The eastern end of Sherwood Park's off-leash area has a gate that opens onto Bayview Avenue. The Toronto Star reported that this western gate had been chained open with a padlock and that a dog escaped through it onto Bayview. City parks staff visited twice the next day, and a City spokesperson told the Star the gates could be closed on both visits.
That same Bayview end is now a dead end for walkers too. The ravine path that once continued east past Bayview toward Sunnybrook Park is closed, and the City expects it to stay closed until 2032. For a Lawrence Park dog walker this winter, the useful walk runs the other way, west through the ravines toward Yonge Street.
The Bayview end, then and now
Sherwood Park's off-leash area is not an open field. The Star described it as a trail through dense forest, enclosed by wood-and-wire fencing. Other regulars told the paper that run-down fencing was one of several hazards they had noticed. On its Sherwood Park page, the City lists the area as fenced. The page also shows a dog fountain, two parking lots and free parking near the main entrance on Sherwood, east of Mount Pleasant.
The repairs are funded. The City's 2025 budget, which Council considered on February 11, 2025, included money to "address rehabilitation needs for Sherwood Park's Dogs Off-Leash Area." Sherwood Park is now one of the sites under "Current & Upcoming" on the City's Off-Leash Area Enhancement Program page. The program describes the kinds of fixes it makes across the city:
Infrastructure: Repair damaged gates and fences. Security: Install fencing where feasible and appropriate, and add self-closing devices for entry gates.
The same page commits to accessible internal paths and to replacing gravel with grass, engineered wood chips or K-9 turf where conditions allow. It also says off-leash areas beside ravines need specialized contractors and coordination with conservation authorities. Sherwood sits deep in a wooded ravine, so that extra step applies to it. The City says a typical project takes about two years from site analysis and design to construction.
The City has not published a start date or scope for Sherwood. The City's park page currently lists active alerts for Sherwood Park, and checking them before a visit takes a minute.
Why the Bayview end now goes nowhere
Burke Brook connects the whole Lawrence Park ravine system. East of Bayview, the City's Burke Brook Restoration Project has closed the trail and boardwalk toward Sunnybrook Park because erosion has made the creek banks unstable and undermined the boardwalk. The City's posted timeline runs as follows:
| Stage | City timing | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Trail access | 2026 to 2032 | Area stays closed for public safety |
| Phase 1 | 2028 to 2031 | Creek bed adjusted, banks reinforced with armourstone, sewer protected |
| Phase 2 | 2031 to 2032 | New boardwalk and a full trail connection from Sunnybrook Park to Bayview |
The project is listed as being in the "Planning & Design Phase," with no active construction. So the closure exists for safety, not because crews are working there, and construction will not begin until 2028. The finished project should leave the ravine better connected than before. The north side of Burke Brook is meant to get a continuous trail over the Sunnybrook outfall to Bayview, and the City is considering keeping the temporary construction road from Bayview as a permanent path. For the next several winters, though, Sherwood Park is the end of the line.
Dogs who need a long fenced run can still get to Sunnybrook. On its Sunnybrook Park page, the City notes a fenced off-leash area there. For now, the ravine route to it is closed.
The walk that still works, heading west
The City's own Northern Ravines and Gardens Discovery Walk follows Burke Brook through Lawrence Park, Chatsworth, Blythwood and Sherwood ravines. It is roughly 4.8 kilometres and takes about an hour and a half. The route brochure starts at Lawrence Station and ends on Bayview, which the 11 Bayview bus serves. With the eastern connection closed, the route works best in reverse. Start at Sherwood and walk upstream toward Yonge.
- Sherwood Park. The brochure calls Sherwood Park Ravine one of the largest remaining protected natural areas in the city. It holds a remnant of Great Lakes–St. Lawrence forest, with white pine, hemlock, beech, oak and sugar maple, and some slope trees are at least 150 years old. According to the brochure, this eastern stretch is also where Burke Brook is closest to its natural state.
- Blythwood Ravine Park, listed by the City at 1200 Mount Pleasant Road. The City places it between Sherwood Park and Alexander Muir Memorial Gardens on a creekside trail that passes under Mount Pleasant.
- Lawrence Park Ravine, a 4.6-hectare park beside the gardens, with tennis and lawn bowling.
- Alexander Muir Memorial Gardens, at 2901 Yonge Street. The City says its walking trails are open year-round and calls the gardens the western gateway to a trail that "eventually leads to Sunnybrook Park," which will not be true again until 2032. The formal terraced gardens were planted in the 1950s.
Only the Sherwood section is designated off-leash, so dogs go back on leash west of it. Some sections are steep. Trail users have described a long run of stairs in Sherwood. Reviews from this past July mention mud along the Burke Brook trail. In November and December, those stairs get slippery.
Our earlier guide to daily life in Lawrence Park for walkers and cyclists covers the street grid around these parks. This route keeps to the ravine floor almost the entire way to Yonge.
Where the walk comes out in December
Coming up from Alexander Muir puts you on Yonge just south of Lawrence. A short walk north is Yonge Lawrence Village, the stretch between Lawrence Avenue and Yonge Boulevard that the local BIA programs for the holidays. On December 12 its season is aimed at dogs.
- Saturday, December 5, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The BIA's elf hands out free reusable shopping bags along both sidewalks of Yonge between Lawrence Avenue and Yonge Boulevard.
- Saturday, December 12, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The second annual "Paws & Claus" event offers free selfies with Santa at Yonge Boulevard Parkette, 3446 Yonge Street. The BIA invites families, friends and pets. There will be a DJ playing seasonal music, free bags, and self-serve hot chocolate courtesy of SV Orthodontics. Everything depends on the weather.
- Saturday, December 19, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The bag giveaway returns to the same stretch.
Details are on the Yonge Lawrence Village BIA events page, which asks visitors to check back for updates.
Two businesses on the strip suit a December Saturday. Bobbette & Belle at 3347 Yonge has opened Christmas 2026 orders, with pickup and delivery starting November 24. The collection includes a Victorian gingerbread house cookie at $15.95, Christmas cakes from $85 and a $38.95 hot chocolate and marshmallow gift set. A few doors south, Bello! Italian Sandwich Co. is open at 3305 Yonge for dine-in and online orders. In August, blogTO's coverage of the chain's Toronto expansion still listed that address as a planned location. For an evening plan nearby, our piece on the old bank vault at Yonge and Woburn covers the strip's newest after-dark spot.
Watching the Bayview gate
Over the next two winters, the most useful thing to watch in Sherwood Park is the off-leash gate on the Bayview side. Sherwood is on the City's enhancement list, and the program's standard fixes include self-closing entry gates and fence repair. If you find a damaged gate or fence in the meantime, report it through 311. That is the route the City gives for safety hazards on the Burke Brook project.
For more on the parks, paths and errands that shape this part of the city, see our Lawrence Park neighbourhood page.
Our office follows the ravines, the Yonge strip and the City projects that change daily routines in Lawrence Park as closely as we follow the market. If you would like to talk about the neighbourhood, whether you are staying put or planning ahead, Anita Springate-Renaud is glad to hear from you. Let's Connect.
