Cargo biking with kids to Trillium Park at Ontario Place

In short, the scenic loops at Trillium Park were fun and the trails felt surprisingly undiscovered. It even inspired some unprompted sibling hand-holding and kissing.

Travelling pre-kids, we flew around the world and sought after adventures exotic and new. Since the little Prospects came along, we now look for adventures locally. We’re constantly amazed by all the fun things to do in our own backyard. More often than not, with a little research and curiosity, we discover “hidden spots”. Ever wonder where that little trail you pass by everyday leads to? Go check it out! We try to use our “weekend adventure eyes” rather than our “weekday commuter eyes”. Sometimes we hit up Google Maps, look for a green patch, and go explore. This is how the Prospects stumbled upon a beautiful park in the heart of Toronto that seemed overlooked.

Trillium Park used to be a parking lot at Ontario Place that was repurposed into a beautiful park on the waterfront. Now the park has 7.5 acres of public green space and 1.3km of trail.

The bike route we took to get there had sections that would put a smile on anyone’s face. As usual, we rode from the east end to downtown Toronto via the Martin Goodman Trail. But instead of heading north into the concrete jungle like we do Monday to Fridays, we kept biking west. Leaving our normal commuting path was when we started to feel like we were traveling again.

We stopped at the Sobeys Express at Harbourfront Centre to round out our picnic spread. Predictably, The Light Switch was angling for his hourly snack. So the Prospectettes went inside while the Prospectors checked out the boats and snacked:

Once in the park, the trail was paved, wide, and meandered up, down, and around little hills. This made for a dynamic ride, especially with the scenic Toronto skyline appearing in front of you as you round the bends:

The Peacemaker’s turn to fish for a snack as the CN Tower sits on the Edgy:

We found a clearing on top of a small hill that was perfect for a picnic:

The Edgy catching some shade while we marveled at the skyline:

The calmness on a summer Saturday in Toronto was unexpected. It even inspired some sibling hand-holding and kissing:

I was reinvigorated after this outing. Sometimes I worry that we’ve ran out of places to explore. It turned out that I just needed to dial up my curiosity and have a “let’s do it” mindset. If you feel stale, look for green patches on a map, I bet there’s an overlooked spot like Trillium Park near you too.