Scarborough Bluffs
Fourteen kilometres of clay escarpments along Lake Ontario, Scarborough's most iconic natural landmark and a glacial shoreline older than the city itself.
Address: 1 Brimley Road South, Scarborough
The Scarborough Bluffs are a 14-kilometre stretch of steep clay and sand escarpments rising up to 90 metres above Lake Ontario. They mark the ancient shoreline of glacial Lake Iroquois, a predecessor to today’s lake that stood roughly 30 metres higher during the last ice age.
Why they matter
Elizabeth Simcoe, wife of Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe, compared these cliffs to the seaside town of Scarborough in Yorkshire, England, giving the entire district its name in 1793. The bluffs are not just scenery; they are geology, history, and identity rolled into one horizon line.
Visiting
Bluffer’s Park at the base of Brimley Road offers beach access, picnic areas, and boat launch facilities. The Bluffs Trail and Cathedral Bluffs Park provide lookout points from the top. Erosion is active and cliffs are unstable, stay behind fences and obey posted warnings.
Try this
- Sunrise at Cathedral Bluffs Park before the parking lot fills
- Walk the waterfront trail at Bluffer’s Park on a calm weekday
- Pair with a visit to Guild Park & Gardens nearby
Good to know
Parking fills quickly on summer weekends. TTC routes 12 and 22 serve the area. Dogs are permitted on leash in most park areas. Check seasonal bylaws.