Travel In-Town: Oakville-Burlington's Picturesque Parks
Here are the more popular Oakville-Burlington community parks (See the best regional Regional and Provincial parks)
Maps of parks in Halton Region | Burlington | Oakville | Milton | Hamilton.
Oakville
Shell Park
Lakeshore Road West.
Formally designed rose garden featuring over 900 roses of 20 different varieties. Off-leash dog area. There are a number of adjacent parks, including three along the lakeshore, with views to the Petro-Canada Pier.
Bronte Park
Bronte and Lakeshore Road.
This park lies at the mouth of Twleve Mile Creek in Oakville's west end, and has several areas, the beach, the bluffs, the harbour, the Vista Promenade by the outer harbour, and the Butterfly Park. The park has recreational pathways away from the lake, and is home to the Bronte Harbour Yacht Club
Coronation Park
Third Line and Lakeshore Road.
Located along the lakeshore with picnic areas, summer splash pad and waterfront path.
Sixteen Mile Creek
There are several park areas along the creek, with Lions Valley Park north of Dundas, connected by recreational pathways on the east side of the creek to a large park between Dundas and Upper Middle Rd, ending beside the famous Glen Abbey Golf Course. The parks continue off & on south of the QEW/403 south to the lakeshore, with a significant paved promenade on both sides of the creek connecting the chain of parks between Chartwell and Kerr.
Burlington
Waterfront Trail
Burlington is part of a 740 km waterfront trail system along the northshore of Lake Ontario connecting Brockville in the east with Niagara-on-the-Lake. There is a paved 23 km. waterfront trail rom the Burlington Canal to Burloak Drive along Lakeshore Road, and through some Municipal Waterfront Parks. There are trail markers, painted in half-kilometre increments enable runners, walkers and cyclists to track the distances they have travelled.
Royal Botanical Gardens
905-527-1158
680 Plains Road West (Hwy 2),
Burlington, ON L7T 4H4
These gardens have the world's largest lilac collection, 100,000 tulips, 250,000 iris blooms, 3,000 rose bushes, a 30-kilometre trail system through Cootes Paradise and a 2,000 acre forest, and four nature sanctuaries where you can spot over 250 species of breeding and migratory bird. The gardens began in the 1930's to transform an old gravel pit into a rock garden to rival England's Kew Gardens. Today, there are six unique gardens covering over 2,700 acres. The gardens also host a number of festivals over the year, and provide horticultural courses.
LaSalle Park
In 1915, Hamilton bought this 57 acres on the shore of Burlington Bay and called it Wabasso Park, and a pavilion was added in 1917. In 1926, to commemorate Sieur de La Salle's landing in the area the name was changed to La Salle Park. Today, the park is still owned by Hamilton but is maintained by Burlington, and the park features a marina, walking trails, sports fields, playground, wading pool, splash pad and extensive picnic area. It is home to the Burlington Sailing & Boating Club.
Beachway Park & Pavilion
The Beachway Park has a 2 km multi-use trail from Spencer Smith Park to the Burlington Canal. The Pavilion provides change rooms, outdoor showers, seasonal concession facilities and year round washrooms.
Brant Inn Node
905 335-7600 #7423.
The Brant Inn Node connects waterfront waterfront Spencer Smith and Beachway parks with a continuous 3 km paved shoreline recreational pathway from the TravelLodge to the Burlington Shipping Canal. This park area includes scenic lookout points, a day-use boat tie up, a Japanese Garden and naturalized fish habitat pond, with plans for a restaurant and a skating rink.
Spencer Smith Park
This land was originally granted to the Mohawk leader Joseph Brant for his service to The British Crown during the American Revolution. The Burlington Tourist Information Centre is across Lakeshore Road from the park. Until 1939, Lakeshore road was at close to the waterline, and frequently threatened by storms, so a seawall was added, and the park created behind it. A centennial project in 1965 construction added the Confederation Terrace and improved the park.
Paletta Lakefront Park
On the south side of Lakeshore Road, between Appleby and Walkers Line
This land was granted to Laura Secord in 1809, and had several owners until the 6.4 hectare estate was purchased in 1912, by a prominent Cyrus Albert Birge, and his daughter built the 1930 mansion on the land. Purchased by the City in 1990, this picturesque park has mature trees and has a formal allee of mature sugar maples leading from the entrance gate to the lake and has a series of three separate gardens.
Burloak Waterfront Park
At the foot of Burloak Drive, south of Lakeshore Road.
This park, with over 800 meters of shoreline, straddles the border between Burlington and Oakville, and is a trail head for the Waterfront Trail. The park has a significant Queenston shale cliff formation which is home to one of the largest nesting colonies of bank swallows in the western basin of Lake Ontario. Views from the bluffs include the Shell working pier, where large ships refuel, and on clear days and nights you can see the Toronto skyline and the Niagara Peninsula.
City of Burlington Parks page
|
