Roots & Belonging: Black History Nature Walk & Museum Experience

Roots and Belonging: Black History Nature Walk and Museum Experience runs at Colborne Lodge (11 Colborne Lodge Dr.) in High Park on Saturday, October 10, 2026, at 2 p.m. It is free.

The tour combines a guided walk through High Park with a visit to Colborne Lodge, the 19th-century home of John and Jemima Howard, who gave the land that became the park to the city. Led by Black Canadian Hikers, the experience asks participants to re-examine local history, connect with nature and take part in storytelling that centres Black Canadian perspectives on places that are usually told from one point of view.

It is designed as an inclusive, welcoming space for Black communities, museum visitors and allies. If you have walked High Park a hundred times, this is a chance to see it differently. If you have never been inside Colborne Lodge, the house itself is a well-preserved slice of early Toronto.

The timing is ideal. Thanksgiving weekend is usually peak fall colour in High Park, and an afternoon walk under the oaks is about as good as autumn in Toronto gets.

Practical notes: spaces are limited and the walk is first come, first served, so arrive early to make sure you get in. Colborne Lodge is at the south end of High Park; from High Park station on Line 2 it is about a 20-minute walk through the park, or take the 506 Carlton streetcar to the park's southern edge. Wear shoes that can handle trails and dress for the weather, since much of the tour is outdoors.