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The Etobicoke Creek trail begins at Marie Curtis park along the Waterfront trail. On the east bank of the river, just before crossing the pedestrian bridge, the trail branches to the north away from the lake. Cycle along the east bank trail and duck under the Lakeshore Rd bridge.

Continue north following the path through the flood plains and on through Enfield Park past the slide and children's play area. The trail wanders beside the creek bank then exits Enfield Park. There are many plaques  along the cycle path that explain facts about the creek and the surrounding area; the plants and wild life. Unfortunately, some are badly weathered and are difficult to read.

The trail continues  into wooded areas  and along the  Etobicoke valley park flood plains and ends just short of the QEW at the baseball diamond Orchard Heights Park. This relatively short trial is 2.6 km long.

As you cycle along the Etobicoke Creek,  you'll see across on the high steep embankments that the river has cut through clay, limestone and shale formed hundreds of  million years ago as part of the Georgian Bay formation.

This Creek, as well as the Humber, Credit and Don Rivers all have this layer of shale that can be seen  when the banks of the river are steep and high. The shale (compressed clay) layer extends from the lake up into north of Bramton. For many years, this layer of shale was used to make bricks to replace the early settler's wooden houses. In those days, the blacksmith and foundries were usually located on the out skirts of town and grist mills of wood were always in danger of fire from the dry dusty grain particles in the air.

Boats from Port Credit (stone hookers) farmed the shale where it outcrops just off shore to build the foundation of the Sunnyside water break. Stone hooking was eventually banned because it exposed the shore line to erosion.

The old Cooksville Brick yard, now a big box shopping area, at Mavis and Dundas, had dug and broke up the shale and left it to weather for a year or two. When softened, it was crushed, mixed with water, then formed into bricks before being baked at very high temperature to remove the moisture. The river, as it flows down to the lake, cuts through the clay and rock and exposes this pattern of clay, limestone and shale. The Don Brickyard was also famous for it's use of the shale formation.

The river is a sediment pump, eroding the surrounding area and moving the lighter material towards the mouth. Pools (where the flow slows down and the river bed deepens) and riffles (fast flow and rocky, shallow depth) give fish the needed protection and rest in the pools before continuing  upstream to spawn. A sign along the trail explains the damage of lawn fertilizers and chemicals that drain into the creek and promote algae. The algae robs the stream of oxygen.  needed by  trout and salmon. In Simcoe's day, the rivers and lakes were teaming with fish. Reading a dairy of a young woman settler, it struck me how the land in those days could be relied upon to offer fish and game for food, trees to build a shelter or repair a cart wheel. Where today you and I would head out for a weekend bicycle adventure with our trusty VISA card and cell phone, she set out on horse into the wilderness with just her dog and a sharp hunting knife!

Great horned owls, hawks, blue herons, cardinals, blue jays and woodpeckers are some of the birds that now share the area.

 The trail ends at the baseball field but a single track dirt foot path branches off and heads under the trees as the main path curves towards the diamonds. The foot path continues north under the QEW and continues north. At the foot of Sherway drive, just north of the Queensway,  a sign on a (now pedestrian) bridge along the foot path declares it to be the old original 'middle road bridge' (the old road before the Queensway and QEW). The old bridge lies forgotten beneath the high spans of the new highway.

You can continue along the foot path, return back to Marie Curtis Park, or head up the steep east bank path at the baseball diamond park and continue cycling on street up as far as Bloor. Mississauga and the city of Toronto hope to extend the paved trail all the way to the 401 by 2005 and connect to the Burnhamthorpe Trail. We'll see.