Toronto

=== Parks ===
{{See also|List of Toronto parks}}
{{More citations needed section|date=July 2016}}
[[File:Finch Meandor with Rouge River.jpg|thumb|[[Rouge National Urban Park]] is a [[National parks of Canada|national park]] in [[Scarborough, Ontario|Scarborough]].]]

Toronto has diverse public spaces, from city squares to public parks overlooking ravines. [[Nathan Phillips Square]] is the city's main square in downtown, contains the [[Toronto Sign]],<ref>{{cite web |date=June 21, 2016 |title=Iconic Toronto sign starting to show wear, needs funding to survive |url=https://toronto.citynews.ca/2016/06/21/iconic-toronto-sign-starting-to-show-wear-needs-funding-to-survive/ |access-date=May 3, 2020 |website=CityNews Toronto |archive-date=May 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200517223859/https://toronto.citynews.ca/2016/06/21/iconic-toronto-sign-starting-to-show-wear-needs-funding-to-survive/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and forms the entrance to [[Toronto City Hall|City Hall]]. [[Yonge–Dundas Square]], near City Hall, has also gained attention in recent years as one of the busiest gathering spots in the city. Other squares include [[Harbourfront Centre|Harbourfront Square]], on the Toronto waterfront, and the civic squares at the former city halls of the defunct Metropolitan Toronto, most notably [[Mel Lastman Square]] in North York. The [[Toronto Public Space Committee]] is an advocacy group concerned with the city's public spaces. In recent years, Nathan Phillips Square has been refurbished with new facilities, and the central waterfront along Queen's Quay West has been updated recently with a new street architecture and a new square next to Harbourfront Centre.
[[File:Toronto City Hall (25383892988).jpg|thumb|[[Nathan Phillips Square]] is the city's main square. The square includes a reflecting pool that is converted into an [[ice rink]] during the winter.]]
In the winter, Nathan Phillips Square, Harbourfront Centre, and Mel Lastman Square feature popular rinks for public ice skating. Etobicoke's Colonel Sam Smith Trail opened in 2011 and is Toronto's first skating trail. [[Earl Bales Park]] offers outdoor skiing and snowboarding slopes with a [[chairlift]], rental facilities, and lessons. Several parks have marked cross-country skiing trails.

There are many large downtown parks, which include [[Allan Gardens]], [[Christie Pits]], [[Grange Park (Toronto)|Grange Park]], [[Little Norway Park]], [[Moss Park]], [[Queen's Park (Toronto)|Queen's Park]], [[Riverdale Park (Toronto)|Riverdale Park]] and [[Trinity Bellwoods Park]]. An almost hidden park is the compact [[Cloud Gardens]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Urban Design: Cloud Garden Park |url=http://www.lostrivers.ca/points/cloudgrdnpk.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308153337/http://www.lostrivers.ca/points/cloudgrdnpk.htm |archive-date=March 8, 2008 |access-date=March 27, 2009 |work=Lost Streams, Toronto, Web site}}</ref> which has both open areas and a glassed-in greenhouse, near Queen Street and Yonge. South of downtown are two large parks on the waterfront: Tommy Thompson Park on the [[Leslie Street Spit]], which has a nature preserve and is open on weekends, and the Toronto Islands, accessible from downtown by ferry.
[[File:Spring has arrived at James Gardens! Toronto, May 13th, 2018 (42086291601).jpg|thumb|A crossing over the Humber River at [[James Gardens]], a botanical garden operated by [[Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division]]]]
Large parks in the outer areas managed by the city include [[High Park]], [[Humber Bay Park]], [[Centennial Park (Toronto)|Centennial Park]], [[Downsview Park]], [[Guild Park and Gardens]], [[Sunnybrook Park]] and [[Morningside Park (Toronto)|Morningside Park]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 6, 2017 |title=Parks Listings |url=https://www.toronto.ca/data/parks/prd/facilities/parks/index.html |website=City of Toronto |access-date=October 4, 2020 |archive-date=December 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201216203443/https://www.toronto.ca/data/parks/prd/facilities/parks/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Toronto also operates several public golf courses. Most ravine lands and river bank floodplains in Toronto are public parklands. After Hurricane Hazel in 1954, construction of buildings on floodplains was outlawed, and private lands were bought for conservation. In 1999, Downsview Park, a former military base in North York, initiated an international design competition to realize its vision of creating Canada's first [[urban park]]. The winner, "Tree City", was announced in May 2000. Approximately {{convert|8000|ha|acre}}, or 12.5 percent of Toronto's land base, is maintained parkland.<ref name="gnpark">{{cite news |last1=Armstrong |first1=James |last2=McAllister |first2=Mark |date=April 5, 2013 |title=Toronto boasts thousands of hectares of parkland |work=Global News |url=http://globalnews.ca/news/459228/toronto-boasts-thousands-of-hectares-of-parkland/ |url-status=live |access-date=October 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003102200/http://globalnews.ca/news/459228/toronto-boasts-thousands-of-hectares-of-parkland/ |archive-date=October 3, 2015}}</ref> Morningside Park is the largest park managed by the city, which is {{convert|241.46|ha|acre}} in size.<ref name="gnpark" />

In addition to public parks managed by the municipal government, parts of [[Rouge National Urban Park]], the largest urban park in North America, is in the [[Rouge, Toronto|eastern portion]] of Toronto. Managed by [[Parks Canada]], the [[National parks of Canada|national park]] is centred around the Rouge River and encompasses several municipalities in the Greater Toronto Area.<ref>{{cite web |date=October 22, 2017 |title=Ontario hands over last piece of land for Rouge National Urban Park, but skeptics remain |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/rouge-urban-park-ontario-leases-farms-1.4365896 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320221548/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/rouge-urban-park-ontario-leases-farms-1.4365896 |archive-date=March 20, 2018 |access-date=March 7, 2018 |work=CBCNews |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref>