What a stunningly green and lush summer we're having! A slight drizzle does not deter anyone from enjoying this magnificent gem here in Toronto! read more

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For those of you who do not want to drive hours to sightseeing the autumn colour leaves, the Earl Bales Park maybe the perfect place for you. - Parking can be extremely difficult on both weekdays and weekends, make sure you go early. - After parking the car, it still needs to walk approximately 10 minutes before arrive at the Earl Bales Stormwater Management Pond, where it is the perfect place for sightseeing the autumn colour leaves. - Not recommend to go on a cloudy day. - Please refer to my photos to see how beautiful is this place, as photo is better than a thousand words. read more

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A few weeks back, I was driving southbound on Bathurst Street and was stopped at the lights. I looked to my left and saw Earl Bales Park. Although I still need to set foot in the park and take a stroll, I feel like I know it. It's because I watch my friend, Dan L., take walks in this park. He captures his footage on another social medium. He is great explaining what he's doing and providing context, including any historical details, that he finds interesting. I love following along and learning about this park through his eyes. So, I know this park through an historical-touristy tour from him. Earl Bales Park is huge. It is under 130 acres or just over 50 hectares. It has playgrounds, a sensory garden, splash pad, outdoor amphitheatre, memorials, walking and cycling paths and trails, picnic areas, and fire pits. I can see it being extremely popular in the summertime. This park was named after Robert Earl Bales, who was a former Mayor of North York. His great-grandfather owned this farmland. In the early 1900's, after a century as a farm, the land was turned into a golf course before becoming a park. There is an off-leaf area for dogs, which is fenced. Commercial dog walkers are good using this area. This park has a downhill ski and snowboard centre. There is one hill for beginners. There's a main hill with two runs. A third hill is its race hill. There's a chalet on top of the main hill. I feel that I would hibernate there and skip skiing altogether. You can rent skis and snowboards. I think that snowshoeing would be nice here, which I wouldn't mind doing. I saw a parking lot nearby. It's such a large park that it likely has more than one lot. I missed seeing the Canadian Society for Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Site, which is near the main entrance of this park. After World War II, thousands of Holocaust survivors rebuilt their lives in the neighborhoods next to the park. The memorial has roughly 5,000 names of victims and survivors of the Holocaust. I would like to visit it someday. It's a cool park. I like a park with a good backstory. I look forward to dropping by when I'm not passing by to have dinner. (169) read more

Earl Bales Park - Sign from Bathurst Street - Dog Parks Near Me - North York, Ontario

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A really great park to check out in North Toronto. The park borders Bathurst Street and is just south of Sheppard. Very accessible by transit and by car and not to far from highway 401. There is plenty of parking and transit options available. However again, it does fill up quiet quickly so I recommend going early even to get parking. They have community events throughout the year and you can check out the community centre in the park for more information. Playgrounds, splash pad, an amphitheatre, dog off leash sections, picnic grounds and many trails can all be found here. They even have a ski and snowboard centre however based on the weather and Covid restrictions, you will need to check if this is in operation. I highly recommend going as early as you can in the warmer season for reserving picnic spots. It gets filled quiet quickly especially in the summer months. Permits may be needed for some activities so make sure to check with the city of Toronto for more information. My favourite part of the park is the wooden fenced trail over looking the pond. Check it out if you are in the North York area in Toronto. read more

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Great scenery. My 8 year old loved it. Great spot for photography especially during fall read more

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My new favorite park in Toronto. this was recommended by a acquaintance to come and see this park during the fall colors, and i have to say i was not disappointed in the spread of all of the colors. came here on thanksgiving monday as i had a day off for myself. i didn't do research on this park, which didn't do me any favors, i parked at the wrong parking lot, so i tried to get to the section my friend recommended and online it said to "scale down" the hill/mountain...getting down wouldn't have been an issue, but getting up...nope! all the nope! this park is massive to say the least, to the point where i didn't even get to see it all, but i encourage everyone to come and see this park as it has something for everyone. transit options are the 7 bathurst bus, and the 84 lawrence busses, this park is a bit of a walk from wilson, if you would like to stretch your legs lots of parking options as this park has multiple lots on the property. really happy with my experience at this park and will be back next year! read more

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127 acres (51 hectares), smaller than some of the other parks but you can tell that a lot of thought was put into the planning of this well laid out, beautiful park. There are a few prime picnic areas that you can reserve but there are also plenty of picnic areas that you can grab if you go super early (6am on a holiday weekend) or late in the afternoon when the early birds start heading home. There are many picnic tables shaded by trees; but my favorite spot has to be the one near the Jose Rizal memorial which is sheltered by these gorgeous flowering trees with pink blossoms. Bbq grills are available but you can also bring your own grills, tables and even tents. Formerly a farm then a golf course: this park has one of the two ski & snowboard centres run by the City of Toronto. It totally took me by surprise to see a ski lift so far away from a mountain range. During the warm months the view from the top of the ski hill is beautiful. It's a wonderful place to sit down with a book and relax. With the panoramic view of the city skyline in front of you, you really just need to take it all in......and.....breathe. Bring the family, take along a picnic basket full of food and spend some quality time outdoors. read more

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Another reason not to leave the city in the winter. Earl Bales has it all! A chairlift! Ski and snowboard rental and lessons! Run by the city (call 311). This little hill is perfect to learn on. Getting your perspective and being able to view the top to the bottom of the hill helps orient you. Try out some new gear before heading to the mountains. They even have snow making equipment and lights for night skiing. Plus there is a large open area of grass and in winter, snow. We tried out the trails for cross country skiing and haven't ventured too far, but it was varied and challenging in spots. The parking is ample and free so no excuse to get out for some exercise in all four seasons. The clubhouse looked busy and packed so I'm wondering how set up it is in there. I've driven in from Bathurst where it has a country club style low key entrance, and there looks to be another entrance around the corner that elicits further investigation. Worth a look! read more

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I have known of this park since I was a little girl. Reading some of the posts I never knew this was a farm and a golf course once upon a time. Moving back in 1993 and seeing now the major recent changes all I can say is wow. I'm not a pet owner so I never knew until recently that the lower part of the park off Sheppard which is near me is an off leash park. I never knew in the same area there is a huge area for kids to play. I would like to know where is the storm water pond area because it looks so beautiful I have attended many concerts and plays at the amphitheater . It's relaxing and beautiful. You feel as if you are outside of the city but you are still local I love the oasis. My view where I live facing Sheppard is an oasis. Seeing the valley changing of the leaves in fall is also very relaxing read more

This review is for the dog park, Bobbie finally had a chance to visit the off-leash dog area in Earl Bales Park. Bobbie loves running around and living in a condo he is not able to be free and have fun, he now has a place to do just that and burn off some of his playful energy! Bobbie is usually the smallest dog, but he does not mind, he thinks he is secretly a doberman, shhhhh! The dog park area is actually pretty large and there is enough space for all dogs to have their own area if needed, especially if for some reason the dogs are not getting along they can be separated and still have room to all be there and enjoy the park! It is also nice if there are other dogs in similar size, they can stay together and play without having larger dogs in their way or vise versa. There are garbage bins at either entrance so there is no excuses for not cleaning up after your dog. Bobbie is looking forward to making new friends! read more

I'm basing this solely on the trail and dog park as I've never skied on the hill. My two main uses for this park is to let my dog play and for running. The dog park is very well maintained and under-utilized I think. Parking (about 20 spaces) is nearby which you can access through Don River Blvd. which is on the south end of Sheppard just east of Bathurst. The fenced-in area is rather large and shaped like an "8". This is helpful if for some reason, a couple of dogs don't play nice, they can be separated. The dog owners there are quite responsible and clean up after their pets. There are garbage bins at each entrance. As far as running, it's about 1.25km from end to end but there are an assortment of hills from each end which are good to incorporate into your training program. When the ski hill is not open, that provides a great challenge too. That said, the ski hill probably isn't much for an avid skier. You're probably better off skiing elsewhere. There is also a park area that has spaces that can be rented if you want to host a large picnic. It's certainly not as crowded as High Park or Sunnybrook Park. read more

Earl Bales Park - Earl Bales Dog Park - Dog Parks Near Me - North York, Ontario

You don't need to go far out of the city to have a leisure day of skiing or snowboarding. At Earl Bales, they have a Ski and Snowboard Centre that's really great for kids, and anyone that is experienced and want to practice. Let me say that I am by no means an expert on these winter sports, and I have only Snowboarded once, and Skiied this weekend for the first time ever. So these are my humbled opinions. When you get there, you need to go into the main building, which also is the cafeteria and lockers. This is where you pay for lift tickets, lessons, rentals. If you go to the rentals area without a waybill, you'll have to come back here. Prices are reasonable, $15-18 for 3-4 hour pass or all day. Another $18 for a full gear of rental (helmets $5 extra) with the option of having just skis or just poles etc. So the hubby took me to the bunny hill to teach me to ski. The one other place we went to up north (a small ski place, that I think is smaller than here) had a bunny hill that was litteraly a hill. The bunny hill at Earl Bales is comparable to their actual hill almost. It's a comfortable starting place for sure. The rope tow brings you up. Here people need to learn (and they need better staff watching over this) to not bunch up at the end because it's a rope, it cannot pull your weight. Needs to be spaced out. Lots of kids are learning here, and they seem to have some great weekly learning programs. Once you progressed to the actual hill, here's where I found the hill, for a beginner like me anyway, incrediblly scary. I didn't feel this before at the other place. I found the slope here to be practically vertical. If you head over to the right side, it's slightly more shallow, but still quite steep. Well this was an experience for me, and I wouldn't mind coming back here for an afternoon of skiing or boarding. But I feel i need more practice first. read more

Who would have thought there would be so much green space so close to the city. If you ever drive on the 401 pass Yonge, you'll see the vast amount of foresty area on the North Side. I thought that was a full on forest, but it's actual a park area. Not only is it a park, but it's also a ski centre. I'm not sure how good it is, I ran down the one and only ski hill and it didn't seem all that steep to me. I'd like to try tobogganing down that sucka one of these days. Not only is there a lot of green space and places to picnic and bbq, but there's a peaceful walking area through the forest. I don't know how big it is, as we ventured away from the path, and ended up at Earl Bales Park. This place is a really good place to toboggan in the winter. Not down the large ski hill, but they have other smaller hills that are a pretty nice to go down. Love this park, it's a keeper! read more

I love this place. - it allows people who don't want to travel too far from the city - or can't - and lean to ski, snowboard and even horseback ride ( I don't know how true this is, but I'm told this is so in the summer). I've been wanted to learn to snowboard for a while but I thought I had to get my own gear- not true. You can rent them here - so if you hate the sport, you're not out hundreds of dollars. It almost lets me forget that I'm in the city at all...even though I can see the buildings in the distance - I'm surrounded by white glittery snow and everyone in snowsuits..it's great. The classes range for little kids to adults - and they have private lessons available as well, which I think most beneficial. It gets pretty crowded with all the classes and you may spend a lot of time on your ass trying to avoid crashing into people...in my case, little children and the orange sign that says slow skiing area. The staff are all friendly and helpful. The lockers you can rent - is HUGE which costs you whopping $.50. I would bring some food with you and put in the the giant locker though, the little food store there charges a LOT for a little bit...and while I don't have issues paying for stuff, at least give me quality stuff? Anyway. Great place for beginners and to practice tricks and stuff for kids and adults. BUT, if you're one of those people who just want to slide an endless hill for a rush, this is not for you. read more

Earl bales park along with Centennial park are the only two parks withing the city limits that have skiable hills. it's a tiny hill with three runs, one slow double chairlift and one carpet lift. it's good for kids and total beginners but if you skies/snowboarded at least few times then there is nothing you can enjoy here. they also have lots of different programs for kids - there were few racing classes happening when I went there. I dont really remember how much I paid for the lift ticket but I think it was under $30. there is a rental available, lockers and warm changeroom with cafeteria set up tables for those who want to snack there. it's located just 10min walk away from the bathurst/sheppard intersection and lots of parking spots are available. however, I still think it doesn't worth spending money on this hill as there are some better ski resorts just 1hr away from the city. for that reason I'm giving it only 2 stars. read more

Just wanted to mention how grateful I am to finally have a beautiful off-leash dog area in Earl Bales Park. We've already been twice since it opened (going to make it a daily thing!) and we are just ecstatic. Our puppy now has a place to use up some of his endless energy. The fencing is secure, the space is gigantic and the figure-8 shape of the park allows for some dogs to remain more secluded if desired. The double gate also keeps the dogs in the fence as people come and go, making it safe. While some of Earl Bales is more secluded, this space is wide open and I feel totally safe walking there alone. read more

My experience of using the services of this park was horrible. I spent about one hour to know that I had to pay for rope tow in addition to the snowboard rental price, even if I don't want to use the rope tow. Also the majority of the personnel doesn't know how to return deposit on a credit card. Hills are really scary for complete beginners. read more

Trained here multiple times. Climbed the Hills on countless ocassions and it has plenty of Parking and BBQ areas. Well maintained park and in the winter they have ski lifts and some great hills. Overall a great Park ! read more

Rambo likes the off-leash dog park. Get's really muddy in bad weather but you could always avoid the off-leash area and just go for a walk.

I could not recommend this park especially in summer. People pay permits to hold big groups but the management allows more groups than their parking spots could hold. Any vehicle parked outside the parking spots (even if in the designated parking area) are given violation ticket. It is known for that scenario & people felt that they're there to be trapped & ticketed. I met alot of those who could not find a spot, end-up parking along one side of the street and get $105.00 fine. Shouldn't the management be held accountable for those mishaps? Shouldn't they notify people of those problems? Many of us have decided not to hold our annual family get-together at Earl Bales Park since we won't forget July 10, 2010, nobody wants a "gravy-train"!!!! read more