Kayaking around the Toronto Islands

In this video I shared my Saturday June 19th experience of paddling a loop around the Toronto Islands. Using my bike trailer, I towed my kayak down to Trillium Park (Ontario Place). From the nice floating dock I got in the kayak and paddled south and around the Billy Bishop Airport's restricted area to reach Hanlan's Point Beach. I continued south to Gibraltar Point, then followed the southern shore in the east direction passing Centre Island Beach and the Centre Island Pier. As I paddled along next to the Lakeshore Ave boardwalk and break wall, I saw the Mandarin bulk carrier lake freighter ship emerging from the western channel. This boat was leaving the inner Toronto harbour after dropping off a load of raw sugar at the Redpath sugar plant on Front St. When I reached Ward's Island beach I rounded the corner and passed through the western channel. In the inner harbour I followed the northern short of Centre Island to Algonquin Island, home of the Queen City Yacht Club (QCYC). After stopping for a lunch break on Snake Island, I continued west past the Royal Canadian Yacht Club (RCYC) and Olympic Island. I then paddled past Middle Island and Mugg Island, home of the Island Yacht Club before reaching Centre Island again at the Hanlan's Point Ferry dock. I then paddled around the airport's low flying zone and into the eastern channel. The last portion of paddling was much more choppy, but I eventually made it back to Ontario Place. My total paddling distance was 16.0km.
Strava for this adventure: / strava
My Kayak Bike Trailer: • My Kayak Bike Trailer
1992 Iowa Linear Recumbent: • 1992 Iowa Linear Recum...
Toronto Islands by Bike: • Toronto Islands - Cycl...
Wards Island & Algonquin Island: • Toronto Islands at Chr...
Skating the Toronto Islands: • Skating at Toronto Isl...
Kayaking up the Don River: • Kayaking up the Don Ri...
My kayak is a 1999 Dagger Redline (whitewater). I filmed this video using a Samsung Galaxy S10 smartphone.
I hope you enjoyed this video. Please COMMENT and subscribe!
Thanks for watching.

[@robinharrison9753]

Thank you so much! I was born in Toronto in 1954 and never knew there was so much more to Centre Island, Wards Island and Hanlan's Point. Excellent job on the detailed narrative and the video features ☺️ Loved it!

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it. There's even more to see from the lagoons between the islands!

[@TheAverageAdventurer]

Love the kayak trailer-bike combo. Epic move!

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks, it's been extremely handy.

[@IvansBikesBmws]

Spectacular! Thanks for the tour!

[@cjhoyle]

No problem.

[@TripsWithTina]

Fun tour and quite informative !! Thank you !

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

[@changanga2566]

Hello CJ.. Man your kayaking touring video's are great. I have been following and seeing all these kayaking places you recorded got my attention to get myself a kayaking (just started to learning) in humber river and toronto sunyside beach. I am not a swimmer but want to learn kayaking and canoeing so i can paddle around toronto inland, may be in other part of water.. Hope i can come across you in the water or biking in Toronto. Thanks againg and stay safe and paddling 👍

[@cjhoyle]

That's awesome to hear! I've found that having a kayak has really opened up the possibilities of new places that I can explore.

[@kevinborovsky3558]

Another excellent and informative video fro yourself. The lake did look very choppy that day. Thanks again cheers

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks, it was really only choppy towards the end of the loop. The weather really changed as the day wore on.

[@NeutralGenericUser]

Great video as always, CJ. Thank you for adding the maps! I've always wanted to see maps of your route on screen so I can pause and see where you're going. Really appreciate that, and hope to see it in future videos!

[@cjhoyle]

No problem. By the way, I almost always include a link in the description to the associated Strava activity which shows the exact path that I followed plotted on the map.

[@NeutralGenericUser]

@@cjhoyle 😱 I had no idea 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ thanks for letting me know! I’ll start following you on Strava too!

[@dandraos]

Thanks for the video, just in time as I was planning a similar paddle in the area.

[@cjhoyle]

No problem! Hope you enjoy your visit to the islands!

[@fengbeer]

Saw your videp paddling TSW, amazing and respect!

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks!

[@aliasnick4602]

3:17 Navigation markers to aid boaters in staying out of the shallow water there where artificial reef was recently installed, part of Gibraltar Point erosion control. Cool vid. Love the deets and fax.

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. I remember watching them installing that artificial reef. Why not just install floating navigation markers like everywhere else?

[@aliasnick4602]

@@cjhoyle Enjoyed it enough to get myself an inflatable kayak! And can fit it in my bike chariot - bonus! I suspect the large scale of those markers are for longevity. Gibraltar Point has been melting away and they don't want to waste resources on cheap short term solutions. They recently finished the bulk of the dunes and they're massive. The entire shore experience is going to be completely different once they remove the fencing. Can't wait.

[@cjhoyle]

Awesome, that's really exciting! Be sure to say hello if we cross paths out on the water this summer.

[@packratty]

Well done, thanks!

[@cjhoyle]

No problem!

[@geoffkavanagh8227]

Great video, I have a very similar kayak that I just use for waves on Lake Huron, it's not an easy paddle, so good for you to be so adventurous and hard working with yours. On another note I would say to be very cautious around the RCYC's ferry. It will make no attempt to vary its course no matter how obvious you are in the water. I had to paddle as hard as I could to get clear of it the other day when there was next to no other boat traffic around. The only good part of that was that I ended up being close enough to let go with a steady stream of invective at the well heeled passengers. I've really enjoyed how informative your videos have been as well.

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks. It's certainly not the fastest kayak on the lake, but I've thoroughly enjoyed getting to experience my city from many new vantage points with it. Thanks for the warning about the RCYC boat.

[@ZoliKonta]

Hey Chris. I would have liked more if map sections were shown for a few seconds in one of the corners showing where you were at the time of the recording. Of course it's possible to figure out based on the map and route you show in the beginning but would be more convenient without needing to sweep back to the start of the video. Probably a lot more work than I imagine but I still think it would add to the overall quality. Other than that it's top notch as usual. Looking forward to a next adventure.

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks, I appreciate the feedback. You're right, adding in maps does take a lot of extra work, and I decided not to include very many in this video because I thought the route was pretty simple. In retrospect, I can understand how they would have made it more easy to visualize all of the smaller islands on the inner harbour. For your future reference, I almost always include a link in the video description to my associated Strava activity which shows the exact path that I followed plotted on the map.

[@anthonyarmata4525]

Awesome video Chris!! When’s the Port Credit video coming out? And also, I know you have the Rideau Canal in mind to canoe on, but have you also thought about canoeing in Niagara Region along the Welland Canal especially? Niagara Region is one of my favourite places to cycle all the way to from Toronto.

[@cjhoyle]

I think it would be a neat experience to paddle the present-day Welland Canal from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario (including the 8 gigantic locks). Unfortunately with all the large ships in the canal, I don't think canoes or kayaks are allowed. A more likely trip that I could see myself doing one day in that area is the Grand River.

[@anthonyarmata4525]

@cjhoyle I love the Grand River so much!!!! Haldimand and Norfolk county are also areas I’ve grown very fond of!

[@bonzaiandcactus]

What a great video! Thank you for making this for us! So good to know Trillium Park has a kayak dock 😀. I'm a fellow Toronto dweller in a condo, and looking to purchase a kayak that a) takes up minimal space, and b) is lightweight and can easily be transported by bike. Could I get your input on your hardshell kayak, how you're liking it, and also what you think of Oru Inlet kayak if I was to do this route through the islands in choppy water. The Oru Bay ST is the one i really want, but I love how super light and how quick the Oru Inlet is to set up and transport, especially as a smaller person.

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! I haven't tried an Oru kayak myself but I've seen many of them out on the water around Toronto this summer. They seem to make a lot of sense for urban dwellers like us. The outside route around the island is pretty exposed, so I'm not sure I would recommend paddling out there on a choppy day in a kayak that's open deck. But there are plenty of days when the wind is low and completely suitable for it. I've been really happy with my little white-water kayak, even though I'm really not using it for the purpose that it was intended for. It's extremely stable, and with the skirt, I can paddle in practically any amount of waves. I also appreciate that I can paddle in really shallow water and not need to worry about the consequences of scraping up against a rock. On the other hand, it does take up a fair amount of space at home, as does the trailer that I use to tow it. It also weights more than 45 lbs. If you're interested in going the hard-shell kayak route, there's actually a white-water kayak that just popped up on kijiji in Toronto this week for only $280.

[@bonzaiandcactus]

@@cjhoyle So appreciate your input and thorough reply! Thank you!🙏 I will look into the use whitewater kayak on kijijj. Do you know or recommend where in Toronto or nearest here I can learn to use a whitewater kayak? I've never used one yet, but it's definitely a goal of mine to learn to!

[@bonzaiandcactus]

Oh one more question.. how would I know what constitutes enough wind that day to make the water choppy ? (Would be a great video subject:) If I looked at the hourly weather, is there a certain number of km of wind/hr of wind that I can look for as my guide? As you know, going on a balcony isn't always reliable in gaging wind on lake. Also, I've looked for videos about using whitewater kayaks on choppy lakes/ not on whitewater, and there's none! Would love to see you do a video talking about/ showing the difference, pros and cons, of using a white water water kayak in Lake Ontario vs a longer one. Keep up the amazing videos and maybe see you in the water one day!

[@cjhoyle]

​@@bonzaiandcactus Unfortunately the ad for that used kayak has already been taken down. With such a low price, I'm sure it was sold very quickly. I don't have experience with any of the places that offer kayaking lessons here in Toronto. I learned how to kayak in my early teen years at summer camp. Even though the camp was located on a lake, they mostly had white-water kayaks. Until getting my own kayak earlier this year, I really haven't done very much kayaking since then. So in this regard, I'm like a beginner and really don't feel qualified making videos on the topics you've suggested. Are you a member of the Toronto Paddler or Toronto Harbourfront Paddlers facebook groups? I've learned a lot this year from reading posts and questions asked on there. Regarding wind speed, if it's less than 5km/hr, the water on Lake Ontario should be pretty calm. From my observations, when the speed is 10km/hr or higher, that's when things start getting choppy if you're in unsheltered water (such as on the outside of the island). I think the wind direction also plays a role though too. If the wind is going away from shore, the effects of the wind will be felt less to the water close to that shore. Regarding using a white-water kayak on choppy lakes, try searching "Kayak surfing". These videos will mostly be about using a kayak like mine in the ocean, but should at least illustrate how this well this type of kayak can do when there are big waves. With the splash skirt, no water can get inside the kayak, and if you somehow get flipped over, it's possible to roll the kayak back over again (a skill that will take practice to learn ahead of time). Anyway, I'm far from an expert, but hopefully some of this will be helpful!

[@geoffkavanagh8227]

@@bonzaiandcactus Hello Nikol, I usually go kayaking off Cherry Beach in the summer once or twice a week. Wind and waves are always a concern and these become amplified depending on the type of kayak you have. CJ's kayak has a skirt on it and is extremely buoyant in waves, that said, it doesn't have a skeg on it so it will not track well or go strait on it own (I have a very similar Dagger kayak). It will bounce around quite happily on all those waves however. If you were in an open cockpit kayak, say a rotomoulded Pelican which are very common entry level kayaks and about the same size, then some water would probably be entering the kayak when the swell height would be over a foot or two. The swells in the Eastern Passage and on the South side of the island are usually the highest you'll face, and these can be quite challenging (along with the wind) when the wind is above 15 km an hour gusting into the twenties. It doesn't mean the crossing isn't navigatable, just that you're going to hitting some wind and waves. The best time to go out (especially if you have to park at Cherry beach) is early in the morning when the water is calmer because the wind hasn't come up yet. The passage over to the Islands or out to the Leslie Spit is much calmer then. On a final note on what type of kayak to get I would say that you clearly need to identify your storage options and your goals. There's literally miles and miles of open water kayaking that can happen around the spit and the islands where there's literally no one around. My favourite type of portable kayak to use is Aquaglide inflatable. Mine is 13 ft long and extremely practical in terms of being able to pull up on beaches or fish out of. That said, the Oru's look very good but I would get one with a skirt instead of the open cockpit ones. While I haven't seen a lot of accidents on the water in Toronto it can feel quite challenging, so my recommendation would be to get the strongest, most reliable kayak you can right from the very beginning and not think about entry-level equipment. What might work perfectly well in calm waters won't leave you feeling particularly safe when the waves are up.

[@trep53]

What a fun day this must have been. Was that about an eight kilometer loop?

[@cjhoyle]

Ya for sure, I was lucky to see the big boat! It was a 16.0km loop.

[@GUTOMOFFICIAL]

Great weather on the water and views. BTW How did you the moving line on the map?

[@cjhoyle]

I used a program called Route Generator.

[@mikelandry3375]

Nice video! Are you going camping this summer, with some videos to come?

[@cjhoyle]

Thanks. Yes for sure.

[@cameranmanner4701]

would paddle boarding from cherry beach to the islands be difficult? Or would there be an easier route?

[@cjhoyle]

That's a pretty common route, I have another video where I did exactly that (except by kayak). As long as it's not too windy, it's pretty easy. The Outer Harbour and Eastern Channel can get pretty choppy with high winds.

[@cameranmanner4701]

@@cjhoyleTHANKS

[@ligasp3479]

what is the distance you paddled and how long did it take. thanks

[@cjhoyle]

The distance was about 16km. My average speed is usually around 4.5km/hr, so I could probably do it in about 3.5 hours if I wasn't stopping often to film the video, plus an extra half hour for a lunch break.