Rouge National Urban Park

A sprawling, beautiful, massive national park that is the closest thing to wilderness you'll find within Toronto city limits. Out of the numerous times I've come here, I've managed to get lost in it twice, and it's been awesome. No better place in Toronto to get lost. Summer, autumn, winter, spring, it's never too crowded because it's so large. If you find where you are with too many people, it's easy to go somewhere where you might be the the only person around for miles. Truly an oasis.

Rouge National Park is a true natural oasis. The trails are well-maintained and cater to all fitness levels, making it easy to enjoy a hike or a leisurely walk. The scenic views, especially near the water, are breathtaking and provide a perfect backdrop for relaxation. It’s a great place to disconnect and recharge, whether you’re looking to exercise or simply enjoy nature. Highly recommend for anyone seeking a peaceful retreat close to the city!

Amazing park. Natural wilderness. Lots of parking space, paths are clean, natural,, no garbage around. Great for hiking, jogging, walking through the woods. Our favourite park. We always return. Every single year.

We did the mass trailhead trail. The parking lot was half full at 10:30am. We went at 1pm before and there was not one spot. So go in the morning. The parking lot closes at 9pm. Parking is free. The trail is a dirt path and it’s well marked. There was mosquitoes so wear bug spray. We went May 20. There was a few hills and some log steps -40 something. It’s not a suitable trail for bikes or strollers. I would definitely go back.

Lots of beautiful trails, Vista & Mast are the popular trails. Fall season is the best time to visit. Do not expect many benches or seating in the trails. Bring your own water bottles as I did not see any drinking water provisions.

The park boasts with diverse landscape including lush forest, serene meadows, wetlands, Rouge River. I did two trail Vista & Mast trail that offers scenic views & natural beauty. You can enjoy bird watching, canoeing, fishing & picnic. Easy accessible with TTC, well-maintained facilities, big parking lot & washrooms available at spot. Exceptional outdoor experience even on hot sunny days.

This National park is close to Toronto Zoo area. It's quiet and nice area for a relaxing hike or bike ride without going too far out of the city; great place to get away from the city within the city. Truly lovely for a trek, so much wonder to see, Vista trail. Lovely natural habitat, lots of trails of all grades, close to public transit and zoo. Kids will love it too. There are hills and the ravine. Safe and peaceful park for all, Not to busy! Beautiful hike in the summer and there is a great hill for tobogganing in the winter. Definitely give it a visit!

Rouge National Urban Park is a hidden gem that brings you incredibly close to nature right in the heart of the city. The park's amazing trails offer a serene escape from the hustle and bustle, winding through lush greenery and along beautiful rivers that provide a soothing backdrop to your adventure. It's a perfect spot for those seeking some alone time to think and reflect. Every visit feels like a mini-retreat, where the tranquility of nature helps clear the mind and rejuvenate the spirit. Highly recommended for anyone looking to connect with nature and find peace in the great outdoors!

Massive park in Scarborough with many trails. Great spot for hiking and photography. I absolutely love visiting here to see the fall foliage. Parking spots can be a bit tough to find in the peak fall period so come early in the morning if you can.

We cam here because we were interested in hiking within the GTA. This was a great option, about 20min from where we were staying. We visited on a May weekend on a nice day and there was plenty of (free) parking avaiable. There were Rangers available at the entrance to the hike (not sure if this is normal, or just because of the toronto open days weekend). They were really helpful and offered great recommendations for the hikes, The hike we chose was fairly easy,although it was confusing at times due to the signage. We very rarely get lost, however on this hike we got lost at least twice and had to back track. But apart from that it was still a great time.

This is a beautiful park to come and relax, and enjoy the stunning scenery. It has a fair sized parking lot, and street parking nearby.. There is a paved pathway along the shore, great for walking and cycling, even bleeding ! Ample green space and trees if you want to bring along a blanket and have a picnic or just relax and listen to the sound of the water. I often see people fishing here, although I'm not sure if they actually eat what they catch or just throw it back . It's the perfect place to come for a long walk and recharge your batteries at the end of a busy day!

The perfect weekend activity to do with family or friends, this Park is beautiful in all seasons. Whether you're there for the summer lush greens or the bright oranges and yellows of fall, there's really something magical about this place. Located in Scarborough, it provides a much needed solitude to reset after a busy working week. There's so many trails to walk and explore, from a couple of hours to a few minutes, and for all abilities as well. In terms of accessibility, there's a large parking lot with multiple spaces and a couple of picnic tables which I'm sure are packed in the warmer seasons. Definitely will be coming back!

Beautiful place to escape the city today! Took a long trail walk with my Sweetie to be outdoors, beside a creek and most of all get exercise before another COVID-19 lockdown. Came back to our vehicle parked on the roadside of Twyn Rivers Dr only to spot all vehicles sporting a $50 parking ticket on the windshields for "Unauthorized Parking On Boulevard". Thank you Officer No. 65181 for capping off a beautiful day!

Rouge National Urban Park is still in the on going development stage, but I am excited that one day when it completed according to the official statement "Rouge National Urban Park will be one of the largest and best protected urban parks of its kind in the world, spanning 79.1 square kilometres in the heart of Canada's largest and most diverse metropolitan area, overlapping the cities of Toronto, Markham and Pickering and the Township of Uxbridge. Indeed, Rouge National Urban Park will be 23 times larger than Central Park in New York." For the time being, there is definitely some confusion as to where the best to park your car? Where is the starting point? Please check website for updates. Seems like Bob Hunter in Markham has trails opened, but if you go to Reesor Road Welcome Centre has no trails as yet. For Scarborough/Toronto portion, they do have campgrounds and trails. We ended up parking near the Zoo and enjoyed an nice autumn stroll. More information on the website in the future would definitely be more helpful in the future.

Highly recommend for hiking and biking. This park provides shorter and longer options. Lots of wildlife on the way. Some trails will take you to forest and meadows areas. I passed by a turtle while biking.

Great place for a hike! We took the free shuttle from downtown Toronto to hike then walked across the street to the zoo after. The guide on the shuttle, Stephanie, was extremely informative. We ended up choosing the Cedar Trail followed by the Vista Trail, both were easy. I would recommend hiking on more trails that run along the river.

Do you want to experience green space, wildlife, mushrooms, plants and, basically, the natural world, in so far as it can co-exist with urban surroundings? Then, look no further. Rouge is great .. a tiny gta haven. You can even camp here. Seriously, this would be the greatest deal for folks from out of town, who want to save some money by doing urban camping. Urban Parks and Urban Camping are, in my view, extremely awesome ideas, promoting a sustainable urban environment, as well as an economical and eco-friendly place to stay. So, next time you visit the Greater Toronto Area, go off the grid, camp, and make your environmental footprint smaller. Even if you just want a hike, you can enjoy the Rouge National Urban Park The Park boasts a boreal forest, river, nice campsites, as well as friendly park staff ... a rare urban experience. I encourage you to check it out for yourself.

Pro: close to city, short drive time, some nice trails Summary: it is a nice trails near the city. However, compare to Bruce trails, you would bump into a lot of kids and families. I am a regular hiker who hikes at many places in GTA. I like both urban hiking and rural hiking. We came here at end of August using free Park Bus (https://www.parkbus.ca/rouge). The bus ride was free and pretty short compared to some other ride I took to a hiking spot. I still found the trails pretty interesting. Trails are mostly flat, not that challenging. At the time we came, there was no bugs. Most of the time, you walk along the river. I spent a least 3 hours hiking. The park was pretty big and you could hike here for a couple of days. I think we might come back for fall colour as well. I high recommend this park for beginner hikers who does not drive far.

Nice place for a looooooong hike. Was really hot when we went so while I had a good time, it was not the most comfortable experience. Also, bring bug spray. LOTS. Of. Bug spray.

Great trail! We took some pictures. Due to the COVID, it is very quiet and very nice trail for family walk.

Really pretty got to watch out for coyotes after dark. Get to see pretty wildlife and easy trails. Dogs are allowed off leash for the most part and everyone is friendly. Oh also watch out for tics

On cold wintery morning, all bundled up w/the sweet sounds of Disclose/Anti-Cimex/GBH/Sir Lord Baltimore/Black Sabbath/Death Side/Darkthrone (to name a few) dancing through my ears & I want/need the perfect place to go 'escape' from all that is going on around me, this gorgeous park is definitely my #1 choice. And because I can walk to the park's entrance within 5 minutes from my front door, that is very much a bonus, as well. So yes, for anyone who loves nature, getting exercise & getting away from 'life' every once in a while, I could not recommend paying a visit to this park enough. Enjoy!!!

Although it's billed as Canada's premier urban wilderness park, Rouge Park remains vastly unknown to the majority of Toronto's residents. One hint of that is that Yellow Pages online lists the location as somewhere in Vaughn. Not even close! If you head north of the Toronto Zoo on Meadowvale, you will run right through it, or access it by TTC at the entrance near the 401 in Pickering. I have only scratched the surface of it by hiking along the meandering Rouge River which trickles past Scarborough, as if nothing's happened, winding its way toward Lake Ontario under the 401. The diversity of scenery and terra firma, flora and fauna is jaw dropping with postcard picture perfect vistas all around you. Large cedar trees, some of them just dead scraps of wood looking like potential ships masts leaning against others, creepy looking vines which appear dead yet they look like miniature tree trunks when you get close crawl along the forest floor and then take right angle turns up a tree, grabbing on with twisted knuckle-like barbs and zoom up 10 or 15 meters encircling an unsuspecting tree. Then there are savanna's making you feel baked and tired even though you were just in a heavily scented dark and bushy camouflage of tree stand. Wicked. And that's just at the entrance! Check it out if you dare, even Yellow Pages is too chicken to venture anywhere near it.

Having grown up in Scarborough and around the Markham area, most of my friends and I were very much aware of this awesome urban park. Many a clandestine bonfire and weekend exploration trips took place here and thusly I remember this park fondly. Even if over half the time, we visited at night, hardly walked more than a few hundred meters and spent most of the time staring into the lake with beer in hand, as we discussed the deeper, metaphysical items of the day that linger through the mind of High Schoolers: Mostly, dwelling into who in our Science or Orchestra class was cute and single. Yeah, those were serious and hardcore issues, man. Unlike today, with talks about taxes, immigration, retirements and the US self-imploding through terrible choices, both through local and foreign policies. Not to mention the over politicking of gender expression and feelings which appeal and trigger people who simply can't see the bigger picture or one that is not their own ...Yeah, those cold beers back then, they always hit the spot. Those were way simpler times. Also, we were teenagers. Anyway, if you want to go for stroll, you can wonder towards the north end of the park, heading southbound, and partake on trail that winds up and down next to a nearby stream, all the way towards the lake. It is a great walk and if you are into photography (I am) then you can walk it and try to get creative. Obviously avoid it after the leaves fall unless you are into macabre, sort of depressing photography. Since as with any other place, Spring, Summer and the beginning of Fall are you best bets. Now, it is worth mentioning this park is mostly for walking since in overall scenery is fairly minimal, as the park is not very wide, so don't expect to get lost here. You can't. ;-) It makes for a great place to go with friends or with a parter and absorb a bit of Nature when you do not have time to drive 1-2 hours north. I highly recommend it if you feel like going for a small hike and you are already done all the other urban parks in Toronto. Give it a try! PRO TIP: If you stick towards the lake, you can head to the nearby park through Copperfield Road. Yes, it is not connected to the Rouge, but if you find yourself on the lower parking spot on the West end, at the foot of Beechgrove Drive, then you leave your car there, and can follow the path down south, where you can get an awesome view of lake, not to mention a great hidden place to have a bonfire. When I was a kid we used to go there all the time and the cops never showed up! So at night, you could look south and see the lights of the US. And the shores to your east and west used to be dotted with the bright orange lights of bonfires in the distance, of people enjoying the weather, just like you. But times have changed and I am sure, me writing about it here is not going to do it any favours regarding keeping it a total secret *cough, cough.* Thus your Police-crashing-your-get-together-mileage may vary. Super PRO TIP: You should be fine if you are not littering. ;-)

Great place for a hike! Beware of ticks, wear long pants/jeans. Nice stream access and is good in winter or summer!

This is my favourite place to hike. I love the trail that starts on Twyn Rivers. It's always changing as each season progresses. A great place to spend in nature. Not very busy during weekdays.

It's a neat idea. Went here and walked up a couple of the trails. Scenery is minimal but there are some interesting plants. The river is nice to walk along or even in the river should you choose to! Pretty easy hike if you want to take kids, it's all flat for the most part with good markers on the trails. Take bug spray.