Trek Toronto — Scarborough, Canada

Scarborough Bluffs: Under the White Cliffs to Guild Park

Toronto's lakeside cliffs from below: Bluffer's beach at dawn, down the Doris McCarthy Trail through Gates Gully, then a wild shoreline walk under the Bluffs to the architectural ruins of Guild Park.

Duration: 1 day
Distance: 9.9 km
Ascent: 80 m
Difficulty: Moderate
Best season: May–October (September and October are quietest)

Print day cards Packing list

The Scarborough Bluffs are the most unexpected landscape in Toronto: a line of pale cliffs, about 15 kilometres long, rising straight out of Lake Ontario on the city’s eastern edge, up to roughly 90 metres high. They are the eroding shoreline of Glacial Lake Iroquois, the bigger lake that filled this basin after the last ice age, and the sand they shed drifted west over thousands of years to build the Toronto Islands. Elizabeth Simcoe, wife of Upper Canada’s first lieutenant governor, named them in 1793 because they reminded her of the chalk cliffs near Scarborough in England.

Houses sit along the top, so the only way to really see the cliffs is from below, and there are few ways down. This route uses the two best ones. It starts early at Bluffer’s Park, the one place with a proper beach and marina, directly under the tallest, most sculpted faces. Then it moves east to the Doris McCarthy Trail, a steep ravine path named for the painter who lived on the clifftop, drops through Gates Gully to the water, and follows the rough shoreline path east under the Bluffs to Guild Park, where a 1930s artists’ colony left behind a garden full of columns and facades rescued from demolished downtown buildings.

The walking part, from Gates Gully to the Guild, is about eight kilometres; Bluffer’s adds a short beach stroll at the start. Between the two you need a car, a taxi or a bus: there is no dry shoreline link.

Getting there. Drive or take the seasonal TTC bus from Kennedy station to Bluffer’s Park at the foot of Brimley Road; on summer weekends arrive early, because the road down is closed once the lots fill. From there it is about ten minutes by car to the Doris McCarthy trailhead on Ravine Drive, south of Kingston Road. Guild Park, at 201 Guildwood Parkway, is on a TTC bus route back to Kennedy station.

Permits & fees. No permits. Parking at Bluffer’s Park is paid in season; the trails and Guild Park are free.

Good to know:

Never climb the Bluffs or walk along the top edge; they collapse without warning, and entering fenced zones can bring a fine.
The Doris McCarthy Trail drops about 90 metres in under a kilometre. Going down is easy; if you plan to return the same way, save energy for the climb.
High lake levels and storms can close or wash out stretches of the shoreline path. Check City of Toronto and TRCA notices if the weather has been rough.
A long-term shoreline trail project is under construction around Bluffer’s Park, including a new trail down Brimley Road; expect detours.

Tips & Insights for this route Planning this route? Read our practical tips before you go — 8 tips. Read the tips

Download waypoints (GPX) Points of interest in walking order — not a trail trace.

Day by day

DayDistanceAscentDescentWalking time

Day 1 Hardest dayBluffer's Park, Gates Gully and the Guildwood shore

Distance9.9 kmAscent80 mDescentNot recordedWalking timeNot recorded

Day 1

Bluffer's Park, Gates Gully and the Guildwood shore

Bluffer's Park, foot of Brimley Road → Guild Inn, Guild Park 9.9 km 80 m

Navigate this day Print day

A beach stroll under the Cathedral Bluffs, then a descent through Gates Gully and a long shoreline walk east beneath the cliffs, climbing at the end into Guild Park’s sculpture garden of rescued buildings.

Segments

Bluffer's Park and the Cathedral Bluffs 1.5 km 0 m Map

Bluffer's Park parking → West end of Bluffer's beach and back

Flat beach promenade and sand

Start at the only real beach under the Bluffs. Walk the promenade and the sand west toward the tallest faces, the Cathedral Bluffs, where rain and wind have carved the clay into ribs and spires that look like a Gothic facade. Stay well back from the base. Early morning is the time: the light is on the cliffs and the lots are still open. About 45 minutes, then drive or taxi to Ravine Drive.
Down the Doris McCarthy Trail 0.9 km 0 m Map

Ravine Drive trailhead → Lakeshore at the foot of Gates Gully

Steep paved and gravel ravine path

The trail drops about 90 metres in under a kilometre through Gates Gully, a wooded ravine cut by a small creek, on a smooth but steep path; cyclists are told to dismount. It is named for Doris McCarthy, the landscape painter who lived and worked on the clifftop above for most of her long life. At the bottom a large steel sculpture, shaped like both a canoe and the ribcage of a fish, marks the meeting with the lake. About 20 minutes.

About this place

Doris McCarthy, LL. D. was a Canadian artist known for her semi-abstracted landscapes. In a 2004 interview with Harold Klunder, the artist remarked:I was influenced very strongly by the tradition of going out into nature and painting what was there. I bought it. And I still buy it.
Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Vickyjones at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
The western viewpoint 1 km 0 m Map

Foot of Gates Gully → End of the western path and back

Gravel shoreline path

Turn right first, for about half a kilometre along the water, to where the path ends in a view back west along the cliffs toward Bluffer's Park. This is the classic picture of the Bluffs: white walls rising out of blue water, with no houses in sight. There is no way through to Bluffer's without wading, so turn back. About 20 minutes.
The Guildwood shoreline 4.5 km 0 m Map

Foot of Gates Gully → Shore below Guild Park

Gravel path, boardwalk, armour stone and pebble beach

Now the long stretch: east along the water's edge under the Bluffs, on a mix of gravel path, boardwalk and rock. The cliffs stay above you on the left the whole way, the lake on the right, and on a weekday you may meet almost no one. Near the Sylvan Park headland, look for the remains of the steamship Alexandria, which can sometimes be seen just breaking the surface. About 1 hour 15 minutes.
Up to Guild Park 1 km 70 m Map

Shore below Guild Park → Guild Park tableland

Climbing park path

Leave the shore on the access path that climbs to the top of the Bluffs at Guild Park. This is the only real uphill of the day, and the view back over the lake from the top is the reward. About 20 minutes.

About this place

Guildwood, also known as Guildwood Village, is a residential neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the eastern area of the city, in the district of Scarborough. It is bounded by the Scarborough Bluffs, south of Kingston Road, from Grey Abbey Trail in the east.
Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Jeff Hitchcock from Seattle, WA, USA · CC BY 2.0
The Guild ruins 1 km 10 m Map

Guild Park tableland → Guild Inn

Park paths and lawns

Rosa and Spencer Clark bought this estate in 1932 and turned it into the Guild of All Arts, an artists' colony and inn. From the 1950s they collected pieces of more than 60 demolished Toronto buildings and set them in the gardens: arches, carved stonework, and the marble columns of the Bank of Toronto, now framing an outdoor Greek Theatre. Walk the ruins, then finish at the restored Guild Inn. About 30 minutes.

About this place

Guild Park and Gardens is a public park in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The park was formerly the site of an artist colony and is notable for its collection of relics saved from the demolition of buildings primarily in downtown Toronto arranged akin to ancient ruins. Located on the Scarborough Bluffs, Guild Park and Gardens has an outdoor Greek stage and a 19th-century log cabin among the oldest in Toronto. The principal building in the park is the Guild Inn, a former inn and estate mansion.
Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Jeff Hitchcock from Seattle, WA, USA · CC BY 2.0