Trinity Bellwoods Park Self-Guided Audio Walk: Buried Ravine, College Gates and White Squirrels

About this experience

Trinity Bellwoods looks like a friendly neighbourhood park. It is really a lid. Under the lawn runs Garrison Creek, buried in brick since the 1880s, in a ravine that was later filled with earth dug out for the subway. Start at the stone gates of Trinity College on Queen Street, then walk past a ginkgo and a dawn redwood, the greenhouse and its butterfly garden, and the tall trees where the park's white squirrels are most often seen. Stand at the rim of the dog bowl, the last open piece of the ravine, find an old hickory behind a low stone wall, cross the made ground of the north end and finish on Crawford Street, on top of a 1915 bridge that was buried whole. Ten stops, about 1.3 km and an hour, in English and at your own pace. The park is open all day; daylight is best.

Experience type

Day tour or activity

Duration

1 hour

Guide

English

Audio guide

English

Categories

Walking tour · Cultural and theme tours · City tours

What's included

Self-guided audio tour in English: 10 stops, 1.3 km, 1 hour Stops at Trinity College gates, a ring of rare trees, dog bowl GPS map and walking directions in your phone browser, no app needed Lifetime access: start any day, at any hour, and replay it

What's not included

A live guide: you set the pace and the pauses A fixed start time: begin whenever you arrive Museum and monument tickets, all optional extras Tip or gratuity Food and drinks Entry or admission fee

Please note

To start the tour, enter the ticket code from your confirmation on the Roamer redemption page linked there. Do this before you set off, while you still have signal. The tour then opens in your phone browser, with no app to download. Bring a charged phone and earphones. Mobile data helps; if you have none, open the tour on wifi before you set off. Best time: Any day in daylight. Late afternoon is best: the light is low over the bowl, and from late August into October the evening bird roost gathers near Lobb Avenue and Crawford Street at sunset. Spring brings blossom and squill on the lawns; autumn brings the ginkgo's yellow. Start from whichever side of the park you arrive on; every stop stands on its own. Give the trees south of the recreation centre a few minutes if you want to see a white squirrel. In winter, the steep north slope is the toboggan run. The bowl is an off-leash dog area. Expect dogs running free. John Gibson House is a private seniors' residence. Enjoy it from the path. The park's paths are uneven on the bowl's slopes; take care when wet or icy. Public transportation nearby

Itinerary

1. 1
   Day 0

   The Trinity Gates

   Trinity Drive, Toronto

   Stone gateposts on Queen Street, all that stands of the college that gave the park its name.

2. 2
   Day 0

   Trinity Circle: Where the College Stood

   Trinity Circle, Toronto

   Rare old trees ring the site of Trinity College, whose foundations are still under the grass.

3. 3
   Day 0

   The Greenhouse and the Butterfly Garden

   Trinity Circle, Toronto

   The park's greenhouse and its pollinator planting, part of a city-wide butterfly route.

4. 4
   Day 0

   The White Squirrel Trees

   155 Crawford Street, Toronto

   The trees south of the recreation centre, where the park's famous white squirrels are most often seen.

5. 5
   Day 0

   Lobb and Crawford: The Evening Roost

   Crawford Street, Toronto

   The western edge of the park, where large flocks of blackbirds gather at sunset in late summer and autumn.

6. 6
   Day 0

   St Hilda's: The Building That Stayed

   Crawford Street, Toronto

   The one college building still standing in the park, now the John Gibson House seniors' residence.

7. 7
   Day 0

   The Bowl: The Last of the Ravine

   Trinity Circle, Toronto

   The steep-sided hollow at the centre of the park, the last open piece of the Garrison Creek ravine.

8. 8
   Day 0

   The Last Hickory

   Crawford Street, Toronto

   An old shagbark hickory north of the bowl, which may be the last tree left from the ravine woodland.

9. 9
   Day 0

   The Made Ground

   Crawford Street, Toronto

   The high flat north end of the park, built up with earth from the subway and poured into the ravine.

10. 10
    Day 0

    The Buried Bridge

    242 Crawford Street, Toronto

    Crawford Street at the park's edge, which crosses the ravine on a 1915 concrete bridge buried in the fill.

Meeting point

The Trinity Gates, Toronto Trinity Drive, Toronto, Ontario, CA

Pick up

Pickup is not provided.

Cancellation policy · Trinity Bellwoods Park Self-Guided Audio Walk: Buried Ravine, College Gates and White Squirrels

Standard Viator policy

• Cancellation 0–24 hours before departure: 100% cancellation fee.
• Cancellation 24–24000 hours before departure: 0% cancellation fee.

Good to know

Operated by Roamer and sold by AGORA. Your voucher and booking reference arrive by email straight after payment.