soft surface trails in Toronto

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12 years ago 10/20/2011 11:24am EDT

Hi all, I'm trying to figure out where the best soft surface running is in Toronto, and whether the running is better in the East or the West.

High Park is one obvious soft surface, but it's only about four miles. The Lakeshore seems to have a lot of grass and even some dirt trails West of the Humber. Is the trail going North along the Humber all paved, or is it primarily dirt above a certain point? Does it have grass on the periphery or the paved areas?

I was told this weekend that the area around Broadview station is primarily dirt trails, and that they extend for a fair distance. I have run on the Don Valley bike path (I think I accessed it from a pedestrian overpass at Riverdale Park), and it was paved and not overly pleasant. I'm looking for ~10 miles of unpaved trail -- does this exist in the East?

Thanks in advance.

12 years ago 10/20/2011 11:39am EDT

re: markeroon

High Park is a great bet. Its about 5k around the perimeter on soft surface and hills. A standard run for a great many top runners has always been 3 loops.

12 years ago 10/20/2011 11:59am EDT

re: markeroon

Cedarvale ravine and down the Beltline trail to the Moore ravine is more unpaved than paved.

All kinds of dirt paths up through the Don Valley from Pottery Road towards Sunnybrook and beyond Bayview through Sherwood Forest.

12 years ago 10/20/2011 12:06pm EDT

re: markeroon

The Humber has a few kilometres starting north of Bloor where there are two parallel paths -- one paved for bikes, the other crushed gravel for pedestrians. But even where the paths are paved, there's usually a grass margin running alongside that has been trampled down enough to run on. When I used to be obsessed with soft surfaces, I did all my running on the grass beside these paths. From Bloor north, you can do a 16km run with about 90% soft surface if you really make an effort. These days, I don't sweat it and just run on the paved path.

If you live in the midtown area, you can connect various trails (Beltline, Cedarvale, Moore Park Ravine, etc.) and get 10 miles that's maybe 50-60% soft surface, but you have to cross a few busy streets. I'm a little hazy on the Don Valley, but I thought there were some unpaved paths along there too, maybe even connecting up to Sunnybrook.

12 years ago 10/20/2011 2:01pm EDT

re: hold the phone

Thanks for all the responses so far. Very helpful.

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