Great Skate #17 - Colonel Sam Smith Skating Trail

Do groundhogs skate? Last Saturday, February 2, seemed like the right day to find out. My friend Cathy joined me for Great Skate #17 at the Colonel Sam Smith Skating Trail in Etobicoke. It had been on our skating wishlist since last year. We didn't see any groundhogs, but skating on this trail was a lovely way to spend the morning.

The trail in reality is almost as charming
as it seems in this rendering from the city website.
The skating trail opened in 2010, and its one of the few non-rectangle outdoor rinks in Toronto. The trail is a sort-of-figure-eight shape that winds through trees and over a small bridge. As my friend Csilla told me, if you're expecting something like the Rideau Canal, you'll be disappointed, but it's much bigger than the Brickworks skating trail. And it's one of the best things you can do in Etobicoke.





You can change into your skates in the Power House Recreation Centre, which was built in 1888 as the heating plant for the neighbouring Lunatic Asylum, which is now Humber College. (I wonder if the college puts that fact in their promotional materials.) The Victorians were really good at industrial architecture. With 3-storey windows and cathedral ceilings, this is probably the grandest change room in the city.

Wondering who Colonel Sam Smith is? He was the former Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. Wikipedia doesn't mention if he was able to skate.

The groundhogs were busy doing other things that morning.

Location: Colonel Samuel Smith Park, 3145 Lake Shore Blvd W, Etobicoke, ON M8V 4B6, Canada

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