Toronto Islands
A car-free archipelago fifteen minutes by ferry, with the skyline facing you.
Duration
4 hrs – 7 hrs
Best time
Mornings, May to September
Open
Every day
Entry price
To confirm
The islands are not naturally islands: they were a long sand spit, cut from the mainland by a storm in 1858 that opened the Eastern Gap.
They are car-free and lived in: about seven hundred people live on Ward's Island and Algonquin, in a community that fought the city's eviction plans for decades. The rest is parkland, with beaches, bike hire and the best view of the Toronto skyline — every photograph of the city is taken from there.
Getting there
Ferry from the Jack Layton terminal at the foot of Bay Street, fifteen minutes. Three destinations: Ward's, Centre Island and Hanlan's Point.
What the price covers
the islands are a free public park; only the ferry is charged
Rules on site
The ferry queue runs over an hour on summer weekends: buy the ticket online in advance, with a slot. No cars on the islands, and the last ferry back is final.
