Today I continued my exploration of the East Don, this between Lawrence and Eglinton. The good news is that there is trail all the way, although the south part is pretty basic. www.strava.com/activities/1...

Walking south from Charles Sauriol Park

November palette. #Toronto

Glen Sheilds and Dufferin. 12.5 km. Done for the day.

Highway 407 bridge over the West Don:

I lied. That was not Rivermede. NOW I am at Rivermede and 7. 9.96 kms from Mackenzie Glen. Here’s a pretty pic to make up for it.

At Highway 7 & North Rivermede. End of Leg 1. Exactly 9.0 kms from Mackenzie Glen Park. Pressing on.

Urban explorers must be prepared to forage for food when the opportunity presents!

Ok, it’s a beautiful day, and I’m walking the West Don. Started at Mackenzie Glen park. At Rutherford now.

East Don River Valley, south of Don Mills.

Looking south over the East Don River on Donalda Golf Course.

I can definitely state that there is a pathway between Charles Sauriol Park and the south end of the Donalda Golf Course. strava.app.link/7OGCgdkUWXb

Looking for paths south from Don Mills, and I spotted these two boys up on the roof of a public school, retrieving their ball. I guessed that any boys who would climb up on a school roof would know about secret trails, and they did!

Out exploring the next leg of the East Don. Will have lots of updates tonight but here I am at the DVP and Lawrence. This is looking west.

OK THIS IS CRAZY COOL! I have been doing some experiments with my #insta360 camera and Google Maps, and I can announce that I have just successfully published a set of Google TrailView images! On the real Google Maps! Go to www.google.com/maps/@43.860... , drag and drop the Streetview guy and...

Hey peeps -- looking for advice on the next phase of my East Don walk, going south from Sheppard and Leslie. Somebody (maybe @torontoboris.bsky.social ?) mentioned that the 401 underpass was closed, can anyone confirm? And after that, what is the closest I can stay to the river?

Working on the East Don Leg 2, from Rutherford to Yonge. This is about 200 metres south of the 407.

I went out today and explored the East Don route between Major Mackenzie Drive and Thornhill (Yonge south of Highway 7). So far it's looking promising, the next step is to walk it. Hopefully the weather will be good tomorrow. youtu.be/FC-evOZy4ZE

Having fun with my new-to-me iPhone14 (tell me I’m not the only one who gets my kid’s castoffs?)

Beautiful fall morning in the West Don headwaters.

On Sunday, I did the first leg of the East Don. Check it out: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_17D...

Today, for a change, I went poking around the headwaters of the East Don river. Amazingly, the East Don headwaters are only about a km from the West Don. Looks like there is a pretty good route down to Rutherford. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSMo...

Also @metroscapes.ca I am doing some experimentation with an Insta360 camera, and potentially even publishing the trail walks as user-generated content on Google Maps. If you have any other ideas on how best to document trails I would be all ears.

Hey @metroscapes.ca may I ask what application you were using for route planning? I love that it shows property lines, which are missing from Strava and AllTrails.

This is a bit of a random rabbit hole, but as I have been exploring Toronto rivers I’ve been thinking of how to document what I find. I’m sort of thinking that in a perfect world, I could generate something like Google Street View, but for trails. Stay tuned!

You can also refer to this @shawnmicallef.bsky.social

Hard to believe I’m in the middle of Toronto.

Had a great day exploring the trails between Glendon College and Coxwell Ave.

Ontario Topographic Maps This is another fantastic resource, online topo sheets with lot & parcel boundaries so you can see where the private property lines are: www.lioapplications.lrc.gov.on.ca/MakeATopogra...

Exploring the Don between York Mills and Bayview One of the challenges walking the Don is the stretch between York Mills and Bayview. Is it possible to walk this stretch without going on city streets? Let's explore online! www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGcz...

The four principles of Urban Headwaters 1) We will not travel on private property 2) We will take the route which is physically closest to the river 3) Our preference is for marked and maintained trails 4) If we do have to take city streets, we take sidestreets where possible

Exploring the West Don between Major Mackenzie Drive and Rutherford Road. Check out our new video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQut...

Ontario Watershed Boundaries This online tool lets you explore and located watershed boundaries in Ontario. A great tool. geohub.lio.gov.on.ca/maps/mnrf::o...

River #1 -- The West Don The West Don stretches from the northern edge of Maple, just north of Canada's Wonderland, to the new Portlands Park in Downtown Toronto. Can we walk the entire distance? Join me and see!

Welcome to Urban Headwaters! Join me as I explore the urban rivers of the Greater Toronto Area. My goal is to walk from the headwaters to the lakeshore along every single river in the GTA!