Cyclist relaxes on Cherry Beach
Kitesurfers catching a fresh gust and skimming the waves between gravity-defying leaps… children playing trucks in the sand … swimmers sun-bathing on a world-class beach… and dogs running like wolves among the trees. Where else in the heart of Metro Toronto can you find all these in one place?
Cherry Park on Lake Ontario lies less then five minutes from where Pigcat lives and may be one of downtown Toronto’s best kept secrets. So, before I tell you more about it, you must swear secrecy… Mum’s the word!… Okay…
kitesurfing at Cherry Beach
Here’s what Cherry Beach has going for it: a clean expansive sandy beach, ideal for sun-bathing, swimming and water sports; extensive paths for walking, cycling, and dog-walking; lots of free parking; a picnic area with tables, benches and lots of grass and trees; a large off-leash and fenced-in dog park along the water and trees, where my friend Sparky (the show dog whippet) could run a Derby race; a public change room and toilets; and a great-food cantina open every day during the season from morning until 9 pm.
The FEE Blue Flag
Youth playing frisbee
Cherry Beach is also a Blue Flag beach. The Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), an international non-government organization, awards the Blue Flag to a beach that meets their standards. Toronto was the first municipality in Canada to receive the Blue Flag for managing its beaches according to international environmental standards. Cherry Beach earned its flag based on its high standards in water quality, environmental management, environmental education, and safety and service.
Other Blue Flag beaches I intend to visit this summer in downtown Toronto include The Woodbine Beaches, Wards Island Beach and Hanlan’s Point Beach.
Mr. J discusses the merits of olive oil with Toulouse
The owner of Mr. J’s Cantina—Mr. J—originally came from Greece around 25 years ago, when he set up cantinas in several Toronto parks, including Cherry Beach. He lives here 6 months and in Greece 6 months where he owns and operates an olive orchard business that makes olive oil. He kindly gave me a bottle to try out; Pigcat and I made some awesome spaghetti and Caesar salad with it. Mr. J’s makes delicious hamburgers and hotdogs along with very decent coffee, along with their signature French fries. They also serve ice cream (Bonus!).
Mr. J's cantina
When I was there, Turkish brothers Murat and Tarik were running the place. Although Pigcat and I had brought along our own gourmet picnic lunch, we both succumbed to the tantalizing aroma of home-style French fries made from hand-cut potatoes and done to perfection with Mr. J’s fresh olive oil, no doubt! The French fries beautifully augmented our gourmet sandwich spread of Maestro Italian salami, tomato, asiago & artichoke spread with Maille moutarde Provençale on dark rye. Accompanied by havarti cheese, green and black olives and in-season cherries and pears, we were in paradise!
Pigcat's gourmet sandwich picnic
Vanessa in her outdoor studio
As Pigcat talked with a local jewelry maker, I went on walkabout to lose some calories, so I wouldn’t feel too guilty eating the ice cream I had my eye on. I bravely started in the dog-park, thinking I might be in for a good run and wishing Sparky was with me. I walked, without incidence, along a pleasant path lined with tall lanky poplars and graceful willows to a grassed-in beach, and met Toronto local Jason and Reggie, his 5-year old Jack Russell companion, playing fetch by the water. The large off-leash dog area is one of CB’s main attractions. Treasure, a jazz singer from Toronto, regularly brings her dogs to frolic and run their hearts out. That day she was walking an Italian greyhound, two rambunctious doodles, a Basset hound, pug and a very docile German shepherd/border collie cross.
Jason and Reggie fetching
The diversity of park amenities draws a truly diverse people. Local artisan Vanessa, who’d adopted Cherry Park as her outdoor studio, confided that the park inspired her creativity. “I feel rooted and grounded in Nature, which speaks to my inner soul,” said Vanessa of Inspired Designs 4 You. “My surroundings give me inspiration and Cherry Park does it for me.” She then showed me the beautiful beaded ankle bracelet she’d just finished making that belonged to her “Cherry Beach” Collection. You can find it on www.Artfire.com.
Elsie and Peter enjoy Cherry Beach
Elsie and Peter, a senior couple I met on the beach, shared that the park hadn’t changed much since Elsie’s childhood. “This park is for everyone,” Elsie told me as she handed me one of Mr. J’s fine French fries. “Children, dogs, all kinds of people come here. It’s a family place.”
Pigcat and I settled on our picnic table adjacent to the sandy beach and watched a group of youths playing Frisbee “football”. Later on, a group of kitesurfers geared up on the beach. Soon moon-shaped kites streaked across the azure sky like green, yellow and orange comets. Surfers skipped over the waves, leaping and soaring like birds against a cerulean sky. We also spotted windsurfers, kayakers, sea-dos, and lots of sailboats taking advantage of a warm breezy day.
freighter enters port near Cherry Beach
For many years Cherry Beach was one of the few Toronto
leash-free dog park
beaches that was clean enough for swimming and water sports. It was created in the early 1930s and lies at the foot of Cherry Street on Toronto’s outer harbour and adjacent to the Toronto Port, one of the largest commercial ports in Canada. The port sprawls over 55 acres at the foot of Cherry Street and you can get great views of incoming boat traffic on Lake Ontario from the park shore. Despite its location at the tip of Toronto’s formerly heavily industrial Port Lands area, Cherry Beach has remained a popular gathering place for years. The park is surrounded by marshland and leftover grounds from what was once commercial industry and factory grounds. That didn’t affect us as we strolled along the Martin Goodman waterfront trail and beneath the tall archways of poplar, maple and willow trees in the enchanted woodland of Cherry Park.
Pigcat and Toulouse "chilling" at Cherry Beach
Water Quality:
The City of Toronto tests the water quality (e.g., coliform count) at Cherry Beach daily. The water quality must not exceed the guideline set by the Ontario Ministry of Health of 100 E. coli per 100 ml of water for 80% of the time during the swimming season.
This site is powered by donations. For your reading pleasure I do not clutter it with advertizing; nor do I charge any of these fine establishments, events, places or people for my reviews. If you are a patron who enjoys my articles or at the receiving end of one of my reviews you can show your appreciation with a donation (see right top sidebar).
If you want Toulouse to write up your place or activity, contact us at nina.sfgirl@gmail.com with your information.
