What's your favourite walk/hike IN a Canadian city?

[SignalHillHiker]

What's your favourite walk/hike IN your city? In any Canadian city?

By IN, I just mean that it's within city limits, or an adjacent park. Use your own judgement. But don't submit national parks an hour outside your city. I'd like to see urban walks.

Mine is, of course, Signal Hill.

Specifically, I LOVE climbing to the top of Gibbet Hill (one of the many separate peaks on Signal Hill).

First, a little history. A gibbet is an iron cage, traditionally used to publicly display the bodies of the recently executed. In Newfoundland, gibbets were used until 1834. Contrary to popular belief, the condemned weren't locked in gibbets to starve to death. They were also long dead when their bodies were placed in gibbets to publicly rot and serve as a deterrent to would-be criminals.

Hilariously, the law also described them as a "comfort to the deceased's relations and loved ones."

Gibbet Hill is especially nice because it offers a view of the main peak of Signal Hill as well as the cities of St. John's and Mount Pearl and the town of Paradise. The only thing it's lacking is a wide view of the ocean.

I took this video early this morning - August 16, 2012. Upon watching it, I noticed my shadow appears in it and that this shadow gives the impression I'm 500 lbs. I'm not. So I'm including this picture, which I took just now, to show my actual size, hahaha:

http://i49.tinypic.com/14ke13s.jpg

And HERE is the video. This is the last few minutes to the top of Gibbet Hill. I hope you enjoy the spectacular views:

7z-ECskY3TM

[feepa]

In my City (Edmonton): Anywhere in the 200km of paved River Valley trails, or any of the 400km of unpaved trails.

Elsewhere: In Vancouver, I love walking around Stanley Park, or hiking up Grouse Mountain.

[ckkelley]

In my City (Edmonton): Anywhere in the 200km of paved River Valley trails, or any of the 400km of unpaved trails.

Elsewhere: In Vancouver, I love walking around Stanley Park, or hiking up Grouse Mountain.

I would concur with Stanley Park. I did part of the seawall today and hiked well through the some of the trails, one of those wow days..with the weather so nice. Ditto for the North Shore trails. Notably the Baden-Powell Trail which stretches 48km from Deep Cove to Horseshoe Bay and is accessible via public transit only 45 minutes from downtown Vancouver. Hiking challenges/rewards for all skill levels.

[vid]

I don't walk or hike much but I ride my bike all over. I usually spend a bit of time looping around the industrial parks then go to the edge of town and ride through the bush from one end of the city to the other.

[Marty_Mcfly]

By far my favorite walks in St. John's are the Rennies River Trail and the trails around Bowring Park. Nice quiet rivers flowing, maple trees hanging low to the ground, and they're relatively well kept. Can't be beat

[Doug]

In no real order:
-Grouse Grind in North Vancouver: ass busting workout and amazing views of the city, north shore mountains, Mount Baker and English Bay
-Stanley Park Seawall in Vancouver: always bustling with people, great views and a rain forest
-Eau Claire Promenade/RiverWalk in Calgary: pristine river on one side, wall of skyscrapers on the other
-Elbow River from Sandy Beach to Mission in Calgary: forest, trees, hills, clean mountain river, houses of the uber-rich and skyscrapers all in a few km. completely dispels the notion that Calgary is flat and treeless.
-Victoria Promenade in Edmonton: river valley, skyscrapers and great urban design
-Assiniboine Riverwalk in Winnipeg from the Forks to Osbourne Village - yes is is frequently covered in silt, but provides a great escape from city and links two of its most desirable pedestrian destinations.
-can't think of any good, long walks in Toronto, but best is probably through the Beaches and looping back on Queen
-Ottawa would be along river from below Art Gallery and Parliament

-Calgary will be awesome when GlenBow Ranch ties into Bowness Park via Haskayne and Bearspaw all the south through to city limites by Pine Creek. Will be close 100km of contiguous parkland.

[1ajs]

walking to this place
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7247/7665581862_414dc4b951_b.jpg

witch is bizzar seeing it in this state as i am so used to it being intact and wondering around through it with my proper mask on as it was a mold infested building full of cool shit been 10 months since it caught fire and is in a weird limbow that the city is scared to deal with though if they had been owned by anyone els in the city it woulda been clean up and demolished ages ago

[north 42]

In Windsor, I love walking along our riverwalk which runs the length of our 6km central riverfront park. There are amazing views of the Detroit skyline as you walk the length, as well as the Ambassador Bridge and Belle Island and the mouth of Lake St. Clair.
You can also walk down Riverside Dr. and head east to some of the other riverfront parks that have amazing views and gardens and beautiful nieghbourhoods, and eventually make it to Sandpoint Beach on Lake St. Clair.

[flar]

Something like this: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=134211

[MolsonExport]

From my Van days, Stanley Park/Sea Wall, Grouse Mtn (grind), Cypress Bowl (Mt. Holyburn), Dyke trail (not lesbians) in Richmond (I lived for a time in Steveston), Queen Elizabeth Park, False Creek (mostly on rollerblades) and Granville Island. Also Kitsilano and for grit, New West.

Montreal: Lachine Canal (at least once/week on rollerblades) to Old Port, Mont Royal, Old Montreal, and for urban vibe, ste. cath, st. laurent, st. denis, Ave du Mont Royal, Prince Arthur/Duluth, and a great many others.

[Copes]

SignalHill bro, you need to hit the gym. That shadow is a little plump. ;)

Great video. A much less walked trail on Signal Hill. I echo Marty's comments regarding Bowring Park. I haven't spent nearly enough time in the park, but I really enjoyed walking there the few times I have been there.

I also really enjoy walking along Gower Street. Its much more enjoyable then Water or Duckworth in my opinion, although obviously there isn't anything to do like the other two.

George Street is always an entertaining walk, but its probably two short to qualify for this thread. The different music blasting out from the various pubs though... always nice, and very representative of St. John's.

[eemy]

That's an excellent video. Looks very beautiful. Out of curiousity, did you use some sort of software to steady the video? I noticed distortions periodically and wonder if they are a result of that.

[SignalHillHiker]

^ When you upload a video to YouTube, it detects shakiness and asks if you would like to correct it. So you're right - but it's just YouTube, not a special program or anything.

[SignalHillHiker]

SignalHill bro, you need to hit the gym. That shadow is a little plump. ;)

Great video. A much less walked trail on Signal Hill. I echo Marty's comments regarding Bowring Park. I haven't spent nearly enough time in the park, but I really enjoyed walking there the few times I have been there.

I also really enjoy walking along Gower Street. Its much more enjoyable then Water or Duckworth in my opinion, although obviously there isn't anything to do like the other two.

George Street is always an entertaining walk, but its probably two short to qualify for this thread. The different music blasting out from the various pubs though... always nice, and very representative of St. John's.

Hahaha. ;)

I love Gower Street as well. I like walking the residential blocks east of Cathedral Street as well.

And Flower Hill is also a nice/tough one. I'm always ready to hitchhike the rest of the way up by the time I'm half way to the top.

The Battery is a GREAT little hike as well. It still blows my mind that people live like this in St. John's. Every time I walk past I LOL that there are actually fire hydrants and storm drains in this neighbourhood...

I love it!

SCCXPf_XZ8w

[Wooster]

I like Calgary's Bowmont Flats:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WRgZ23kSDqc/T7ZocsnCINI/AAAAAAAABjw/DAmEO9HiGts/s1600/IMG_6804.JPG


And Edworthy Park Douglas Fir Trails:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3609/3628290957_c4c5d536a6.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2426/3629101446_a125ccef3d.jpg

[The_Architect]

In Toronto it definitely has to be either the Rouge Valley or Don Valley areas. Or even just the Islands or Tommy Thompson Park.

[Surrealplaces]

For me it's anywhere along the Bow or Elbow river, but for nature type hikes with less people around...definitely Fish Creek Park or Nose Hill


Nose Hill - 3300 acres of bald prairie surrounded by city.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3226/2876441212_2e15e258c9_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevincappis/2876441212/)
Calgary, Canada (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevincappis/2876441212/) by Surrealplaces (http://www.flickr.com/people/kevincappis/), on Flickr

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3122/2880599829_e90ca6fd49_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevincappis/2880599829/)
Nose Hill Park (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevincappis/2880599829/) by Surrealplaces (http://www.flickr.com/people/kevincappis/), on Flickr

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2549/5847715364_ff1a5c603e_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevincappis/5847715364/)
Park in a city (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevincappis/5847715364/) by Surrealplaces (http://www.flickr.com/people/kevincappis/), on Flickr

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3074/2876444346_0ecf325a35_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevincappis/2876444346/)
Calgary (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevincappis/2876444346/) by Surrealplaces (http://www.flickr.com/people/kevincappis/), on Flickr

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4001/4675781026_5a1226835c_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dczwick/4675781026/)
Foothills Children (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dczwick/4675781026/) by DCZwick (http://www.flickr.com/people/dczwick/), on Flickr

[SignalHillHiker]

^ Just beware young men aggressively handing out free tickets to the Stampede.

[Surrealplaces]

A few photos of Calgary's Fish Creek Park. another 3000+ acre park in the city. Less bald prairie and more forest

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2470/3719778417_5fefdb33a6_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/12339061@N06/3719778417/)
Fish Creek Park (http://www.flickr.com/photos/12339061@N06/3719778417/) by KiwiHugger (http://www.flickr.com/people/12339061@N06/), on Flickr

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3206/2947887720_5cebbdc53f_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuckinthemetal/2947887720/)
Beaver Dam @ Dusk (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuckinthemetal/2947887720/) by LostMyHeadache: Absolutely Free * (http://www.flickr.com/people/stuckinthemetal/), on Flickr

http://farm1.staticflickr.com/115/255308218_ff9c7991b2_z.jpg?zz=1 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brucerobertson/255308218/)
autumn.quiet.spot (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brucerobertson/255308218/) by Robertson the Bruce (http://www.flickr.com/people/brucerobertson/), on Flickr

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2654/3704268659_325c710d36_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jockrutherford/3704268659/)
Fish Creek Park, Calgary (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jockrutherford/3704268659/) by jockrutherford (http://www.flickr.com/people/jockrutherford/), on Flickr

[vid]

walking to this place
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7247/7665581862_414dc4b951_b.jpg

witch is bizzar seeing it in this state as i am so used to it being intact and wondering around through it with my proper mask on as it was a mold infested building full of cool shit been 10 months since it caught fire and is in a weird limbow that the city is scared to deal with though if they had been owned by anyone els in the city it woulda been clean up and demolished ages ago

Also, free soap.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

I don't walk or hike much but I ride my bike all over. I usually spend a bit of time looping around the industrial parks then go to the edge of town and ride through the bush from one end of the city to the other.

TBay has some nice bike trails fer shizzle. Mount McKay's great too. And outside of town you've got Sleeping Giant, Ouimet Canyon, Kakabeka Falls, Quetico and so on. No shortage of great hiking spots in and around Thunder Bay.

Hamilton's not necessarily known for its natural beauty but it's as good or better than just about anywhere in Canada:
- the Niagara escarpment / Dundas Valley / Red Hill Valley
- waterfalls aplenty
- Cootes Paradise, Hamilton Harbour, the Beach Strip
- the Royal Botanical Gardens

The list is long...

I can't be bothered to post any pics but perhaps another Hamiltonian will step up.

[yaletown_fella]

Toronto: Kay Gardner beltline/Forest Hill/Roycroft Park and ending in Yorkville.

[SHOFEAR]

By far my favorite walks in St. John's are the Rennies River Trail and the trails around Bowring Park. Nice quiet rivers flowing, maple trees hanging low to the ground, and they're relatively well kept. Can't be beat

Rennies trail was our go to saturday afternoon walk when I lived in st johns when I was 9 or so. After moving there from e town I remember thinking how odd it was that this was the "river valley". Trails around signal hill were also fantastic.

In edmonton my favorite jog is along river valley road. Its remarkable how busy that section of trail is.

[vid]

TBay has some nice bike trails fer shizzle. Mount McKay's great too. And outside of town you've got Sleeping Giant, Ouimet Canyon, Kakabeka Falls, Quetico and so on. No shortage of great hiking spots in and around Thunder Bay.

I walked up the Current River today. Not really *in* the city, but it is sort of a greenbelt that separates a small neighbourhood from the rest of the city, and it's a very popular recreational area. Most days you can't walk more than 100 yards without seeing someone but today I walked a few miles alone. I am not sure where everyone is lately, but since our new waterfront was finished, the other parks have seemed a bit more desolate.

http://i.imgur.com/6EmyF.jpg
Path leading to Boulevard Lake, a portion of the river dammed in 1892 to power our streetcar system, the first municipally operated streetcars in Canada.

http://i.imgur.com/K7OCF.jpg
Some kids playing with Black Bay Bridge in the background, Canada's oldest reinforced concrete bridge, built in 1913.

http://i.imgur.com/bH9W8.jpg
Looking downstream toward the lake

http://i.imgur.com/hxWK6.jpg
Close up of the ferrous rock that forms the riverbed. In spring this will be under a few feet of water but most of the year it's a gentle cascade down a rocky corridor.

http://i.imgur.com/FRpDC.jpg
Graffiti under the bridge.

http://i.imgur.com/jvAsy.jpg
An impromptu cairn upstream from the bridge. You can walk a considerable distance up the river but there is less surface as you go, and the walls get steeper, reaching 200 feet in some places.