Toronto's great ravine escape — the Don Valley Trail winds through the city's largest ravine system connecting downtown to the Evergreen Brick Works, a transformed 19th-century industrial site surrounded by wetlands, with a weekend farmers market and excellent café. Tall forest inside the city — one of Toronto's genuine surprises.
Neighbourhood: Don Valley / Leaside · Address: Access from Pottery Rd or Broadview Ave (south) — Evergreen Brick Works: 550 Bayview Ave · Hours: Always open | Brick Works farmers market: Sat 8am–1pm · Price Range: Free · Editorial status: Not yet verified
You can walk or bike through Toronto's real wilderness—without leaving the city—on a trail that feels far removed from traffic and condos. The Evergreen Brick Works adds a quirky mix of industrial ruins, marshy wildlife, and top-notch coffee at the end of your trek.
The Don Valley Trail isn’t just a park path: it winds through a proper ravine forest, passing by riverside cliffs, wetland boardwalks, and actual urban wildlife. Nowhere else in Toronto lets you go from busy pavement to real, immersive nature this fast, ending up at Brick Works with its weekend farmers market, eco events, and hauntingly cool factory remnants.
The Don Valley Trail and Evergreen Brick Works combine Toronto's best ravine hiking with one of the city's most successful industrial heritage transformations. The trail network runs through the Don Valley ravine system, connecting multiple neighbourhoods via forested paths that feel surprisingly remote given their proximity to downtown. The trails range from paved multi-use paths to single-track mountain bike routes, with the Lower Don Trail offering the most accessible entry point.
Evergreen Brick Works, at the trail's northern end, is a former quarry and brick factory that operated from 1889 to the 1980s. The site was transformed into an environmental education centre and community hub with heritage buildings preserved, wetlands restored, and the original kilns and manufacturing equipment left in place as industrial archaeology. The Saturday farmers market is one of the best in Toronto, and the on-site café is excellent. The combination of urban forest, industrial history, and community programming makes this one of Toronto's most multidimensional outdoor destinations.
WTF Toronto creates guides using independent editorial research, official sources, local knowledge and firsthand experience where available. Commercial relationships are disclosed where applicable.