Thursday 7 March 2019

A Walk to Canoe Landing Park

Two days after a major snowstorm, on the first day of March, we had sunny skies with calm wind and the high temperature near freezing point. It was perfect for my 'fit and fun' walk to Canoe Landing Park.

Canoe Landing Park is an urban park created in 2009 in downtown Toronto. Its total area is 8 acres (3.1 ha). Its location is adjacent to the Gardiner Expressway, a municipal expressway, running close to the shore of Lake Ontario.

What makes Canoe Landing Park visually interesting are the standalone art pieces by Douglas Coupland, the Vancouver artist, author, and sculptor.

Here's a closer look at the art creations:

1. The Red Canoe: The canoe is large enough for people to stand in and see over the Gardiner Expressway to Lake Ontario. It's placed on a hill made from on-site excavated fill and geosynthetic reinforcements. Some 20,000-25,000 dump truck loads of fill were diverted from landfills.

The Red Canoe

2. Iceberg Benches are a pair of benches situated near the canoe. On a clear day, one can sit on the benches and have a panoramic view of Lake Ontario to the south and the high-rise buildings surrounding the park.

Iceberg Benches

3. Fishing Bobbers: A colourful display of twelve large fishing bobbers adds visual interest, especially on the white snowy ground. In the summer, when sprinklers are turned on, this area becomes a fun splash pad. Imagine running around, or in and out of the fishing bobbers with water spraying.

Fishing Bobbers

4. Beaver Dam: It's a sculptural beaver dam situated near the fishing bobbers, not a real one :) Due to the snow, my photo did not show the sticks and branches similar to what beavers use for their dams.

Beaver Dam

5. Terry Fox Miracle Mile: It's a one mile run named after Terry Fox, the Canadian athlete who ran the cross-country Marathon of Hope in April 1980 to raise money for cancer research. His life story and actions are incredibly moving and inspiring.

Map of Terry Fox Miracle Mile

6. Heart-Shaped Stone: This bronze artwork was cast from a stone retrieved by Terry Fox's brother at the end of his journey. Terry Fox was forced to end his run after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 mi). He died at the young age of 22.

Heart-Shaped Stone

The beautiful sunshine encouraged me to continue my walk from Canoe Landing Park to the lake front. There I saw lots of seagulls, ducks, birds, and a few white swans.

Seagulls on Lake Ontario

Swans in Toronto Harbour

Then it was time to head home. I felt great and relaxed after walking outdoors in the sunshine and observing nature. Another fit and fun walk done, another good day!

I'd love to hear your comments.

56 comments:

  1. What a fabulous place! I love the artwork with the bright colors. Very whimsical!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So do I. Thank you, Betty, for stopping by.

      Delete
    2. And, thanks a lot for linking up to My Corner of the World!

      Delete
    3. Thanks, Betty, for hosting. I enjoy the virtual tour of your and others' corner of the world.

      Delete
  2. I love the creative recycling of plastics for the canoe. I would love to see what it looks like in summer as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I look forward to returning to Canoe Landing park in the summer. Thank you, Ann, for stopping by.

      Delete
  3. Hi, Natalie - I haven't been back to Toronto since I started following your blog. But you always make me want to return soon - this post especially. Thank you for sharing this fascinating park with us.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Donna - I'm glad this post makes you want to return to Toronto soon :) There are so many places to visit and so little time (sigh).

      Delete
  4. I love these types of places Natalie and as I'm a million miles away it's the only way I'll ever get to visit them, so many thanks for sharing! #lifethisweek

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm happy to share these places, Debbie, and I enjoy reading where you are and where you've been, too. Thank you for stopping by.

      Delete
  5. I think my favourite are the fishing bobbles...or maybe the iceberg benches...I can't make my mind up! Have a great week Natalie.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like the fishing bobbers, too. Thank you, Jo, for stopping by.

      Delete
  6. I love this about Canada, Natalie, you have such creative cities and at. Once again I enjoyed visiting with you from the other side of the world. #lifethisweek

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Sue - I'm grateful to live in a city that supports the arts. Thank you for stopping by.

      Delete
    2. Hi Natalie, Thank you for your continued support of #MLSTL I value you as part of our community. Have a great week. xx

      Delete
    3. Thank you, Sue, for hosting. My pleasure to participate. Have a beautiful week!

      Delete
  7. One of my favourite parks in our great city!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The parks are so necessary for our urban environment. Thank you, Jackie, for stopping by.

      Delete
  8. I pretended not to notice the snow :) :) Thanks, Natalie!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was sunny and the wind was calm :) Thank you, Jo, for stopping by.

      Delete
  9. Such an interesting park! I can imagine in summer the local people would just flock to enjoy everything there. And those swans are gorgeous. Visiting from Esme's Salon and pinned. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There are many high rise buildings around this park so in the summer, it's busy for sure. Thank you, Cheryl, for stopping by.

      Delete
  10. The lake's still open, then? I've heard Superior--or part of it anyway--froze this winter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Toronto Harbour and Lake Ontario are open. This week the temperature is above freezing point so any thin layers of ice on the lake will disappear. Thank you, Ellen, for stopping by.

      Delete
  11. Beautiful scenes.


    Worth a Thousand Words

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a lovely park. I adore those fishing bobbers- so colorful. We walk to our lakeside park all the time in summer and fall, and I am missing it. We just don't get out as much in winter and it does not have any shoveled walkways. The snow is finally melting here so we can go walking there soon!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope this spring brings nice weather so you can resume walking to your lakeside park soon. Thank you, Michele, for stopping by.

      Delete
  13. What a cool place. Thanks for sharing it with us. #MLSTL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Patrick, for your comment. I greatly appreciate it.

      Delete
  14. Replies
    1. Thanks, Lydia, for your comment. I greatly appreciate it.

      Delete
  15. What a beautiful place! I love the variety and colours of the artwork intermixed with nature. It looks so striking against the white of the snow. I'd love to see it again in summer too! It's kinda fab to have a little virtual tour of your city Natalie! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I plan to return to this park in the summer. Thank you, Min, for stopping by. Have a beautiful week!

      Delete
  16. What a wonderful walk. And thank you for introducing me to Terry Fox. As an American, I don't believe I ever heard of him. He would have been a social media sensation now, but back in 81, maybe I might have hear a short news story on him but if I did, I don't remember. I'm very impressed with what he accomplished (and continues to accomplish) in his short life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Jennifer, for your comment. Terry Fox's legacy lives on strong. All Canadian school children are informed of his story and achievements. There are also annual Terry Fox runs in Canada, usually in the Spring.

      Delete
  17. What a lovely spot and I always enjoy seeing outdoor art. A little tug of the heartstrings too with Terry Fox's story - very inspirational.
    Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I've shared on my SM :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Leanne, for hosting. The Canoe Landing Park is a nice park to enjoy and to be inspired when I think of Terry Fox's run.

      Delete
  18. Interesting how cold it is still! We are in Autumn and it is still hot!
    Next week's optional prompt for #lifethisweek is 11/51 It's MY Favourite. Denyse.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Our winter here can be quite harsh, Denyse. However, spring is coming and soon we'll see spring flowers everywhere. This week's high temperatures are all above freezing point and all the snow on the ground has disappeared.

      Delete
  19. What a great place to take a walk. Our weather here in Ohio seems to have taken a turn for the better but only time will tell.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope the nice weather continues for you. Thank you, Victoria, for stopping by.

      Delete
  20. What fun! I especially love the Fishing Bobbers.
    Sharing for MLSTL.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Trisha, for your comment. I like the fishing bobbers, too.

      Delete
  21. Awesome park, a whole world away. It does not snow in my part of Australia, but it does get bitingly cold in winter. So sad that Terry's life ended so soon x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Alicia, for your visit and comment. It's great that we can share what's on in our town or city thousands of miles apart via blogging.

      Delete
  22. Replies
    1. Thanks, KB, for your visit and comment. I left a comment on your blog. Hope you'll join in on Wellness Wednesday link up.

      Delete
  23. The fishing bobbers look so neat! #GlobalBlogging

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I like them. Thanks, Heather, for stopping by.

      Delete
  24. What a gorgeous place to explore... I feel drawn to find out more about that young mans story

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Kerrie, for your visit and comment. I included a link to Wikipedia about Terry Fox in the post. I hope you find time to read about him.

      Delete
  25. Cool photos of a great city park

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Alice, for your visit and comment. The Canoe Landing park is nice. Glad you found my photos cool :)

      Delete
  26. Natalie, I know about Douglas Coupland’s books but I hadn’t realized that he is also a sculptor.

    Jude

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jude - Looks like he's multi-talented.

      Delete