Built-in 1975, and situated at the foot of the Scarborough Bluffs, Bluffer’s Park Beach is a sandy oasis. In the east end of Toronto, 20-story high white cliffs cover kilometers along the beach. The lake washed away the sand from cliff tops, forming the Cathedral Bluffs. Some say that if you put your ear on the bluff wall, you can hear the sand shifting. Even today, the bluffs erode quickly, about one meter a year.
The beach itself is sandy with a few pebbles at the water’s edge. The easternmost side of the beach is supervised and the water is shallower than on other beaches. Other than swimming, beachgoers can fish or hire a fishing guide to take them out on the water in search of sports fish. A full-service restaurant and bar are located at Bluffer’s Park Marina, but there is plenty of park space for a picnic. On the west end of the park, there is a collection of stormwater management ponds. They collect stormwater from the city and filter it to help combat pollution in Lake Ontario. Along the bluffs, there are also trails and wooden paths that take you around the ponds in the area.
To get to the beach you can either drive and pay for a limited amount of parking at the foot of Brimley Road or take the 12 Kingston road bus to Brimley Road and walk down a hill that is definitely harder coming up than going down.