Humber Arboretum Autumn Walk

I drove to the Humber Arboretum on Saturday for a fall walk. I found out about it on the BlogTO site. They were talking about five fall hikes they liked in the GTA and this was one of them.

Located at the Humber College North Campus west off Highway 427 south of Finch, it's not too far from my place. On the weekends you can park there for free at Parking Lot 1 (near the student residences). Technically you're supposed to get a permit from the lot attendant, but no one was there when I went.

I'd say there are three main areas at the Arboretum. There's a manicured upper section where the Centre for Urban Ecology is. In that building are the public washrooms. There's lower grassland section bordered by trees on the east side. And there's a small forested section to the south. As well, there is a trail that follows the Humber River (called the West Humber Trail).

It was partially overcast when I went. I had to wait for overhead clouds to pass so the sun could shine through so the colours would pop when I took my shots. Luckily I went on my own. Others might not have been so patient.

I snapped some photos in the manicured upper section first. They have some pond features and small bridges and wooden structures that look nice.

On my way down to the lower grassland section I saw some cute chickadees. I had seen some the weekend before at Hilton Falls. People were feeding them birdseed out of their hands, so I thought I would try. All I had was a few crumbs from the bag I had my peanut butter sandwich in. One tiny fellow sat on my finger for a second or two. The rest were too shy.

The lower grassland sections have wide, mowed pathways you can walk along. It's pretty nice. The forested areas are well maintained too. When I was there the ground was carpeted with yellow leaves. It looked quite pretty.

I took a short walk along the West Humber Trail too. It's paved. It goes from Highway 27 on the east to Finch Avenue on the north. Overall it's quite a good place to visit.