Étienne Brûlé Park is located in the Humber River valley just north of

Bloor Street Bloor Street is a major east–west residential and commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct, which spans the Don River Valley, westward into Mississauga where it ends at Central Parkw ...

West in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It is named after

Étienne Brûlé Étienne Brûlé (; – c. June 1633) was the first European explorer to journey beyond the St. Lawrence River into what is now known as Canada. He spent much of his early adult life among the Hurons, and mastered their language and learned ...

, an early French explorer in the Toronto area. It is believed that Étienne Brûlé was the first European to see Lake Ontario in 1615, from a high point of land beside the Humber. Humber

Characteristic features

''The Old Mill'' and ''The Old Mill Bridge'' - Mills have existed at this site since 1793 when

King's Mill, Toronto King's Mill, Toronto, was a land lot (or land tract) with a 1,100 acres timber reserve established in 1793 by John Graves Simcoe to supply wood to build ships, material for government buildings in York (including Old Fort York). The reserve was bou ...

's first industrial building, supplied wood for the construction of

Fort York Fort York (french: Fort-York) is an early 19th-century military fortification in the Fort York neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The fort was used to house members of the British and Canadian militaries, and to defend the entrance of t ...

(1793), shipbuilding and for early

(York). A bridge has stood over the Humber River at this location since 1837. The present arched stone bridge was built in 1916. Both the mill and the bridge are historically significant and have been designated under the ''

Ontario Heritage Act The ''Ontario Heritage Act'', (the ''Act'') first enacted on March 5, 1975, allows municipalities and the provincial government to designate individual properties and districts in the Province of Ontario, Canada, as being of cultural heritage ...

''.

Fishing at the park

Significant improvements are being made to the health of this fishery based on the Humber River Fisheries Management Plan. *One of the projects is to improve fish movement in the watershed. Many of the dams from the Old Mill to Palgrave in the Town of Caledon have already been modified to enhance fish migration and the access to of fish habitat that has been disconnected from

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

for over 150 years. The Humber River watershed covers . There are over of paved bike trails. *Other initiatives to help protect fish during the sensitive life cycle periods and to promote angling opportunities are also underway.

Entrances and public transit

Étienne Brûlé Park can be entered at the south from Old Mill Road or at the north from Lundy Avenue. The park is only five minutes walk from Old Mill subway station. Pedestrians and cyclists can also travel through the park on the Tommy Thompson Trail, using entrances at Pasadena Gardens and Lundy Avenue. The Tommy Thompson Trail connects King's Mill Park to Lambton Woods. During the winter months, the parks also allow cross-country skiing.

References

External links

* *https://www.alltrails.com/parks/canada/ontario/etienne-brule-park {{Parks and squares in Toronto Parks in Toronto