Meadoway – Park Trail

Length – 16 km eventually (one way)

85% park path
15% road crossings, detours

Elevation – Not as flat as you may think; a few hills help give you some exercise

Terrain – Wide, newly paved path; some loose grit; bridges (including one tall metal one)

Skill – Easy going

Maps – This trail project (part of the Pan Am Path) has yet to be completed on either end, but map boards and trail markers are starting to appear; most of the route is easy to follow

Traffic – A typical mix of path users; not busy

Facilities – Parking lot, toilets, benches, picnic tables, rain shelters

Highlights – LRT metal bridge, large Thomson Memorial Park, future connection to a much larger cycling network

Trail Fee – Free

Phone – 416 661 6600

Website – The Meadoway

Similar Trails – Finch Corridor, Chinguacousy , Centennial Bikeway

Local Clubs – Toronto Bicycle Network – TBN , Morning Glory Cycling Club

Access – You can find parking lots here, more are planned:

Bermondsey Rd
Wexford Park
Goodlad Park
Kennedy Subway
Thomson Park
Botany Hill Park
Toronto Zoo 

You could also take the subway with your bike to Kennedy station (during non rush-hour periods).

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The Meadoway (formerly the Gatineau Hydro Corridor) trail cuts diagonally across Scarborough for about 10 km (currently). This newly paved trailway is a linear route that helps connect cyclists to other parts of Toronto.

There are some grand plans in the works to revitalise this dead space under the hydro corridor power lines that deliver electricity from the nuclear plants east of Toronto.

The grand vision is to eventually go to the Rouge National Park ravine on the east end. On the west side cyclists will be able to connect with the East Don Trail also under construction (to get downtown). When the route gets finished in 2024-25 (hopefully), it will be 16 km in length!

Recently a connection was made to Morningside Park that leads rides to the Highland Creek trail. From here you can ride bike paths down to the lake and far out to Oshawa, if you have the legs. Wow! That’s another 50 km off-road.

This rather uneventful, utilitarian path follows the power lines for much of its full distance. Thankfully, the route is not too straight, as it does wind around these tall towers, and it has (surprisingly) a few good hills. It’s very much in the open, so you may experience wind gusts and get plenty of sun, so be prepared.

Not the most picturesque views among the electrical grid towers… but it is a car-free ride that gets you places. Well, sort of… it still has road crossings and a section in the middle that connects via side streets.

A fairly tall, elaborate metal bridge crosses the Scarborough LRT tracks and could be considered the highlight of the ride, lol. Yup, not much to see on this route compared to other trails in this book.

At the bridge, there is a side path that goes south for a kilometre to the Kennedy subway station, which would be ideal for cross-town bikers to get here to start the ride.

In the future, the road detour at the bridge will be gone and the path will continue. The LRT service will be closed by 2024 and replaced with a subway extension. So after the construction is done, a new bridge or tunnel will exist, maybe a closer station will be built?

But for now, if going east, take Tara Ave, then go …

Read the rest of this review and 59 others in my NEW book, Volume 2 of Best Bicycle Park & Rail Trails in Ontario.