Rouge National Urban Park is the largest and most beautiful urban green space in the city. It’s also the only campground in Toronto. There are plenty of hiking trails, camping areas, stunning views, opportunities to fish, canoe, kayak, and other outdoor activities.
This park covers a sprawling 79-kilometer area. It is already a popular attraction, but it will be even more attractive after a major makeover. New pavilions, pathways, lookout points, and dining areas, as well as other cool features, will be installed.
There are currently three design options for new amenities in the public space. The City wants public input.
They are all unique but share many similarities — including an extended platform that offers spectacular views –, and they are all equally captivating.
The Solstice Courtyard is the first. It is a circular, open-air garden and courtyard surrounded by a covered path that connects different pavilions for learning or events. There are also a dining area, gift shop, and snack area.
The architecture will follow the sun’s angles in summer and winter solstices. The courtyard’s round roof will allow daylight to pass through it. This will ensure that sunlight “traces the course of time” on the floor and corresponds with the seasons.
To encourage harmony between the outdoors and indoors, all events and learning spaces will allow people to spread out onto surrounding green spaces.
Rooftop Deck is the second concept. It was inspired by the Rouge and Oak Ridges Moraine glaciers.
The design is more scattered across the property. There’s a central visitors center and many outdoor spaces, including an orchard and amphitheater.
The center will house the same events space and a gift shop, food, dining, and learning space. It will also have a sloping green roof which people can climb to see out from an elevated wooden platform.
Forest Passage is the third and final option to ensure the park’s future. It aims to reconnect the Carrying Place Trail’s north-south orientation, which “had been there for millennia.”
The central pavilion would be divided along the park’s drainage slope — a low, marshy area of land created in 1960 when the parkland had been substantially altered from its original state.
The unique curving bridge connects the two halves of the main building and provides a view over the valley.
This one also features green roofs accessed via stairs to get even more views than the previous design. You can also connect to other outdoor spaces.
The finer details and impetus behind each concept are available online via Parks Canada, a page for residents to weigh in on their favorite one.
