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Just a 15 min ferry from downtown Toronto sits the Toronto Islands – an oasis away from the bustling city. The islands sit just off the shore of the city in Lake Ontario and are not connected by road to the mainland. While the Toronto islands are a destination for recreation, there is also a small community who lives here year round.
For other maps on islands, see posts on St Pierre and Miquelon and the Faroe Island Tunnels!
See the interactive Google Map at the bottom of the post!
Three key facts about this map
Buying a house on the Toronto Islands is extremely selective
There are about 260 houses on this island, and since 1993 only about 70 house sales (averaging to about 3 per year). Interested buyers must add their name to a list managed by the housing trust, though this list only accepts a maximum of 500 names at any time.
If selected, buyers must pay a one-time leasing fee on top of the price for the available home (which average around $150,000 to $400,000 – well under the average home price for the Toronto area which is nearly $1.1 million). Also – buyers must commit to living on the island year-round rather than using purely as a vacation home.
The islands are the largest urban car-free area in North America
The nearly 900 acre area is the largest car-free urban space on the North American continent. This means that residents are required to walk or bike to their destinations. There are few exceptions to this rule – garbage and service vehicles, a school bus and a snowplow are the only motorized vehicles you’ll see on the islands. For larger household purchases (such as appliances), residents must arrange for specialty one-time deliveries which are expensive.
For typical household goods (such as groceries), residents must take the ferry to the mainland and carry home by walking or biking.
The ferry to the Toronto Islands operates even in winter months
Typically there are 4 ferry lines that operate to different locations on the islands during spring, summer and fall months. In the winter, however, there is one major ferry that transports residents and visitors across to Ward’s Island. Many visitors still visit the islands in the winter months despite cold temperatures. Despite what you might think, the Inner Harbor, which separates the city of Toronto from the islands, does not freeze over entirely during the winter, so its not typically possible to skate the entire distance from the city to the islands.
Additional links and sources
- How to buy a house on the Toronto Islands (link, published in 2021)
- What its like to live on Toronto Islands (link, published in 2016)
Have you ever been to the Toronto Islands?
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