Training walk in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

[dfox]

For folks look for trails for practice walks for CF and CP in Greater Toronto Area (GTA), I would recommend the Seaton Trail in Pickering and several trails within the Rouge National Urban Park, Scarborough.

Please send me a personal message if information for these trails is needed.

 

[Canada Wanders]

And practice walking with your pack( with weight) to get how your gait changes with and without it, and learn to adjust to make it happy and part of you!

 

[JMac56]

Just walk the length of Yonge Street!

 

[stinmd]

...which can be more challenging than walking the camino, mainly because of the need to dodge other pedestrians.

 

[bergmannfamily]

We are Manitobans practicing, departing Sept 9. The only elevation we have within 100 km of our place are the old landfill site hills. It is the best we have for getting the feel of walking on uphill and downhill. It is very boring but the only hills we have. I am sure TO has some that are converted to parks.

 

[Judy's Way]

For folks look for trails for practice walks for CF and CP in Greater Toronto Area (GTA), I would recommend the Seaton Trail in Pickering and several trails within the Rouge National Urban Park, Scarborough.

Please send me a personal message if information for these trails is needed.

We are in Western Canada and are curious about the Bruce Trail. Do you know anything about it?

 

[MichelleElynHogan]

Just walk the length of Yonge Street!

You know, the length of Yonge St., is 1,896 km.

 

[Robert B.]

We are Manitobans practicing, departing Sept 9. The only elevation we have within 100 km of our place are the old landfill site hills. It is the best we have for getting the feel of walking on uphill and downhill. It is very boring but the only hills we have. I am sure TO has some that are converted to parks.

Bird's Hill Park?

 

[John Ferguson]

We are Manitobans practicing, departing Sept 9. The only elevation we have within 100 km of our place are the old landfill site hills. It is the best we have for getting the feel of walking on uphill and downhill. It is very boring but the only hills we have. I am sure TO has some that are converted to parks.

Hello Fellow Manitoban.
We walked and walked with pack and without pack, in an effort to train. Two things you can be sure of, If you see a Hill you will over it, if you see a Church you will walk past it.
Enjoy - Its not a race.
Buen Camino.

 

[SkyDancer]

You know, the length of Yonge St., is 1,896 km.

That’s why we’re laughing.

 

[dfox]

We are in Western Canada and are curious about the Bruce Trail. Do you know anything about it?

Bruce Trail starts at Queenston, near Niagara Falls and ends in Tobermory, which is 900 km from the start point.

There are 9 walking clubs along the Trail organizing walks and maintaining the trail. You can find more information about the trail from its website:

Bruce Trail Sections and Maps | Bruce Trail Conservancy

You can explore hundreds of kilometres of Niagara Escarpment beauty along the Bruce Trail.

brucetrail.org

Membership fee to Bruce Trail Conservancy is to support some of the environmental work on the Niagara Escapement and is considered "charitable donation".

 

[dfox]

We are Manitobans practicing, departing Sept 9. The only elevation we have within 100 km of our place are the old landfill site hills. It is the best we have for getting the feel of walking on uphill and downhill. It is very boring but the only hills we have. I am sure TO has some that are converted to parks.

As far as I know, there is one yet to be opened to the public is called Beare Hill Park, which is located near the Metro Zoo and the Rouge National Urban Park. The top of the Beare Hill Park is rumored to be the highest point of Toronto city.

 

[Judy's Way]

Bruce Trail starts at Queenston, near Niagara Falls and ends in Tobermory, which is 900 km from the start point.

There are 9 walking clubs along the Trail organizing walks and maintaining the trail. You can find more information about the trail from its website:

Bruce Trail Sections and Maps | Bruce Trail Conservancy

You can explore hundreds of kilometres of Niagara Escarpment beauty along the Bruce Trail.

brucetrail.org

Membership fee to Bruce Trail Conservancy is to support some of the environmental work on the Niagara Escapement and is considered "charitable donation".

Thank you!

 

[Blintintin]

I tried to build in 'training' as a part of my everyday activities, particularly in the beginning, by walking to the subway vs taking the bus; I started with a few flights but by the end I was walking up and down 14 floors to my office every work day, multiple times as I came and went for work, for coffee / lunch, for different meetings, etc., it helped me a lot with cardio, strength, and endurance and made a noticeable difference on the many hills on the camino. There are lots of ways to do it. some just to help get started with incremental exercise & activity, other ways to focus on specific aspects (shoes, back pack etc.).

 

[lindam]

We are in Western Canada and are curious about the Bruce Trail. Do you know anything about it?

The Bruce Trail is a long distance hiking trail, beginning in Niagara and ending more than 800 km away in Tobermory, Ontario. If you are looking for a Canadian experience similar to walking a Camino route, the Bruce Trail is not what you are looking for. The Bruce Trail is not supported in the way Camino routes are in terms of accommodations, access to restaurants, water, shops, etc. along the way. It is possible to camp on the Bruce Trail only in designated campsites which are few and far between. While sections of the Bruce Trail are beautiful (my personal favourite being the more northern sections on the Bruce Peninsula), it is not designed to be walked over consecutive days as one would do when walking a Camino. Instead, it is more suitable for day walks or a few days of walking in one section of the trail when accommodation has been found near to the section of trail of interest. More information can be found on their site: brucetrail.org. In case you are wondering, I have lived in both Ontario and Spain and have considerable experience walking Camino routes and along the Bruce Trail. If you need further details, feel free to ask.

 

[Judy's Way]

The Bruce Trail is a long distance hiking trail, beginning in Niagara and ending more than 800 km away in Tobermory, Ontario. If you are looking for a Canadian experience similar to walking a Camino route, the Bruce Trail is not what you are looking for. The Bruce Trail is not supported in the way Camino routes are in terms of accommodations, access to restaurants, water, shops, etc. along the way. It is possible to camp on the Bruce Trail only in designated campsites which are few and far between. While sections of the Bruce Trail are beautiful (my personal favourite being the more northern sections on the Bruce Peninsula), it is not designed to be walked over consecutive days as one would do when walking a Camino. Instead, it is more suitable for day walks or a few days of walking in one section of the trail when accommodation has been found near to the section of trail of interest. More information can be found on their site: brucetrail.org. In case you are wondering, I have lived in both Ontario and Spain and have considerable experience walking Camino routes and along the Bruce Trail. If you need further details, feel free to ask.

Thank you so much for all the information. We are wondering if there is anything at all in Eastern Canada similar to walking a Camino. Does anyone know of one? Confederation Trail in PEI?

 

[Pilgrim9]

Thank you so much for all the information. We are wondering if there is anything at all in Eastern Canada similar to walking a Camino. Does anyone know of one? Confederation Trail in PEI?

IMO, rail trails (disused railway lines that have been converted into multi-use recreational trails) are the type of trail in Eastern Canada that is most-similar to the level portions of the Camino, i.e., flat, usually wide, and well made.

Almost all are quiet and not parallel to roads.

The quality varies hugely depending upon finances available. Some less-developed or remote ones are a bit scruffy and overgrown.

There are quite a lot of them; far too many to list here. Just Google "rail trails <name of place>".

The only one that I know of that has some lodging places and cafés along it is in Québec. It is called Le P'tit Train du Nord. https://ptittraindunord.com/en/

 

[Bagobev]

Just walk the length of Yonge Street!

I thought that Yonge street was once considered the longest street in the world ending somewhere in north west Ontario, just a curiosity.

 

[MichelleElynHogan]

We are in Western Canada and are curious about the Bruce Trail. Do you know anything about it?

The Bruce Trail runs from Niagara Falls up to the tip of the Bruce Peninsula at Tobermory. It consists of a portion of the escarpment that spans a much greater expanse of the Lower Great Lakes.

There is a website and maps but no passport that I have ever seen and certainly no structured support along the way. It crosses public and private lands and parks.

It lies about 40 miles / 60 km from where I live.

Taking on the Bruce Trail is certainly possible but it does require climbing, camping, re-stocking food and water along the way and will be a much different experience over the Camino.

 

[NorthernLight]

Thank you so much for all the information. We are wondering if there is anything at all in Eastern Canada similar to walking a Camino. Does anyone know of one? Confederation Trail in PEI?

I think there was some mention here on the forum of a camino-like trail along the south shore of the St Lawrence River in Quebec.

Try this old thread:

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/the-canadian-camino-eh.44693/

 

[Judy's Way]

I think there was some mention here on the forum of a camino-like trail along the south shore of the St Lawrence River in Quebec.

Try this old thread:

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/the-canadian-camino-eh.44693/

Thank you for the link. It is something to consider.

 

[Judy's Way]

The Bruce Trail runs from Niagara Falls up to the tip of the Bruce Peninsula at Tobermory. It consists of a portion of the escarpment that spans a much greater expanse of the Lower Great Lakes.

There is a website and maps but no passport that I have ever seen and certainly no structured support along the way. It crosses public and private lands and parks.

It lies about 40 miles / 60 km from where I live.

Taking on the Bruce Trail is certainly possible but it does require climbing, camping, re-stocking food and water along the way and will be a much different experience over the Camino.

Thanks for the information. Maybe one day we’ll check out the Bruce Trail when visiting our son in Toronto. We’ve decided on walking the Camino For Good virtual walk this fall for the third time while planning the Camino del Norte in the spring.

 

[stinmd]

Thanks for the information. Maybe one day we’ll check out the Bruce Trail when visiting our son in Toronto. We’ve decided on walking the Camino For Good virtual walk this fall for the third time while planning the Camino del Norte in the spring.

For me, a big part of the Camino is the experience of a culture different from my own -- people, language, food, scenery, etc. The Bruce trail just doesn't do it for me.