Sunnybrook Farm was the 154-hectare country estate of Joseph Kilgour acquired at the end of the nineteenth century. It extended east from Bayview Avenue to Leslie Street above Glenvale Boulevard and encompassed the Burke Ravine, named after Edward and Jonas Burke, who settled here in the 1860's and 1870's. The first Provincial Plowing Match was held on Sunnybrook Farm in 1913. Many other Canadian Establishment homes abutted Sunnybrook Farm including the Vaughan family's "Donnington", the Gundy Estate, and the McLean family's 365-hectare "Donlands Farm" to the east. After her husband's death in 1928, Mrs. Alice Kilgour gave a 71-hectare parcel to the City of Toronto for parkland in memory of her husband who was "a great lover of nature". The Toronto Field Naturalists opened the first urban wilderness trail in Canada at Sunnybrook Park on June 7, 1930 -- this organization also operates a visitor information centre at the log cabin nearby the entrance gates. The parkland was a favorite campground for Boy Scouts and, during the Second World War, was a transit camp for troops preparing to leave for Europe.

In 1946, the Department of Veterans Affairs purchased the remaining land for $14 million to build Sunnybrook Veterans Hospital, opening it in September of the same year. The Burke Ravine and the eastern portion of the property remained as parkland. Sunnybrook Park officially opened by former Metropolitan Toronto on June 12, 1969, after land was acquired from the City of Toronto and from the Estate of Alice Kilgour in December 1965. Two conditions of the Estate were satisfied; in 1968, memorial gates were built at the south entrance of the park, and access from Bayview Avenue has been maintained. In 1994, the Thomas H. Thomson Nature Trail was established -- native wildflowers, ferns, shrubs and trees were planted along a series of interpretive trails within a mature forest. This long-term project will help to diversify species and encourage natural regeneration within the forest, while providing an educational experience for park visitors.

Central Don Riding Stables + riding trails
Sports field complex with 2 rugby, 3 cricket, 4 field hockey, and 3 soccer pitches
Public phones at sports pavilion and at licensed restaurant
Cross-country skiing (casual use only)
Vita Parcours exercise trail
Metro Toronto Police Force mounted unit
Toronto Field Naturalists' visitor information centre at log cabin Thomas H. Thomson Nature Trail
Burke Brook Forest (E.S.A.#64) and Glendon Forest (E.S.A.#65)
Consist of mature and mixed forests with Sugar Maple and Eastern Hemlock