The Leslie Street Spit, to be exact, or as it's officially known, Tommy Thompson Park. In the early Sixties, Toronto started dumping old masonry into the lake, with the idea of creating a breakwater to prevent erosion of the Toronto Islands. Eventually, the breakwater extended about three miles into the lake. Various government agencies vied for control over the Spit, offering up plans for "improvement". And meanwhile, nature had its own ideas.
No cars allowed here. So it's a cyclist's and hiker's paradise. A footbridge over one of the lagoons:
![](http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e172/dem08/lesliespit016.jpg)
![](http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e172/dem08/lesliespit043.jpg)
The cormorant population, estimated at about 12,000, prefers cottonwoods for nesting. Ironically, their guano quickly destroys the trees:
![](http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e172/dem08/lesliespit018.jpg)
![](http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e172/dem08/lesliespit020.jpg)
![](http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e172/dem08/lesliespit026.jpg)
There are also nearly 60,000 ring-billed gulls, plus ducks, egrets, herons, and nearly 300 more identified species of birds here:
![](http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e172/dem08/lesliespit022.jpg)
![](http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e172/dem08/lesliespit032.jpg)
![](http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e172/dem08/lesliespit035.jpg)
Great for boat watching too:
![](http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e172/dem08/lesliespit033.jpg)
A view of the city from near the end of the Spit. The green belt below the skyline is the Toronto Islands:
![](http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e172/dem08/lesliespit042.jpg)