ATTRACTION: Toronto islands offer outdoor fun and a haunted history
Posted June 5, 2013 11:59 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Just a short ferry ride away, Toronto’s islands are a popular picturesque getaway for locals and tourists alike.
There are beaches, eateries, boat and bike rentals, a petting zoo and even a children’s amusement park.
Centre Island is the largest and most popular island, known for Centreville, a children’s amusement park. The only people that live on the islands call Ward’s Island their home. Hanlan’s Point is known for their clothing-optional beach.
There is no admission fee to access the islands, but you do have to pay to ride the ferry to get there. Prices are as follows:
- Adult (19-64) $7.00
- Seniors (65+) or Students (14-18) $4.50
- Junior (2-13) $3.50
- Under 2 years old: Free
How to get there:
There are three ferries that leave from 9 Queen’s Quay West to the islands. There’s a ferry for Centre Island, one for Ward’s Island and one for Hanlan’s Point. The schedule and rates can be found here.
Here are some highlights:
Centreville
Centreville, the amusement park, is on Centre Island and has more than 30 rides and attractions situated on more than 600 acres of parkland.
Rides include a ferris wheel, a carousel and a water log ride. There are also restaurants and picnic areas scattered around the island.
There is no admission price for Centreville, but the rides do cost money. Full information and pricing can be found here.
Fun fact: Babe Ruth hit his first professional home run on Centre Island.
Gibraltar Point Lighthouse
Built sometime between 1808 and 1809, the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse is the oldest surviving lighthouse on the Great Lakes and is the second oldest surviving lighthouse in Canada.
It is located on the inner harbour of Centre Island. It once stood on the shore but over time sand built up in front of it so that it now stands about 100 metres inland.
The lighthouse was named Gibraltar because the governor at the time of its construction thought it should be fortified as strong as the Rock of Gibraltar.
It was decommissioned in 1956 and replaced by an automatic electric signal fixed on a mass of land which overlooks the water east of the Toronto Islands.
Currently, the lighthouse sits unused and closed, but there is a man who is an unofficial lighthouse keeper and sometimes gives tours. His name is Manuel Cappel and he lives on Ward’s Island and is the former manager of The Rectory Cafe, also located on Ward’s Island.
Fun fact: Legend is that the lighthouse is haunted! Here’s the story:
At the lighthouse, there is a plaque which tells the story of a murder and states that the lighthouse may be haunted. There have been people who have claimed to hear moaning and who have seen an apparition wandering the grounds that led them to believe it’s haunted with a ghost. The lighthouse’s first keeper, J.P. Radan Muller, died mysteriously on January 2, 1815.
Legend has it that he was murdered by two or three soldiers from Fort York because Muller refused to give them more alcohol as they were already drunk due to the alcohol Radan already provided them. The legend says they then killed Muller.
Muller was said to be smuggling alcohol into Toronto illegally. He was the lightkeeper from 1809 to 1815. In 1893, the keeper at that point, James Durnan, claimed he found bits of a coffin and the remains of a male jaw bone. It wasn’t confirmed whether this was Muller.
The Durnan family were lighthouse keepers between 1832 and 1908. According to Cappel, eight of the Durnans are buried at the site and the family’s ashes are interred there too.
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