The Bentway: Toronto's Unexpected Public Space Under the Gardiner

What Is The Bentway?

The Bentway is a 1.75 km public trail and event space built beneath the Gardiner Expressway, running roughly between Strachan Avenue and Bathurst Street in Toronto's waterfront district. Launched in November 2015 as Project: Under Gardiner, it opened its first phase in 2018, transforming what had long been a dark, neglected strip of pavement under a highway into more than four hectares of active public space.

The project takes its name from the structural 'bents' of the Gardiner: the concrete column-and-beam frames that hold the expressway overhead. Around 55 of these bents define a series of distinct 'civic rooms' along the route, each with slightly different character, sight lines, and programming possibilities. It is, in essence, a linear park divided by concrete architecture that most people spent decades ignoring.

The Bentway sits within a broader network of waterfront improvements near Fort York and connects directly to Canoe Landing Park. The organization operates a Studio at 55 Fort York Blvd and runs year-round programming that ranges from winter skating to outdoor film screenings and large-scale art installations.

Walking the Trail: What You Actually See

The experience of walking The Bentway is genuinely unlike any other trail in Toronto. You are always aware of the highway above: the rumble of traffic overhead is constant, somewhere between ambient noise and mild industrial percussion. The underside of the Gardiner is not prettified or hidden. Exposed concrete, steel joints, and drainage infrastructure are all visible, and that industrial frankness is part of the appeal for visitors who appreciate adaptive reuse over decorative concealment.

The path itself is paved and level, making it accessible for strollers, wheelchairs, and cyclists. Along the route you'll pass open plazas suitable for events, stretches of public art installations that rotate seasonally, and quieter segments where the sound of nearby Fort York and the surrounding neighbourhood filters in from the edges. The concrete bents overhead create a rhythmic visual structure: each one frames a different view out to the street or green space beyond.

The trail connects to Canoe Landing Park to the west and extends toward Exhibition GO Station, giving it real utility as a commuter and leisure route, not just a destination in itself. In summer months, cyclists use it to cut through the area without competing with car traffic. Joggers tend to appear early in the morning, when the traffic noise overhead is lower and the light along the edges of the underpass is at its best.

The Winter Skate Trail: The Bentway at Its Most Distinctive

For many Torontonians, The Bentway's winter skate trail is the defining reason to visit between December and March. The trail winds beneath the Gardiner's bents in a narrow serpentine loop, lit at night with warm overhead lighting that reflects off the ice and gives the industrial setting an unexpectedly atmospheric quality. Skating here feels nothing like skating at Nathan Phillips Square or an arena: the combination of low ceilings, concrete columns, and open edges creates an enclosed but outdoor experience.

For the 2025/26 season, the trail operates from December 20 through approximately March 1. Hours vary across the season: daily operation from 12:00 to 21:00 during the holiday period (December 20 to January 4), with adjusted hours after that. Skate rentals are available on-site. Adult skate rentals are CAD $12.99; youth skates are CAD $12; helmet-only rentals are CAD $5. The ice surface itself is free to use.

Weekend evenings, particularly between 6:00 and 9:00 pm, draw the largest crowds: families with children, couples, and groups who treat it as a social outing rather than athletic exercise. If you want quieter ice, arrive on a weekday afternoon. The ambient highway noise actually recedes somewhat in winter when you're focused on the ice and the light, and the experience is more meditative than you'd expect given the setting.

Time of Day and Seasonal Character

The Bentway changes considerably depending on when you visit. Early mornings on weekdays are the quietest: dog walkers, commuter cyclists, and the occasional runner moving through on their way to the lakefront. The light in summer comes in low from the east and west ends of the underpass, creating long shadow lines across the paved surface. The air under the expressway smells faintly of concrete and exhaust in warm weather, which is honest rather than pleasant, though it fades quickly in a breeze.

Midday in summer is when programming and casual visitors overlap. If there's a pop-up market, outdoor art opening, or community event scheduled, it will typically run from late morning through the afternoon. The space handles events well because the overhead structure provides partial shade even in July heat, and the open sides allow airflow.

Evening visits in fall, when the event calendar is still active but the summer crowds have thinned, offer some of the most interesting encounters with the space. The lighting under the Gardiner transitions from natural to artificial in a way that makes the concrete bents look quite striking. For photographers, the repeating column geometry offers strong compositional opportunities at any hour, but particularly at dusk when the contrast between the lit underpass and the darkening sky outside creates distinct depth.

The Bentway is part of the broader transformation of Toronto's waterfront. If you're exploring the area, the trail connects logically to a walk along the Martin Goodman Trail and to Fort York National Historic Site to the north, which provides valuable historical context for this entire stretch of the city.

History and Architectural Context

The Gardiner Expressway was built between 1955 and 1966, cutting the city off from its lakefront for decades. The section above The Bentway runs east-west through what is now an intensely redeveloped part of the waterfront, bordered by new condominium towers and the historic Fort York to the north. For most of the Gardiner's existence, the space beneath it was a no-man's land: used for parking, storage, or simply avoided.

The idea of activating this space emerged through Waterfront Toronto's long-term lakefront revitalization work, with the project launching formally in 2015 and Bentway 1.0 opening in 2018. The design approach, led by landscape architecture firm PUBLIC WORK, was deliberately non-interventionist in one key respect: the Gardiner's structure was left visible and legible rather than decorated or disguised. The concrete bents, which gave the project its name, became the organizing architectural logic of the entire space.

Understanding the Gardiner debate helps contextualize The Bentway's existence. Toronto spent years debating whether to tear down, rebuild, or simply maintain the elevated highway. The Bentway's success has become part of the argument that the space below can be activated regardless of what happens above. For more on how this fits into Toronto's broader urban landscape, the Toronto waterfront guide covers the full scope of waterfront redevelopment from the Islands to the Port Lands.

Practical Information for Visitors

Getting to The Bentway by public transit is straightforward. The trail connects directly to Exhibition GO Station via a 500-metre path, making it accessible on GO Transit from Union Station. TTC routes on Bathurst Street and Fort York Boulevard also serve the area. The core entrance at Strachan Gate (250 Fort York Blvd) is where the skate trail and washroom facilities are located.

Washrooms at 250 Fort York Blvd are open seasonally, typically Monday to Friday, 11:00 to 17:30 starting in late April. During the winter skating season, the facilities have extended access aligned with skating hours. Outside of those periods, plan accordingly before arriving.

For cycling visits, The Bentway is part of a connected multi-use trail network. Bike parking is available near the main entrances. The paved surface handles most standard bicycles without difficulty, and the flat grade makes it suitable for families with cargo bikes or trailers.

Photography: The repeating bent structure is the obvious compositional draw, and it rewards patience. Wide-angle shots looking down the length of the underpass work well in the morning when light enters from the east. In winter, the reflection of skate trail lighting on ice creates unusual low-light photography opportunities. The space is publicly accessible and no permits are required for personal or journalistic photography.

If you're combining The Bentway with a broader waterfront day, pair it with a visit to Harbourfront Centre to the east or walk south through Canoe Landing Park toward the Humber Bay Arch Bridge for a longer lakefront loop. The area is covered in the Toronto waterfront guide with route options for different time budgets.

Who Should Skip This Attraction

The Bentway is not for visitors who want a polished, curated experience. The Gardiner overhead is loud, the aesthetic is industrial, and there is no green canopy, lake view, or historic architecture in the conventional sense. If your priority is scenery, the lakefront paths to the south or High Park to the west will serve you better.

Visitors with young children who want a nature-focused outdoor experience will find more to engage them at Corktown Common or along the waterfront parks. The Bentway is at its best for those who appreciate urban design, adaptive reuse, and a slightly unconventional approach to public space.