The Island

The Toronto Islands are probably my favourite part of Toronto. In the winter, they are almost entirely inaccessible, but in the summer, they are an oasis. Known familiarly to Torontonians as just “The Island”, the Toronto Islands are actually comprised of several islands – Ward’s Island, Centre Island, Algonquin Island and Olympic Island (there are a few more but they are mostly just forestry).There are ferry boats that operate all summer long, as well as water taxis. I love taking the ferry; it’s a beautiful view of Toronto’s skyline, and a very peaceful and short ride.Here are some of my favourite features of the island:

• The Rectory café
  • This is by far my favourite part of The Island! It’s a little café/restaurant which operates out of an old house. It has a spectacular enclosed garden patio, and cute seating inside the main floor of the house. The menu is always great, but the atmosphere is even better. To get there, you need to take the ferry to Ward’s Island, not Centre Island. It’s about a 5 minute walk from the ferry dock. Do yourself a favour this summer and go!
• Renting a kayak, or a boat
  • One of the best ways to see The Island, is from the water. My dad actually used to drive the ferries as a summer job while he was in university, so he knows the area very well. It’s possible to rent little power boats from the harbourfront, or kayaks on the island, and paddle all around the little canals. It’s so beautiful, you would have no idea that you are still in the city!
• Renting a tandem bicycle
  • This is the perfect place in Toronto to rent a tandem bicycle. There are no cars on The Island, so biking is a dream. You can also bring your own bicycle over on the ferry, but tandem bicycles are way more fun :)
• The Haunted Lighthouse
  • I can’t get enough of haunted spaces, and luckily Toronto has quite a few. Maybe I will do a feature on them in October! Anyway, the Gibraltar lighthouse has a lot of history, although it is no longer used as a functioning lighthouse. It was built in 1808, and is one of the city’s oldest standing buildings. The story goes that the lighthouse is haunted by its first keeper, who was murdered by a few soldiers from Fort York. They wanted to drink his beer, but he cut them off after they had had a few too many. Apparently you can still hear him groaning on particularly misty evenings….creepy!!
• Admiring the houses
  • It’s no secret that Real Estate in Toronto is NUTS. But Real Estate on The Island is a whole different level of nuts. There are very strict rules in place for buying property on The Island:“When a property becomes available, it can’t be put on the free market. Rather, it’s offered for a fixed price to the first hundred people on a five-hundred-person waiting list. The list is ranked, so if there are multiple interested buyers, the property goes to the person closest to the top of the list.”as well:“it costs $110 to apply to join the list, though you get $100 back if you don’t get a spot. Once on the list, you pay an annual fee of $35 to keep your place. The properties themselves range anywhere from $75,000 to $450,000.” Honestly those housing prices are not bad at all compared to the rest of the city. Anyway, I love walking around the residential area on the island and admiring all the houses.

• Music festivals, Full Moon Parties, and concerts!!
  • I saw Stars open for Death Cab for Cutie on The Island, and was one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to. Death Cab opened with Bixby Canyon Bridge as the sun was setting all purple and pink behind them, and they closed with Transatlanticism. That was probably one of the best music nights of my life. OF MY LIFE!!!

This post is getting pretty long, so I’m going to skip over Artscape Gibraltar and Centreville, but they are not to be missed either. Centreville is especially fun if you have a family, as it is a cute little amusement park which also has funnel cakes!In the summer, I can’t believe the Island is even part of our city. It’s so beautiful. If you go, please send me some pictures or an email and let me know how you enjoyed it!image of my feet, when my Dad and I rented a little boat to tour around the island