Queen’s Park

A breather in the midst of the city. A great spot to unwind.

Queen’s Park is a nice little green spot, somewhat of an oasis of peace surrounded heavy highway traffic. The park is not only busy as short cut for government workers and U of T students but with joggers as well. It’s well kept, has a statute of King Edward VII on horseback, a good number of park benches, plenty of good looking trees offering summer shade and fall colors but if you’re a tourist it really has nothing or offers anything worth going out of your way see unless you’re into squirrel watching.

Queen’s Park is a small but picturesque park that is overflowing with large trees and squirrels. The leaves change colours and decorate the «tiny island» with red, yellow and orange. Honestly I love walking through here to reach the other side of downtown Toronto; you can see tourists, dogs, joggers, SQUIRRELS and students. The trees change outfits depending on the season, so no matter when you’re here, there is always something lovely to see.
There is a single large statue in the middle of the park that I usually avoid, simply because the trees are much prettier to look at! It’s a quick stop for photos or a lovely area to walk in. There are no special gizmos here to play on, so it’s better if you just immerse yourself in the beautiful atmosphere of Queen’s Park instead!

Nice park right in the city. There’s a mix of shaded and sunny spots, and there are benches to rest at as well as trails (both paved and unpaved) to walk. Not to mention, there’s a few statues to see. Not a must see, but if you’re nearby (like the Royal Ontario Museum) then it’s worth a visit.

When I need to run in circles (i.e. do speedwork laps), Queen’s Park is the place for me as I prefer the park rather than an outdoor track. The terrain is compacted dirt path which makes running easier with a few bumps along the way to make it a little interesting. It’s great for all levels of runners because everyone simply runs at their own pace and I can run either clockwise or counter clockwise without anyone telling me I’m going the wrong way.
Each lap around the park is not quite a kilometre, but measures 800 metres which sometimes messes me up when I need to keep track of distances in kilometres, so thankfully I wear a GPS watch that helps track my distance as well as speed. Running around the park, I would always encounter many other runners/​walkers going in circles as well which makes for a friendly competition of racing at times (without their knowledge) or simply company while running (especially on dreadful days when I question why I’m even running).
I also love running here because of the abundance of trees which aids in providing some shade during the hot and sunny days. Plus seeing so many people around makes me feel safe in the park because sometimes running alone can be scary in certain areas even in the daytime.
The park has plenty of interesting people who uses the park as a shortcut to get to the other side and they are mostly students getting to the U of T or individuals going to work at the Parliament building or government offices located on The Macdonald Block. The ROM is also a short distance away as well as the shops on Bloor and Yorkville. Always plenty of people in the park walking their dogs or playing with their kids or having picnics or playing frisbee and even groups doing their crossfit workouts. Never a boring sight as there are always people around which makes for an interesting run at times when I see what I can spy with my little eyes.
The park is beautiful all year long and maintained quite well except for the running track in the winter when it’s completely iced over. I’m very happy this park is within the city for my running purposes when I need to do speedwork. It works for me!

I’m here at least once a day all seasons. When I used to walk pups, we would come here all the time. We made friends with some of the regular canines. Some owners will let their dogs off-​leash while others don’t (you technically aren’t supposed to of course) and there’s heavy traffic bordering the park on all sides.
I make a point of choosing a route to, from, and between classes that makes me pass through here. Sometimes in the midst of a stressful day, your eye just needs to catch some green to perk your mood up. In the winter, it’s beautiful seeing the snow glisten off the hibernating boughs.
This park has so many visitors that come here for all reasons: birdwatchers (they hate the dogs scaring away birds obviously), relaxing students, young couples in love, tourists snapping pics with the statute, stoners during 420, family picnics, professionals taking a lunch break, bicyclists, school and daycare children, dog walkers, and passing students.
It isn’t perfect of course. Rain and slush build up on the sidewalk during bad weather. Some homeless sleep here. Sometimes the owners or dogs are mean. It’s impossible to avoid walking on the grass. But — it’s perfect to me.

A slew of 5 star ratings? 4.5 star average? Please. I frequent a number of parks throughout the city for work in addition to leasure, and let me tell you, apart from having a big statue of a guy on horse with historical significance in it, this park is nothing special.
When I first noticed there were Unilocal ratings for parks, I checked a handful of some I’m familiar with; and I was unhappily surprised by how harsh the reviews were. But I thought, ‘well I guess there are some high park standards out there,’ pun intended. High Park. High five. But now that I see this Queen’s Park review, it is clear: these Unilocal folk really don’t know what they’re talking about.
Speaking of High Park: how on Ghod’s Green Earth does this park get the same rating as High Park. Anyone? High Park is objectively better. Every single person should agree. If you give this park the same rating as High Park you are flatly wrong and should abstain from park reviewing.
Okay so star system reviews are all about relativity right? The best park ever is 5 stars, the worst is 0. Can it even be argued this park get above four stars?
Queen’s Park doesn’t even play in the same league as a High Park, a Withrow Park, a Trinity Bellwoods Park, a Riverdale Park, a Greenwood Park, an Ashbridges Bay Park, a Colonel Samuel Smith Park, a Cedarvale Park.
There is no pool, no tennis courts, no skating rink, no off leash dog area, no playgrounds, no ping pong tables, no fire pits, no fantastic views, no densely wooded areas, no flower garden, no stage, no bodies of water, no hills, no baseball diamond, no soccer field.
Although it is big enough to get a comfortable distance away from the road traffic that cloisters its squirrely haven, there is not a nook in the square in which you can’t see and hear the cars passing by on either side. There is a drinking fountain in the park but, at the time of this writing, it is broken. As far as a square of flat land with sparsely placed trees and a liberal peppering of foot paths go, this park is great. I don’t even mean that facetiously, I really do like it, even the mulch patch design appears to have been given a fair amount of thought by a talented landscaper. But Queen’s Park doesn’t have the stuff to go 4.5 stars. I’m sorry Unilocal.Hate me.
My hypothesis is there are a number of office dwellers who come here on their lunch break with their $ 9.89 Loblaws salmon rolls; they sit down, and think wow it’s so nice to be on my break outside– wow a squirrel; the huge high they get from just being outside on lunch break is then reflected in review form. If the park was simply a patch of dirt of the same size, suitable for eating ones lunch in, the same people would probably give it a respectable three stars if they saw the same squirrel.
If you’re a tourist or new to TO, please do not think this park is anything worth going out of your way to visit, you will waste your time and I will be sad.

What a nice park! Came here dog walking w my friend and it is definitely one of the most lovely well maintained parks in the dT core. There is a lot of benches and areas to sit and gab w close friends (came w my besty) and great to have nice intimate convos or even people watch and meet people and dogs etc.

It’s awesome!!! Very pretty and always has people around. Sometimes I see police riding horses around the park!
It’s a little scary walking around at night after class hahahah

A pedestrian park located in the centre of the city with loads of history and boy if this park could talk the stories it could tell. I have an official TTC pocket map from the 80’s that had the park labeled «Queers Park» instead of «Queens Park». I don’t remember the story behind it but it was intentional. I assume it is because this park was once well known for its late night activities. I personally haven’t spent a lot of time in this park simply because access and parking is impossible. But it is a great piece of history and nicely situated. Unfortunately and thanks to our city counselors, like most things in the city this park shows neglect and doesn’t get the attention it should. We can thank our city Councillor Kristyn Wong-​Tam for that I guess. We really need to hold these people more accountable.

I love Queens Park! I take my pooch here now that he has cancer and can’t play with other dogs. Technically it’s not a dog park, but no one (including city employees) bug you assuming your dog is not harassing people or causing issues. Also, ALWAYS make sure you pick after your pet, other wise, you’ll ruin it for the rest of us.
The city has been kind of neglecting the grass, and part of the park in under construction. Watch out for cyclists, as they use the park as a cut through to get up to Bloor.
I’ve heard that at night the park becomes a bit sketchy, but there is a lot of light and you’re surrounded by major roads.
QP is a great place for a Saturday walk, coffee break or cloud watching.

I love Queen’s Park! After a long day of city life, its awesome to bring a beach mat under a tree and lie flat on your back, while listening to your favourite tunes. Typical day here, I see kids running around, UofT student jogging, families having a picnic, elderly reading books and time to time cops bike patrolling the area. The greenery helps me unwind and relax… I’ll be honest. I’ve caught myself falling asleep here a couple of times. I’m sure people walking by probably thought I was homeless haha. This is a really nice place and it will always be my jammin spot ;)

Went there on a Saturday morning and it was pretty dirty. I reckon kids hang out there on Friday night and leave behind the party garbage. Ranging from beer cups to used condoms. The city should clean it up more often.
There’s a big statue in the middle of the park that’s in a slow state of construction. The statue’s horse also has been vandalized for the longest time (pink balls).
The wood chips are nice, they manage to outnumber the cigarette butts. Also the fountain is nice, but looks a bit rough. It’s a good place to run through as you’d miss most of the above.

I was there with some classmates today. Its a great park, small but nice. The only thing we didn’t like was the lack of benches, the used condoms and cigaret parks on the ground. Other than that its good to hang out and talk on a hot summer day.

Sits in the middle of a sort of a highway, this is a good place to jog. There is enough greenery to pretend that you’re not in downtown Toronto but at the same, 5 minutes walk away from the closest coffee shop.
This is a refuge for those who want to escape. For UofT students that failed their exams, Bay Street workers yelled at by their boss or frat boys too drunk to walk. In short, this is a good place. A happy place. There are activities during the summer like a book festival and during pride day.
This is not a big park unlike high park. This is a small park for people who are already downtown. Parking is terrible. Jog and exercise here… do picnic somewhere else! Oy!

The beautiful Queen’s Park is located in downtown Toronto and at the same time it’s somehow an enclave of the University of Toronto! Many curious cute Squirrels came very near and watched us while sometimes even lying on their bellies! That was very funny and relaxing:) It’s a nice resting place for sport activities, lunch time, reading a book and so on. The very British park type is seen in very large trees structure which is fantastic! The Ontario Legislative Building is housing the government of Ontario. It’s a nice building with an interesting Richardsonian Romanesque architecture style (Spanish and French Romanesque features). The park has many statues of famous historical personalities such as William Lyon Mackenzie. If you still have time another nice thing to do is to visit the Royal Ontario Museum which is in the same area.

Having attended the University of Toronto Queen’s Park has always been more of a walkway between university buildings, a sketchy place at night were dodgy characters run amok rather than an actual park and a fantastic location for a group shot of hundreds of frosh during orientation week.
It’s not that great a location for a quiet afternoon since it is surrounded on all sides by a main street and almost every spot there is visible to anyone in the vicinity so you can wave privacy goodbye. It has no large wide spaces for any sport that involves throwing a ball around, but it is a fantastic park for a jog since you can just do the loop or cut across on one of it’s many walkways, and yes it’s a great people watching location too.
It’s got a few things that always remind me that oh Queen’s Park is actually a decent place to visit. For one thing it houses our provincial government, so of course if you’re visiting the city it’s worth a look here even if it’s just to look down University Avenue from atop those steps.
At the other end of the park (the North end) there is a soldier’s memorial along with statues littered across the park of various important people.
You add in it’s fantastically central location, bordered by 2 subway stops, close proximity to food, cinemas, libraries, coffee shops, museums and you’re left with a park that can keep you occpied for well over half a day.

Queen’s Park is small, but you can’t beat the central location. When I used to work in the area, my co-​workers and I would regularly eat lunch here. They have a few picnic tables and it’s always easy to find a nice, shady spot. Compared to other parks in the city, this one seems pretty well-​tended. Maybe because of it’s proximity to the Legislative Building, U of T, museums, etc. it does have a more ‘civilized’ feel. This is more of a sit-​on-​a-​bench than lie-​on-​a-​blanket kinda place, y’know? Queen’s Park is also home to lots of cool events, like Afrofest (summer), Word on the Street (September), Nuit Blanche, etc.

A great park to walk through. Sometimes they put events on in the park such as Word on the Street.
The park is not really big but it is convenient because you can cut through here when you are walking downtown to head towards the annex. It saves a lot of time.
Also, it is a nice park to go for a light jog.

The Northern part of Queen’s park is an excellent place to jog, walk, or run. I’ve tried to research the distance of this loop, and I’ve uncovered conflicting information. Some people think that the running loop is 1 full mile, or ¾ of a mile, or approximately 1 kilometer. Lately I’ve been running the loop and I would say its just shy of a 1 Km. (probably closer to 900m).
Nonetheless, its a great little loop for shorter runs, or for those who need to measure the distance of their workouts.
I did 15 laps of Queens park today… but I won’t be able to walk tomorrow. I hope it works out better for you.
Go Run.