A reclaimed space under the Eastern Avenue flyover turned into a skate park, playground, and public art gallery. Bright murals, basketball courts, and a genuinely cool use of dead urban space.
Neighbourhood: Corktown · Address: 29 Lower River Street, Toronto, ON M5A 1M6, Canada · Hours: Open 24 hours · Phone: (416) 214-1344
Why Visit
Underpass Park flips the script on what a park can be, transforming a concrete wasteland under highway ramps into a lively mix of street art, basketball courts, and skate zones. It’s a gritty, ever-changing hotspot for photos, street culture, and genuine Toronto weirdness.
What Makes It Unique
Unlike other parks, this one is literally under a bridge, making rain almost a non-issue and giving everything a moody, apocalyptic vibe. The sweeping murals aren’t just decoration—they’re regularly switched up by emerging artists, so the vibe shifts year to year. It’s also one of the few places in Toronto where skaters, kids, and art nerds all hang out together comfortably.
Underpass Park occupies the space beneath the Eastern Avenue and Richmond/Adelaide Street overpasses in the Corktown neighbourhood — a wedge of urban land that was essentially useless dead space before the City of Toronto and the West Don Lands development organization transformed it into one of the most original public spaces in North America. The park opened in phases starting in 2012 and has since won multiple design and planning awards for its approach to activating infrastructure underbelly — the concept that the space under elevated roads is not wasted land but an opportunity for weather-protected, year-round public programming.
The physical design addresses the specific conditions of the underpass: the low-clearance, column-interrupted space that makes conventional park programming impossible. A skateable surface with embedded ledges, banks, and transition elements runs through the central zone, making Underpass Park one of the few dedicated urban skateparks in downtown Toronto. Adjacent to the skate area, a basketball court and a multi-use surface accommodate team sports, and a children's play structure is designed to be usable in rain — a genuine advantage in a city where outdoor play equipment becomes unusable for significant portions of the year.
The murals are the park's most visually spectacular element. The columns and underside surfaces of the overpasses serve as a large-format gallery: a rotating program of commissioned murals by Toronto and international artists has covered every available surface in colour, text, and imagery. The scale is significant — the columns are full-height street surfaces, and the underside of the elevated road stretches for hundreds of metres.
The park is directly connected to the River City residential development and Corktown Common park to the east. As the West Don Lands neighbourhood has filled in, Underpass Park has become the community gathering space its designers intended — a venue for basketball games, skate sessions, pop-up markets, and events that are impossible to hold in a conventional park because conventional parks don't have roofs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Underpass Park in Toronto?
Underpass Park is located at 29 Lower River Street in Corktown, under the Richmond/Adelaide and Eastern Avenue overpasses. It is accessible from Eastern Avenue and from the Don River Trail, which runs along the park's eastern edge. The nearest TTC stop is the 504 King streetcar at Parliament Street, then a short walk south.
Is Underpass Park good for skateboarding?
Yes — Underpass Park contains one of the few dedicated skateable surfaces in downtown Toronto. The design includes banks, ledges, and transition elements beneath the overpass. The covered location means the skate area is usable year-round, including in rain and winter — a significant advantage over outdoor skateparks.
Who made the murals at Underpass Park?
The murals at Underpass Park are commissioned works by local and international artists, managed by the West Don Lands Partnership. The mural program has run since the park's opening in 2012, with new commissions added periodically. Artists including Toronto-based muralists and invited international street artists have contributed work.
What events happen at Underpass Park?
Underpass Park hosts pop-up markets, community basketball tournaments, skate competitions, outdoor film screenings, and neighbourhood events organized by the Corktown and West Don Lands communities. The park's covered, year-round usability is its primary event advantage. Check the West Don Lands community calendar for upcoming events.