You can enjoy our off-road cycling facilities at Bayview Arena Bike Park and Wallace Emerson.
The City of Toronto aims to provide a safe, comfortable and bicycle friendly environment that includes-- bicycle-friendly streets, bike parks and an extensive paved multi-use trail network-- which appeals to people of all ages. We are in the process of developing safe, cost-effective, and inclusive recreational cycling programs; improving the condition of the City’s existing off-road cycling facilities and working towards better maintaining of our off-road facilities.
We are also developing a Natural Environment Trail Strategy for our ravines and natural area parks that will accommodate all trail users including off-road cyclists; actively pursuing partnerships; educating trail users through various programs on how to ride safely and construct sustainable trails; and engaging groups of women and other groups who typically have had low rates of participation in off-road cycling.
The development of off-road cycling in Toronto is part of a larger trend that has spread around the world, well beyond its origins on the west coast of North America. According to the Ontario Cycling Association and other biking organizations, off-road cycling is growing in popularity among people who prefer individual recreational activities.
Off-road cycling is a great way to develop stamina and improve balance and co-ordination or to simply enjoy cycling in a natural or urban setting. Off-road cycling offers users a wide choice of options from tire sizes and type of frames, to surfaces including; concrete, asphalt, various man-made and manufactured obstacles, dirt jumps and more natural hillside trails. Some off-road cyclists prefer to experience many different features in a single race like Cross-country, which, in 1996, became the first form of MTB accepted as an Olympic sport. Others prefer racing BMX bikes on a dirt track similar to the one in Beijing, where in 2008 BMX racing was recognized as an Olympic sport for the first time. And yet others prefer to ride, without the pressure of competition, over a series of dirt mounds on what is known as a pump track.
Find out more about Sunnyside Bike Park. Construction starts this fall.