Located in Scarborough, Ontario Rouge National Urban Park is the largest urban park in North America. The park features a number of trails through wetlands, forests, meadows, and along the coast of Lake Ontario. And it’s only about a 25 minute drive from where we live.

Rouge National Urban Park was created in 2011 and since then Parks Canada has been actively trying to expand its boundaries. Since it is a relatively newer park, it is quite rustic and the trailheads are not always well signed. Being so close to the city also has its drawbacks: you can still hear the sounds of cars, trains and the buzzing hum of hydro lines.

Despite living in Toronto for over a decade, we first visited the park in 2020 when we signed up for the 52 Hike Challenge (the goal is to hike 52 times throughout the year). Given its close proximity to home, this became our go to place to squeeze in a quick hike on a weekend to complete the challenge.

Hiking Trails

Below are some of the trails we’ve hiked in Rouge National Urban Park:

• Vista Trail – 3.2km roundtrip (rated moderate)
• Orchard Trail – 4.0km roundtrip (rated moderate)
• Cedar Trail and Beare Wetlands Loop – 4.5km (rated moderate)
• Woodland Trail – 4.5km roundtrip (rated easy)
• Mast Trail – 5.0km roundtrip (rated moderate to difficult)

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