Toronto's most active beach community — Woodbine Beach and Ashbridges Bay together make up the eastern anchor of The Beaches waterfront. Woodbine has a supervised swimming beach, volleyball courts, and a snack bar. Ashbridges Bay has the city's premier beach volleyball facility (40+ sand courts), boat launch, and barbecue areas.
Neighbourhood: The Beaches · Address: 1675 Lake Shore Blvd E, Toronto, ON · Hours: Always open | Lifeguards: July–August daily
Why Visit
This is Toronto’s go-to zone for serious beach volleyball, supervised swimming, and laid-back people-watching — all on a surprisingly wide stretch of sand just steps from Queen East. Grab a snack, splash in the lake, or join a tournament vibe without leaving the city.
What Makes It Unique
Woodbine Beach and Ashbridges Bay make up the only spot in Toronto where 40+ sand volleyball courts meet a large free public beach, so you get both full-scale league action and classic beach days in one place. The BBQ and picnic zones draw big groups, making for a buzzing, communal feel that’s hard to find on other city waterfronts.
If you want to see Toronto’s waterfront at its most active, head straight to Woodbine Beach and Ashbridges Bay. This stretch is the energetic end of The Beaches, where the city swaps its downtown pace for sand, bikes, paddleboards, coolers, and a lot of very serious beach volleyball. It’s not the quiet, read-a-book-all-day kind of beach. People come here to do stuff.
Woodbine is the easier entry point if you’re visiting for the first time. It’s got the supervised swim area, so in summer you’ll see families set up near the water, kids splashing in the shallows, and lifeguards keeping an eye on things. The beach itself is wide enough that even on hot weekends, you can usually find space if you don’t arrive absurdly late. There are volleyball courts here too, plus a snack bar when you need something quick and unapologetically beachy. Expect a mix of swimmers, dog walkers passing by on the edges, groups of friends with folding chairs, and cyclists rolling in from the Martin Goodman Trail.
Then just east of that, Ashbridges Bay shifts the whole mood from “beach day” to “let’s play three sets before lunch.” This is the city’s main volleyball zone, with more than 40 sand courts spread out in a way that makes the whole area feel like one giant summer tournament. On weekends, there are league games, drop-in matches, and clusters of people waiting with bare feet and sunglasses, half chatting, half scouting the next open court. Even if you’re not playing, it’s fun to watch because the skill level ranges from total beginners to people diving around like they’ve trained for this all year, which, honestly, they probably have.
The nice thing about this area is that it’s easy to make a full day of it without overplanning. Start farther west at Kew Beach and do the boardwalk walk east. That’s the move I always recommend. You get the classic Beaches stretch first, then the scene gradually gets more active as you head toward Woodbine and Ashbridges. It’s a great walk, especially in the late afternoon when the light starts to soften and the lake actually looks calm instead of grey and windy.
Ashbridges Bay also has practical extras that matter if you’re staying a while: barbecue areas, more open space for groups, and a boat launch if you’re coming in with kayaks or anything trailer-based. Parking can be frustrating on peak summer weekends, so either go earlier than you think you need to or skip the hassle and bike over. If you’re taking transit, it’s doable, just allow a bit of extra time for the final stretch south.
A few honest tips: bring water, because the sun on the sand feels stronger than people expect. If you’re swimming, stay within the supervised area at Woodbine. And if you want the best version of this place, go when the weather is properly warm and everyone’s outside. That’s when Woodbine and Ashbridges Bay feel like Toronto’s outdoor living room, except with more sunscreen, more coolers, and way more volleyball.