A deteriorated ravine path, which some call “the missing link” in Toronto’s recreational trail system, may soon be coming back to life with the help from a midtown residents’ group.
Funding for the first steps toward rehabilitating the long-neglected trail through the Vale of Avoca, a steep valley near Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue E., was approved by council Thursday, July 25, 2025.
While council only approved a preliminary $1.5-million outlay to get the work started, the final bill is expected to top $35 million, according to the Midtown Ravines Group, a coalition of local ratepayers associations which has pledged to raise the money privately.
The city’s $1.5 million will be used to pay for a new design of the ravine’s main trail and its offshoot pathways, as well as ongoing maintenance. It’s too soon to say exactly what the finished product will look like. But he envisions waterfalls, levelled gravel pathways, sturdy staircases, bridges, and erosion barriers alongside Yellow Creek.
Read more: Century-old Toronto trail to get $35M rehab funded mostly by neighbourhood groups – CBC, July 25, 2025