Riverdale Park, Toronto

Riverdale Park is a large park spanning the Lower Don River in Toronto, between Cabbagetown to the west and Broadview Avenue in Riverdale to the east. The park was originally owned by John Sadding, an estate manager and clerk for John Graves Simcoe, Governor of Upper Canada. His cabin is located south of the park on the Canadian National Exhibition grounds, and was built in 1840. Originally, the site was proposed for a 40,000 seat stadium, but the plan was abandoned due to the strong objections of local alderman, John Sewell.

The park has a soccer field, an ice rink, running track, tennis courts, two baseball diamonds, three playing fields and a swimming pool on the east side, and a field house with restrooms and two sports fields on the west side. The eastern slope of the park was used as a landfill in the 1920s but was later planted with trees which were a part of the event hosted by Task Forca to Bring Back the Don. Crossing the Don Valley Parkway is a footbridge connecting the two sides of the valley and a north-south bicycle trail following the river. In 1790s, this bridge provided access to Eli Playter’s mill and property. Elizabeth Simcoe depicted this bridge in her watercolor painting called "Playter’s Bridge near York".

The Bridgepoint Hospital and Sun Yat-Sen monument are located at the south-east corner of the park, and to its west is the city-operated Riverdale Farm. Besides being used for recreation, it is also used by military for parades along with sports, and is a popular tobogganing site in the winter. In the summer, a free movie series take place in the park. Everyone is welcome! So, if you're in the area, feel free to bring a picnic, friends and family to enjoy great PG-rated films under the stars. All the shows start at dusk.