The past few years has seen an increase in ice skating rinks and trails just like these. A few years ago we covered the ice skating trail at Arrowhead Provincial Park and hoped that something of the sort would come to our city.

In 2018, here are the ice skating spots in Toronto and its suburbs that are stepping up their game.

The Bentway

The Bentway Skating Trail located below the Gardiner Expressway opened in the New Year and already attendees are excited about that new attraction close to the Liberty Village neighbourhood. The trail runs a figure 8 path and has DJ skate nights and art installations throughout the course. It is located right at the entrance to Fort York at 250 Fort York Blvd in downtown Toronto.

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Colonel Samuel Smith Park

The Colonel Samuel Smith Park is located along a stretch of wooded shoreline in the Kipling and Lakeshore area. It is home to a variety of plants, trees, birds and other wildlife, and is also home to this network of frozen paths that connect the city’s first ice skating trail (in a figure-eight shape). The pleasure ice skating trail is located next to the Power House Recreation Centre (65 Colonel Samuel Smith Park Road).

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The Shops at Don Mills

Lace up your skates and take a twirl on CF Shops at Don Mills’ very own skating oval. Bring your friends and family out for some fun in the fresh air…all for FREE! A great addition to a day of shopping with friends and family while you skate their white picket fenced track.

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Riverdale Park East Rink and Trail

There is now more than just an open rink at Riverdale Park East in Toronto. The popular winter destination for sledding and ice skating now has a skating trail with trees and islands to skate around. The addition makes the pleasure skating much more enjoyable by offering more for our senses to absorb.

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Greenwood Arena

Greenwood Park has the City’s first covered outdoor artificial ice rink. It is available in winter for skating, and used for ball hockey in the summer. There is also a pleasure ice skating trail located beside the ice rink, one of a growing number of skating trails found within the City of Toronto

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Sherbourne Common

The Paul Quarrington outdoor Ice Rink, located at 61 Dockside Drive, provides a lovely waterfront view while engaging in physical activity. Enjoy a leisurely or brisk skate while taking in the city’s wonderful skyline. After, enjoy a stroll around Queens Quay, a great destination with seasonal opportunities and fun for all ages.

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Nathan Philips Square

Right in the centre of the city is Toronto’s landmark used for hosting major city events such as the Cavalcade of Lights festival, Nuit Blanche, and weekly children’s events. In the winter months, the reflecting pool becomes a skating rink, with skates available for rental. Ice skating runs from mid-November to mid-March each year. Be sure to get your photo with the Toronto sign and city hall.

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Natrel Rink

Located at the Harbourfront Centre with views of the Lake Ontario shoreline, this is one of the city’s most scenic outdoor skating experiences. It is free, and hot food and drinks are available at the rink-side restaurant, Boxcar Social.

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Mississauga Skate on the Square Celebration Square

In the suburb of Mississauga, Celebration Square gives a similar experience to our Nathan Philips Square and is located in the heart of downtown Mississauga. This award-winning public square is one of the most unique in the GTA with a very festive scene surrounding the square rink.

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Chinguacousy Park Skate Trail

Located just outside Toronto, in the City of Brampton, is the Chinguacousy Park Skate Trail. Designed in the shape of an irregular ‘canal’ style skating track, it features bends configured for skaters with different abilities without disturbing the general flow of skaters. There are also winter seating and warming areas along the trail.

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Know any other awesome outdoor ice skating trails? Let us know!

The post Unique Outdoor Public Ice Skating Trails in the Greater Toronto Area appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Toronto Photographer Ravi Pardesi sent us this photo for our daily pic from Toronto. Check out his page for more of his images from around the city.

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The post “Toronto Ice Rink – Holidays” by Toronto Photographer Ravi Pardesi appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Toronto photographer A Great Capture sent us this awesome shot from Nathan Philips Square of snowfalling in front of the Toronto sign and ice skating rink. Check out her page for more images from around the city.

To have your photos featured on our website, please visit our 500px group.

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Each year, the park freezes over a section of the campgrounds roads to create a 1.3 km trail through the Muskoka trees and landscape. A must-try experience.

Arrowhead is located just outside Huntsville about 2 hours North out of Toronto. I accessed the press fleet again for this trip and decided to take up the Acura MDX SUV, which was perfect for ski gear and skates. It had enough seats for about 7 or 8 people, depending on size, or 5 people with the back seats folded down for space. The assisted driving features like cruise control auto-braking were great for the longer drive and the heated seats were great for the cold weather. Kids will love the drop down TV in the back as well as individual controls for heating and sound – back seats have individual wireless headphones.

We wanted to stop on the way to Arrowhead at the highway 11 classic burger joint, Webber’s, but unfortunately it was closed the day we went. Next time!

When we arrived at the park, we discovered a lot more than just the rink we had come for. The park also has an incredible cross-country ski trail that is very well groomed, a downhill tubing park and a ton of hiking and snowshoeing trails. The park grooms and maintains more than 33 km of cross-country ski trails that are designed for classic skiing or skate skiing. Rentals are available if you do not own your own skis.

At one point, the road for cars ends and introduces the start of the ice skating track. This is where you can park your car and change into your skates using the provided benches. Alongside the entrance to the skating trail, there are fire pits to keep you warm, benches to sit on and change into your skates and cubbies to keep your shoes in while you enjoy the trail. Families, couples and those just enjoying the nice weather were out, one guy with a baby in a stroller and another with a small dog. (see video)

The trail takes about 4-5 minutes a lap at a medium pace. All the activities can be done in a day trip, though exploring could last a lot longer.

For more information, visit their website – https://www.ontarioparks.com/park/arrowhead

The post One of the World’s Best Ice Skating Spots at Arrowhead Provincial Park appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Ice skating is a Canadian pastime and it is hard to imagine it not being a part of our daily life during the colder winter months. It is also interesting how long many of the rinks that we still use today have been used for. Riverdale, Withrow, Christie pits and more have long been popular winter destinations for many Torontonians to go ice skating.

I love this collection of old skating photographs because it shows the ways skating was enjoyed in the past. There were lots of performance shows and there were a lot of large public skates. It is also cool to see the outfits, clothing and the ice skates themselves. All have come a long way in the past 100 years.

Enjoy the collection and feel free to share your favourite pics on social media with us.

View more photos on the Toronto Archives.

The post Old Photographs of People Ice Skating in Toronto (1908-1950s) appeared first on Toronto Guardian.