below: Up beside the Don Valley Parkway and way off the beaten track this time.
But obviously some people with spray paint know about this little green corner of North York.
below: More graffiti (text, throw ups) along the concrete barrier beside the southbound traffic
below: A dead end on an abandoned road. This is part of the remains of an onramp for the southbound Don Valley Parkway from westbound York Mills Road.
below: This ramp was closed in 2005 and replaced with the present road configuration where all the on and off ramps are on the south side of York Mills. Except for creating a mound of earth along the York Mils side, the site was left untouched. Small trees are slowly taking over as nature gains the upper hand.
below: Still no parking
below: Walking east on York Mills Road
below: Any idea what this is? Something old and to do with water? At first I thought that it was sidewalk feature but now I suspect that someone ditched it here.
below: Looking eastward on York Mills Road
below: Walking through Deerlick Park
below: Playground on Deerlick Trail
below: CN Tower and the downtown Toronto skyline in the distance
below: Trilliums under the Don Valley Parkway. Part of a mural on both sides of the underpass at Brookbanks. It was painted by Sarah J. Collard with help from Manny and Sonja Wiebe.
below: Church of Our Saviour with its large triangular stained glass window that was apparently designed by a local high school student.
From Three Valleys I tried to find a way to get back north to York Mills Road via parks and green spaces but I couldn’t do it. The next blog post was the result of a subsequent walk when I started farther north and attempted to find a path south.
below: No Eiffel Tower here!
This post really touched me, as I grew up in that area (age 7 – 18, in four different locations, all within a few metres of your photo locations!). And the abandoned DVP ramp? That was the first place I learned to “highway drive” in 1972. Ah, things do change! Sorry I couldn’t be there to guide you from Three Valleys (where I attended grades 5 and 6, from 1965-7) up past my final home in that ‘hood (just a few little blocks north), back to York Mills Road! Looks like you had a good walk, though. 🙂 Thanks for sharing it. You remind me that I should take that walk, too. I look forward to your next report from that region!
You’ve given away your age LOL but you’re not that much older than me. For a long time things didn’t change but recently even these parts of “suburbia” are affected. I have been surprised by how many people have enjoyed the posts where I venture away from downtown. After all this covid stuff is over we could find a route to walk.
That would be terrific, Mary. We all have our own walking and observing habits, and it’s great to see the city from someone else’s perspective. That tall apartment building? Top of the Valley. I lived across the street for a total of six years, at two different times. We liked that street (Valley Woods) – and its ravine – so much that it was hard to move away. When we did, it was just to the approximate spot where you took your photo, on the other side of the DVP! I hope for a walk-about in that zone sometime. I know you say the old ramp isn’t much to see but we watched them build that expressway. And my best friend’s house backed onto that greenspace. Somehow… time flies!
Haha, you’re so close to my area! And you found the old York Mills ramp! I have yet to check it out.
The ramp isn’t worth a special trip but it’s fun to walk on it for a few minutes if you’re in the area