10 things I can't wait to do this summer

The best time of the year is here and I cannot keep calm. As much as I love the coziness and picturesque quality of snow days, winters can be a little gloomy. It is also the time when I go into hibernation and fully lock in to school. After long busy days of classes and a tough exam season, I am finally ready to say goodbye to winter and embrace the warmth that is to come our way!  

Summer is when the city comes to life—flowers are in full bloom and the sun pours down for long hours every day. While some days can get swelteringly hot, there are endless ways to keep yourself active and have fun during the summer. 

Here are my 10 favourite summer activities in Toronto: 

The ferry to the Toronto Islands takes around 10 minutes. The ferry terminal is attached to Union Station, which is only about a 20-minute walk from campus. There are three different islands to explore but once you get there, they are interconnected so you can walk from one to the other! The islands are a calm getaway, where you can do many activities such as swimming, kayaking on the lake, eating good food on patios, biking with friends, riding on ferris wheels or even just birdwatching in the woods!

One of my favourite things about Toronto, and also something I found peculiar in the beginning, was that many restaurants/cafés put out a patio when the weather is nice. Even if that means blocking off a section of the road! When I finally sat down at a patio to sip on my delicious iced latte for the first time, I finally understood the hype. Now any restaurant I go to, I am always sure to sit at the patio and capture fun pictures!

Did you know that the Urban Farm at the Daphne Cockwell Health Sciences Complex (DCC) rooftop opens up every summer for students and visitors? I love having lunch there as I enjoy perfect views of the TMU campus and the city. You can also find fresh produce and summer drinks here, all grown and made in-house! 

In the summer, I ditch the subway and streetcar and instead bike to most places! While I do plan to buy one of my own soon, for now I use Bike Share Toronto (external link)  which lets me pay a fixed price to borrow a bicycle for the day. One of my favourite places to bike is the Martin Goodman Trail, where I can feel the fresh breeze from Lake Ontario next to me and enjoy the beautiful views.

TMU’s Recreation and Athletic Centre (RAC) pool is open year-round and is especially empty during the summer. I have been swimming since I was a kid so I knew I didn’t want to compromise on this exercise when I came to university. Thankfully, the RAC pool has everything I need—with scheduled pool hours for women, swim lessons and recreational open swim hours for everyone. I can’t wait to escape the summer heat inside the chilly pool!

Some activities are extra special because you can only enjoy them during the summer—picnics are one such activity! All you need is a blanket and some snacks! Some of my favourite spots in the city to have picnics are Riverdale Park, High Park and the Beaches. Sometimes, I also have a picnic in the quad on the TMU campus where I can peacefully sit against a tree and read my book in the sun!

Most summer days, there are exciting festivals happening all over the city. Usually, there’s music, dancing, vendors and great food at these festivals! Sometimes, I don’t even mean to go to a festival but discover one on one of my walks and decide to join in on the fun!

Last year, I tried paddleboarding for the first time and realized that I love it! While I am a little scared of the water, precautions such as a life vest and detailed safety instructions helped me finally make the leap and try something new. It was so worth it! I have also enjoyed kayaking and tubing, both of which seem a bit daunting at first but are so fun once you get the hang of it.

With some of the fastest roller coasters in the world, Canada’s Wonderland (external link)  is the perfect place for a summer adventure. I go to Wonderland every summer and while the heat can get exhausting sometimes, you can always rejuvenate with splashy rides in the waterpark. Make sure that you try the funnel cake once you’re there!

The best thing about summer is that you can just step outside without having to worry about bundling yourself up in warm layers! On days when I don’t have any plans, I like to just take a stroll around my neighborhood while listening to music. There's a kind of magic in those long summer evenings, when everything feels slower and more relaxed. Even on TMU’s busy urban campus, you can see freshly bloomed flowers and hear birds chirping! Plus, it’s a great way to enjoy some fresh air and appreciate the little things I might miss when I’m caught up in my daily life.

Toronto has beautiful summers and I can’t wait to explore even more of it this year. Maybe I’ll be back next year with a new list of summer activities I enjoyed!