2024/07/07 – Mississauga Waterfront

Good morning from southeast Oakville. Today I’ll be picking up where I left off in June, finishing off a bit of Oakville’s shoreline, and then continuing along the lake edge through Mississauga. My starting point is Lakeshore Road East at Ford Drive. Let’s go.

First stops along the shore are Chancery and Carrington Promenades. Lovely views broken up by half a dozen houses. There’s two freighters on the lake, one appears to be loading up at an industrial pier we’ll see later.

After soaking in the lake breeze, it’s another longer detour thanks to only two houses. Then you make it to the southwest entrance to Arkendo Park. The full water’s edge is not accessible due to an eroding bluff.

After detouring around Joshua’s Creek, we come to a part I was unsure about. Harding Waterfront Estate is a city-owned event venue. They told me it’s publicly accessible, but could be closed at the lake for an event. I lucked out, a wedding happens later but was able to get down to the lake now.

Instead of backtracking through the estate, I’ve elected to push eastwards along the shore. The sound is a mix of waves lapping the shore, dinner plates of shale breaking beneath my feet, the slightest whisper of the trees in the lake breeze, and the roar of aggregate being rolled off the freighter.

To pull off this leg of the trip, I banked on this lower reach of Clearview Creek having relatively clear concrete banks. It was less clear than I hoped, but I pushed through, straddling or planking over the water at a couple points. After some struggle, I’m back on Lakeshore Road.

Down the side of a wide industrial road, and past a large field of antennas fenced off due to “high level radiofrequency energy”. An aggregate plant on the north side extends a conveyor system over the road and out along a long pier. This is where the freighters are unloading today.

After passing the pier, you weave around a Petro Canada corporate office to reach Mississauga’s Lakeside Park. It’s beach is lined with worn smooth bricks and shale. Families gather for fun in the sun north of the trail, which curves back to Lakeshore Road.

A large detour around Petro-Canada’s massive Mississauga Lubricants Centre, past the Bradley Museum for a brief view of the lake at Watersedge Park. Then another detour around the Rattray Park Estates.

Rattray Marsh. A large wetland protected from the lake by a shingle bar. High quality stonedust platforms and boardwalks lead you over Sheridan Creek to the shore.

Through masses at Jack Darling Memorial Park. It’s kind of insane how many people are here enjoying their Sunday at the beachfront park. And this is exactly why we need more lakeshore parkland. As the West GTA population grows, the capacity of this parkland will shrink unless we do more. Then another detour, this time around the Lorne Park Estates. A brief look at Richard’s Memorial Park, before being kicked out to Lakeshore Road again.

A stop at Brueckner Rhododendron Gardens will treat you to more stone beaches, mature forest and armour stone trails. Stacks from the industrial area are fading into the distance, and the downtown Toronto skyline is growing.

A trail keeps you along the lake, sandwiched between it and the former imperial Oil lands that have previously sat dormant for decades. After soaring up a few metres, the trail comes back down to a rocky spit.

Through JC Saddington Park, you come to the Credit River, and the port named after it. Finally get up close to the Ridgetown Freightliner on the east pier.

After getting around the Port Credit Marina, it’s a solid chunk of open space through St Lawrence Park. A brief window further down on Oakwood Avenue.

A brief view from Hiawatha Park, then more space to enjoy at the Adamson Estate. Interesting structures and lots of benches dotted around.

Now for the mega park: Lakefront Promenade. This is a large peninsula park built by Credit Valley Conservation in the mid-1970s. After crossing Cooksville Creek, you loop around the first of two headlands, RK McMillan.

Around the inlet, where sandy beaches stretch on, and paddlers and boaters dominate. Then past the marina, over a bridge, and up the old water intake for the Lakeview Generation Station. That’s going to mark the end of my walk today. Thanks for joining.