Morningside Park is a recreational

nature park A nature park, or sometimes natural park, is a designation for a protected natural area by means of long-term land planning, sustainable resource management and limitation of agricultural and real estate developments. These valuable landscape ...

located in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

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 Toronto's largest municipal park by area.

Description

The park occupies most of the

deep valley ''Deep Valley'' is a 1947 drama starring Ida Lupino and Dane Clark, directed by Jean Negulesco and produced and released by Warner Bros. A young woman lives unhappily with her embittered parents in an isolated rural home until an escaped convict ...

of Highland Creek where it borders the communities of West Hill and Highland Creek. Spanning , the park includes picnic areas, public washrooms, parking and footpaths which connect to nearby communities and the

Waterfront Trail Stretching over 3600 km (2236 miles) from Prince Township, west of Sault Ste. Marie, to the Quebec border, the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail is a signed route of interconnecting roads and off-road trails joining over 150 communities and First Na ...

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 ...

. The park is bounded by

Morningside Avenue Morningside Avenue is a suburban arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is entirely within Scarborough, running north by north-west from the Scarborough Bluffs overlooking Lake Ontario to the eastern terminus of McNicoll Avenue near the R ...

on the east, Ellesmere Road on the north and

Lawrence Avenue East Lawrence Avenue is a major east-west thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is divided into east and west portions (Lawrence Avenue East and Lawrence Avenue West) by Yonge Street, the dividing line of east-west streets in Toronto. Route de ...

to the south. Together with the

University of Toronto Scarborough The University of Toronto Scarborough, also known as U of T Scarborough or UTSC, is one of the three campuses that make up the tri-campus system of the University of Toronto. Located in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the campus is set upo ...

lands east of Morningside Avenue and Colonel Danforth Park, the park is part of a continuous forested corridor along the lower reaches of Highland Creek. The park features a high degree of

urban wild An urban wild is a remnant of a natural ecosystem found in the midst of an otherwise highly developed urban area. Utility Urban wilds, particularly those of several acres or more, are often intact ecological systems that can provide essential e ...

erness compared to other parks in Toronto, with deer, eroded cliffs and a remnant forest.

History

The valley of Highland Creek was at one point a settlement. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, a shortage in housing resulted in many new residences being built from cottages. However, an increase in settlers was becoming problematic as contaminated wells, evictions, and home demolition were contentious issues in the post-war period. Living conditions were further complicated by the steep slopes and flat floodplain of the Highland Creek further in the area as residents and their cottages were regularly threatened by flash flooding. In 1954, severe damage from Hurricane Hazel led to the removal of housing in the area. Public ownership of floodplain land was established to prevent further development. The area eventually turned into parklands and wildlife was restored. Over 5,000 White Pine trees were planted in Morningside Park by the Boy Scouts of Canada in 1994.

References

External links

*
A Walk on the Wild Side of Morningside Park
at Curran Hall Community Association {{Parks and squares in Toronto Parks in Toronto Scarborough, Toronto