From Nathan Phillips Square to DJ skate nights at Harbourfront and the Colonel Sam Smith trail in Etobicoke, there’s no shortage of cool places to strap on the blades and cut a few figures.
Christie Pits‘ surface rates right up there, too, along with Greenwood Park, the latter especially if you prefer to do your skating under cover. If you’re looking for a more authentic skating/shinny experience, you can’t do much better than High Park’s Grenadier Pond (1873 Bloor West, 416-338-0338), except for maybe the lagoons of Long Pond on the Toronto Islands.
There are a few rules, though. At High Park it’s to ignore the signage telling you not to skate Torontonians have been skating here since the 19th century, and nothing like the 1867 skating disaster in London’s Regents Park has been recorded, so….
As for Long Pond, half the battle is getting there – the ferry ($3.50-$7, under 2 free, 416-392-8193) doesn’t run to Hanlan’s in the winter, so you’ll have to go to Ward’s Island and walk from there. It’s worth the trek.
Knowing when it’s safe is, of course, crucial: bide your time until we’ve had a few cold days in a row. Once there, you’ll no doubt find locals enjoying the environs and talking up plans for a city-run skate rink between Ward’s and Hanlan’s to rival Ottawa’s Rideau Canal.
Now, that would be something.
