Table of Contents:

• The Route – main sections and overview map
• An Alternative Somewhat Shorter Route
• To The Martin Goodman Trail
• The Goodman Trail To the Humber Bridge
• Up The Humber River Trail To Finch
• Along Finch Avenue and The Finch (Hydro) Corridor Trail to Leslie
• Down the Don Trail To Riverdale
• Resources To Plan Your Own Ride

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The Route

A clear and sunny early September morning – a perfect time to take my new bike for a spin.  It was mid-week, so the route I was planning to do would be mostly free of the joggers, strollers, dog walkers,  and even other cyclists that I’d see on the weekend.

The aim was to avoid road traffic as much as possible by sticking to designated bike and multi-use trails. The following sections made up about 80% of the ride –

• The Martin Goodman Trail from Cherry Street to the Humber Bridge
• The Humber River Bike Trail up to Finch
• The Finch (Hydro) Corridor over to Leslie Street
• The Don River Trail/Don Mills Trail 

Click on the map above or here to access the downloadable Ride With GPS file.

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An Alternative Somewhat Shorter Route

If going all the way up to Finch is a bit too much, consider going up as far as Eglinton and then cycling a short section of  Eglinton Avenue to access the Beltline Trail just before Caledonia Road.  Instead of 74 km, you’ll be doing about 43..  Click on the map below to see the route in detail at the Ride With GPS website.

There is a bike path on Eglinton which takes away most of the on-road riding. Note that much of the Beltline is hard-packed fine sand and gravel. I did it in mid-June 2025 with my Trek Madone and 25mm tires and had no issues.  The best time to do the ride would be on a weekday morning.

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To The Martin Goodman Trail

My starting point was the Rooster Coffeehouse on Broadview; the caffeine provided an initial kick. Before I set off, I took in one of Toronto’s best views – the view of the downtown from the Broadview slopes.

Then I made my way down Broadview and across the Gerrard Street Bridge to the Bayview Bike Trail, which goes right to Cherry Street. South onto Cherry and across the Lakeshore Road, and I was on the Martin Goodman Trail. It would take me all the way to the Humber River bridge.

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The Goodman Trail To the Humber Bridge

The Goodman Trail takes you right through the bottom of downtown Toronto. I got off my bike at the parkette with benches and a view of the Alexandra Yacht Club boats in the harbour across from the Toronto Naval Division building.  The shot below has me looking back at the way I have come; the Goodman Trail’s blue and green lines are visible on the pavement.

Back on the saddle, it was past Ontario Place, the tennis courts, the Boulevard Club, and the Palais Royale on my way to the eye-catching bridge over the mouth of the Humber River.  I stopped at Sunnyside Beach on my way to get a shot of the bridge and the collection of condos that have been built to the west over the past two decades.

When I crossed the Humber Bridge, I  stopped at the parkette on the SW point for a short break. Out came the Clif Bar and the water bottle.

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Up The Humber River Trail

The ride up the Humber River Trail to Weston Road and Finch is mostly off-road except for the following sections:

• km 16-17.5  on Steven Drive, Riverwood Parkway and  Humber Valley Road
• km 19.5  crossing the Old Mill Bridge on Old Mill Road
• km 21  up to Lundy Ave. to Old Dundas Street, and then left to the trail continuation
• km 24.7  crossing Eglinton Avenue to the NE corner of Scarlett Road
• km 28.2 to 28.9 –  up Weston Road to a left turn onto Cardell Avenue
• km 35.3 – 37.9 up Weston Road to Finch Avenue and then east on Finch to Norfinch Drive

A very pleasant trail,  with views of the river, some nicely shaded stretches with mature trees on both sides of the path, and the occasional bridge to go over or under. On this Thursday mid-morning, I had the trail mostly to myself.

Thanks to the number of paved side trails,  more than once I chose the wrong one and ended up having to double back. Fellow cyclists out for a leisurely pedal and more familiar with the trail helped me get back on track!

I expected that getting north of the 401 would be complicated, but it presented no problem. However, before you get to the 401, the trail ends at a set of stairs that take you up to Weston Road. See the map below.

After a two-block stretch of Weston Road, you are back on the trail.  Those are the stairs in the image below – I pushed my 19-kg. e-bike up the trough on the right side of the steps.

Once under the 401, there is more parkland trail before you come up again to Weston Road.  600 meters further up, and you are on Finch Avenue, ready to start the next section of this Tour de Toronto.

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Along Finch Avenue and The Finch Corridor Trail to Leslie 

In planning the route, the stretch from Weston Road to the Finch (Hydro) Corridor Trail was another one which had me wondering about the level of traffic. I would find that while there was indeed bumper-to-bumper traffic across Finch all the way to the 400 ramp, the sidewalk/bike path on the south side had me zipping by all the stalled cars.  It was relatively stress-free, and soon I was at the start of the west-to-east section of my ride.

The image below shows the start of the Hydro Corridor Trail, a functional but not terribly scenic way to cross the top of the city.

However, there were exceptions! The trail through the Lord Park Reservoir was one of them. I had no idea that the spot even existed. The view below prompted a Wow as I stopped to capture it.

I followed the Finch Hydro Corridor Trail all the way to Leslie before turning south.  Along the way, you do have to cross a few streets – 17 in all. Most are minor with no traffic, but still require a stop to make sure all is clear before zipping across.

Check out this BlogO article from 2018 for more images of the Trail.

As I approached Yonge Street above Finch Avenue, I came out on the north  side of Hendon Avenue.  I walked it over to  Yonge Street and then to the south side of Bishop Avenue  to access  the trail continuation.

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Down the East Don Trail 

The ride down the East Don Trail back to Riverdale and the Rooster Coffeehouse is one I’ve done dozens of times. Like the ride up the Humber, there are stretches of shaded pathway thanks to the bush and mature trees lining the sides of the trail. Occasional glimpses of the river, a few bridges to cross, and, at least on a weekday, relatively few other trail users to watch for.

The scenic top section of the East Don Trail is one of my favourites. It ends up at the NW corner of Sheppard Avenue. From there, the trail continues on the SE corner, so dismounting to cross the intersection is the easiest way to get there.

Now I was on the north end of the Betty Sutherland Trail, which goes under the 401 and ends up at Duncan Mills Road. It is an essential route for cyclists to deal with the 401 without cycling down Leslie Street or Don Mills Road.

Unfortunately, the section of the  Sutherland Trail under the 401 is closed!  I went as far as I could, passing over the initial barrier, a steel fence which some enterprising citizen had turned into a bridge which allowed passage over a two-meter ditch that the fence had stood in front of. I got as far as the signs you see below and the barrier on the north side of the 401 cyclists’ underpass. No workers were evident as I looked around for a possible way forward.  Not finding one, I turned to my left and up a path that took me to Havenbrook Blvd., which goes right to Don Mills Road.

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July 2025 Update: Cyclists report holes in the fence on both sides of the 401 closure that they have used to access the southern section of the Betty Sutherland Trail. It all depends on

• if you want to disregard the posted signs,
• if workers are actually on site, and
• if the gaps in the fences are still there.

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Shutting a major cycling artery for three years – wow! That is, if they will actually keep to the 2026 finish date…

The good thing about Don Mills Road, as opposed to Leslie Street, is that it does not include on-and off-ramps to/from the 401. That makes it somewhat less hairy an adventure!

For most of my ride, I had my assist level set at 1 (Eco) or 2 (Tour); this was one time when I shifted up to 3 (Active!) so I got to speed up my crossing on the 401 on Don Mills Road.

(The Giant Revolt e-bike has five different assist levels, with level 5’s Turbo apparently quadrupling your power.  Multiplying my FTP of 140 watts by 4 would put me up there with the Tour de France riders!

• As a Class 1 e-bike, it is pedal-assist only and has a maximum assisted speed of 32 km/hour. Anything beyond 32 km/hr is you pedalling hard – or going downhill!
• Class 2 bikes have a throttle and the same 32 km/hr speed limit;
• Class 3 bikes have a throttle and a maximum speed of 45 km/hr.

In Europe, the maximum assisted speed level is 25 km/hour. See here for more info.

This internet-sourced map highlights the best and worst major highway crossings in Toronto:

Once down to York Mills Road, I cycled east over the bridge on the designated bike lane and then made my way to the Don Mills Trail (aka the Leaside Spur). I had found out about it the evening before and was keen to try it out.  It allows another 3+ kilometres of traffic-free riding with an easy crossing of Lawrence to the trail continuation.

I had initially planned just to cycle over to the Lawrence/Leslie access to the park trail (see the route in red on the map below).  However, I ended up following the Don Mills Trail continuation.

The rail trail comes to a stop just before Eglington; the satellite image above shows a rail line that stops its progress. I backtracked a few meters to a dirt trail and then sidewalk running along the edge of a property over to Leslie, and then cycled down Leslie to the first road going into the park and its bike path.

At Pottery Road, I would usually just continue on the Lower Don Trail to the Riverdale Footbridge across the Don River and end my trip that way.  However, like the 401 underpass on the Betty Sutherland Trail,  this section of the Don Trail has been officially closed since May 2023.  Originally slated to reopen in July 2024, that date slipped by with very little work having been done. The new official opening is July 2025, but skepticism is certainly warranted.  It does make me wonder how many other such trails are currently shut down in the name of making our city more liveable.

While the Lower Don Trail is closed, cyclists have been using the Bayview Extension Path to access Corktown Common and the Waterfront Trail.  This blog post provides the details.

Pottery Road to Corktown Common along Bayview Extension bike path in Toronto

Instead, I headed up Pottery Road to Broadview Avenue and the final stretch back to Riverdale. [Full disclosure – my assist level for the ride up Pottery Road was 3! Over the past 40 years, the ride up Pottery has served as a test of my relative fitness. I could always just turn the assist level to 0 to get a current assessment!]

My 75-kilometre Tour de Toronto took me a bit under four hours, and I got to experience my city in a way that speeding by in a vehicle does not allow you to. Definitely a worthwhile ride – and one I plan on repeating when the fall colours up the Humber and down the Don become more prominent.

As for the quality of the workout, it was definitely less demanding than the same ride on my Trek Madone would have been. However, it was still a workout, as well as an enjoyable way to spend a few hours on a sunny fall weekday.. Here are the stats –

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Some Resources For the Ride

Bicycle Park & Rail Trails In Ontario

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The two volumes of Dan Roitner’s Bicycle Park & Rail Trails in Ontario have in-depth coverage of 135 trails across the province.  Googling my way into his website opened up a world of from-my-front-door bike adventures.

It also prompted me to buy digital copies of his two books. A month later, I also bought that Giant Revolt E gravel e-bike with the wider 40 mm tires that I have already rolled over a few hundred kilometres of Ontario gravel trails. Roitner’s guides provided the inspiration.

Click on this link or the header below to access the extensive resources on his website –

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Ride With GPS Map Data

Click on the link below to access my route as mapped by Ride With GPS-

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48266064

Play around with the various map views – the default RWGPS map view, as well as various Google Map views.

If the 75-km length of the route described in this post agrees with you, you might consider the following ride. However, while it is the same length and is also mostly off-road, it is not a loop. See the post below for details!

Off-Road Bike Trails From Oshawa Go Station To Toronto Riverdale