The Island That Changed My Mind About Toronto

Within plain view of Toronto's exceptional skyline, but far from the honking of its congested streets, the Toronto Islands offer beaches, parks, cheeky novelties, and plenty of amenities for overworked residents and curious tourists.

Though I live just three hours from this provincial capital, the fact that Toronto is one of the biggest cities in North America has always had a repelling effect. Unless it was for work, or a significant sporting event, I've tended to steer clear of T.O.

So it was with ignorance-busting amusement that I finally discovered the small island chain serviced by three mainland ferries. I, like the mosaic of ticket-holders, boarded the boat for Center Island, since it had the most attractions for first-time visitors. By the time I returned to downtown Toronto, I had a fresh perspective on this great city.

Crossing the Harbor

The Toronto Island ferries depart from the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal, right next to Harbour Square Park. Large capacity vessels leave for Ward's Island (residential), Centre Island (tourism), and Hanlan's Point (Billy Bishop Airport) every 30 to 45 minutes, with a slight stagger in each schedule.

The return journey, which is included in the $9.57 CAD (after tax) ticket, follows the same basic structure. You can also hail one of several water taxis for about $12 to $15 one-way.

Services are reduced during the winter, but ultimately, you can escape to the Toronto Islands at any time throughout the year.

Given the steady stream of shoulder-season ferries, I simply strolled over to the waterfront, bought a ticket for the next departure to Centre Island, walked aboard, and was waterbound five minutes later.

Just over ten minutes after that, I walked off the dock... and into the steady rain.

Silver Lining Picnic

The plus side of facing down a drizzly fall morning was that I had the place to myself for the first few hours. Those symmetrical city viewpoints, the Centre Island Pier, the clean sandy beaches, the oldest lighthouse on the Great Lakes — they were all free of selfie queues. All I had to do was wait out the rain for about 20 minutes, which I did at a picnic table underneath a bushy tree.

In front of Toronto's iconic skyline, I snacked on sourdough and hummus while watching planes and geese take turns landing over the harbour. The odd paddleboarder and sailboat floated by, looking comically juxtaposed against the CN Tower (happy 50th anniversary!).

Satiated and dry, I sauntered through the large green spaces (marked with signs encouraging visitors to "Please, Walk on the Grass"), past squawking gulls and honking geese. Then, following the paved bicycle paths and pedestrian bridges, I made my way to the Lake Ontario side of the island.

Lake Ontario, Now and Always

The deep horizon of Lake Ontario is obscured from downtown Toronto, but can be fully enjoyed along the south side of Centre Island. The Centre Island Pier wades well into this contentious Great Lake (now known by some stateside as "Lake America"), treating strollers and cyclists to lapping waves, expressive clouds, lumbering freighters, and zippy sailboats.

At the base of the pier is a collection of beach bars and concession stands. I was still feeling full from my makeshift picnic, but a mix of Beaver Tails, pizza, sodas, and adult beverages seemed to suit the other lunch seekers. Elsewhere around the island, including at the ferry dock, there were full restaurants and additional snack bars of all sorts.

Plodding off the pier, I continued west onto Center Island Beach. In those first overcast hours, there was but a metal-detecting father-son duo, and a pair of swingers — by which I mean people on a swing set, though Hanlan's Point does have a nude beach (just saying). Otherwise, mine were the only footprints disturbing those virgin sands.

By the time I got to neighboring Gibraltar Point Beach, the sun came out to say hello and held fast through to the evening. This Blue Flag designated beach (one of only 22 in Ontario to meet the stringent safety and environmental standards) hides behind a layer of trees and wild grasses, giving it additional seclusion from the distant Toronto streets.

There, I sat on a makeshift bench, enjoying the warm, gentle October sun on my face and forearms.

Ancient Beacon

Behind Gibraltar Point Beach stands the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse. Erected in 1808, where the waterline once was, this 82-foot hexagonal stone tower marks the oldest surviving lighthouse, Canadian or American, on the Great Lakes. Having checked off several of each individual lake's oldest lighthouses this summer, be it Fort Gratiot along Lake Huron's Thumbcoast, or Marblehead, Ohio's beacon to the Lake Erie Islands, it was high time I pressed my palms against the outright champion.

Centre Island itself is hiding in plain sight, so Gibraltar Point Lighthouse is like the prime jewel within the treasure chest. Following Lakeshore Avenue around the south side of the island, it really only reared its head moments before the signed side trail.

By this point in the day, the island's Tangerine rental bikes were starting to manifest more regularly, and Gibraltar Point Lighthouse proved a reliable pit-stop for those casual cyclists. Personally, I was happy to go on foot for the day, but if you wanted to cover the entire island chain, these hop on, hop off bikes would be the way to do it.

Cultural Hodgepodge

Toronto prides itself on being a multicultural city, which is certainly true in the case of its residents, with international students, authentic ethnic cuisine, and tell-tale signs of major world religions populating the downtown core, but the cultural hodgepodge extends to tourists as well.

Walking around Centre Island, I found English to be an anomaly. In its stead, I picked up snippets of Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, German, Scandinavian exchanges, dialects from the Indian sub-continent, and a variety of Slavic tongues — and that's just what I could recognize. Even when I did eavesdrop on English speakers, there was often an accompanying international accent.

Heck, when I doubled back to my original rain-haven picnic table, I found it flooded with Eastern Europeans, clapping in rhythm as one of the brave young women did a traditional dance on the grass.

As a Canadian citizen, seeing Toronto's touristic appeal filled me with joy. It made me feel like I was in Barcelona, Paris, Tokyo, or any of the world's other great cities. I might have taken Toronto for granted all of these years, but the good word has obviously spread far and wide.

Getting Centered on Centre Island

Canada, as a whole, enjoys exceptional swaths of the Great Outdoors. Toronto, however, as with any metropolis, tends to swallow up the natural world in its concrete fortress. The Toronto Islands hover right on the fringe of downtown's chaos: close enough to float over on a whim but also completely removed from the rat race.

Centre Island, in particular, offers a fresh world of blues, greens, and yellows. A social yet serene paradise where a life-long Torontonian, temporary student, international tourist, or even a pessimistic Ontarian can marvel at the cloud-piercing skyline from one side, and dig their toes into pristine Great Lake beaches on the other.

Returning to downtown Toronto, the ferry was markedly fuller than on the way over, but, as with my morning strategy, I was still able to board the very next vessel.

At the start of the day, I was itching to flee the mainland harbour. Now, I was seeing T-Dot in an entirely new light. As the ferry approached the dock, I looked forward to joining the jovial and cultured crowds along the waterfront trail, to sip a pint of Steam Whistle (a classic Toronto beer) at the Roundhouse, to ride up the CN Tower for the first time in decades, and to mix it up in the various cafes, bars, and eateries of Queen Street.

As is often the case, one positive experience can undo years of preconceived notions. Centre Island set me up for what turned out to be an invigorating day in Toronto. But that's a tale for next time.