; , ; www. Standard rooms have lake or city views, while the seasonal rooftop pool gazes onto the CN Tower. Children under 12 stay and eat free; service is stern but efficient. Days Inn Toronto Downtown Map; , ; www. Reception at times seems dramatically understaffed, but staff are bubbly with their apologies. Gay and lesbian travelers welcome. Delta Chelsea Toronto Downtown Map; , ; www.

Prices vary with season, day of the week and occupancy. The courtyard is perfect for lounging about. Studios have kitchenettes; management can be a little standoffish. Gloucester Square Inns Map; ; www. Ceiling fans revolve above Persian rugs, McCausland stained glass and Chinese urns. Samantha Fox once bounced around in the attic suite. Free parking. Comfort Hotel Map; , ; www.

Renegades under 18 stay free. Down-to-earth wood-and-brick decor; kids stay free! Holiday Inn Toronto Midtown Map; ; www. The location is also prime, near U of T and the big T. Windsor Arms Map; ; www. The distinguished atmosphere makes you want to whisper! Breakfast includes croissants, bagels, yogurt, fruit and fresh muffins.

Global Guesthouse Map; ; singer inforamp. It fills up quickly, so book well in advance. Castlegate Inn Map; ; www. Their three houses 37 rooms are all within striking distance of U of T and Yorkville. The whole place is furnished and decorated with interesting antiques and collectibles. The cheaper rooms share a bathroom. Check-in across the road at No Annex Guest House Map; ; www.

Wooden floors, handmade bedspreads and crafted copper bowls highlight the spaces. Casa Loma Inn Map; ; www. Each of the 26 rooms has a TV, fridge, microwave and immaculate bathroom. No breakfast, but Bloor St is just minutes away. Madison Manor Map; , ; www.

All rooms have a bathroom; a few have a fireplace or balcony. Continental breakfast included; kids excluded. You could wallow around on the shady patio or watch movies in the lounge, but hey, snap out of it! Kensington Market is right outside! Free breakfast, linen, internet, lockers and Saturday night barbecue. The vibe is relaxed but not lax, with good security and helpful staff. Beaconsfield Map; ; www. Eclectic suites have a bathroom and either one or two bedrooms. Drake Hotel Map; ; www.

Artful rooms come with vintage furnishings, throw rugs, flat-screen TVs and wi-fi internet access. There are laundry facilities, lockers, TV lounges, a student-run cafeteria and incredible sundeck views. Amsterdam Guesthouse Map; ; www. The occasional shirtless stoner wanders through the lobby, trying to recall which of the simple, clean and comfy rooms with cable TV is theirs. In this historic Victorian home, which displays its art and antiques in sunny common areas, all rooms are without a bathroom, but the coach-house suite has its own hot tub.

Lashings of Monty Python-esque humor and full English breakfasts. The modern extension out the back is no architectural dreamboat, but contains family-sized suites. Au Petit Paris Map; ; www. The roof patio is a winner. Breakfast includes homemade cereal, baked goodies, hot pancakes and omelets. The Beaches Accommodating the Soul Map; ; www. One room has an en suite, the other two share a bathroom. The no-frills apartment sleeps three. Either way, relaxation is guaranteed.

Six guestrooms exhibit warm-colored interiors; all have bathrooms. Enjoy your cooked breakfast out on the grapevine-covered deck. Salubrious gourmet breakfasts emphasize organic fare vegetarian by request. Fusion food is the future: traditional Western recipes invaded with handfuls of zingy Eastern ingredients and cooked with pan-Asian flare.

Ponder your profoundest cravings, identify your neighborhood of choice then dive right in! Indulge yourself in an eminent variety of steaks, sterling salmon or seasonal Florida stone-crab claws and broiled Caribbean lobster tail. Side dishes seem pricey but are big enough for two.