With Labour Day weekend officially over, Torontonians are gearing up to embrace the cooler weather and warmer colours of the autumn season! While the city’s tree canopy typically changes colour in mid-September during cooler temperatures, reports suggest that deciduous tree leaves have already started changing colours in some provincial parks across Ontario due to the extreme rainfalls we experienced earlier this summer.
This means that Torontonians can likely see shades of red, orange, and yellow leaves changing (as well as falling off) slightly earlier in the season! Still, the best time to view the changes is from mid-September to the end of October. Here are some of the most beautiful spaces where you can enjoy the fall colours in Toronto:
High Park
View this post on Instagram
High Park is the city’s largest public park and probably one of the most picturesque areas to experience the vibrant tones of trees, including maples, oaks, birch trees, and willows, turning into beautiful shades of golden bronze, orange, and rustic red. It’s also an ideal area to watch the changing colours while trekking through hiking trails and the beautiful waterfront!
Fall Colours at Scarborough Bluffs
Hundreds of positive reviews online suggest that this is the perfect area to experience the fall foliage! Enjoy a canvas of bright reds, yellows, golds, and oranges from a viewing area along the top of the bluffs or while strolling through a nature trail in one of the nine parks along the bluffs.
Evergreen Brick Works (Walking Trails)
View this post on Instagram
Spend an afternoon (or even a full day) experiencing the fall season while exploring the interconnected pathways sprawled alongside repurposed industrial buildings and Toronto’s nature ravine system. The walking trails are filled with vibrant forested gorges, wildflower meadows, and wetlands, making it one of the most sought-after areas to capture the stunning fall colours each season.
Mount Pleasant Cemetery
A cemetery isn’t the first place one thinks of to view the changing autumn foliage, but Mount Pleasant’s large array of old trees and landscaped grounds make it the perfect spot to take a leisurely stroll one afternoon to enjoy the changing colours (it takes about two hours to walk the cemetery when starting and ending at the West Gates off Mount Pleasant Road). Bonus: each season, the cemetery hosts a fall tree walk led by an arborist.
Toronto Islands Fall Colours
The islands aren’t only for lazing on a sandy beach. Take a ferry ride from downtown to experience the changing fall colours framed by the city skyline! Even better, relax on and hour-long cruise around the harbour and the islands while watching the amazing fall foliage.
