This walk follows a linear tour through the park. It begins at the west section of the park at the Amelanchier Grove and continues east to the Pine Grove at Bellair Street.
- Amelanchier Grove
At the western and most heavily shaded end of the park, you will find a strip of native shadblow serviceberry trees grown in a bed of ferns, bluebells and trilliums. The evergreen ferns add a textural interest in the winter landscape, while the trilliums and bluebells provide elegant sprays of spring flowers. The flowering fruit and brilliant orange-red autumnal colour of the multistemmed serviceberries contribute seasonal variety and food attractive to songbirds.
- Heritage Walk / Old York Lane
Here you will see that the park has been designed to reinforce the links to the surrounding community. To achieve this the designers have extended the paving beyond the park boundaries and designed several mid-block connections. Heritage Walk, is aligned with Old York Lane which connects Cumberland Street, Yorkville Avenue and Hazelton Avenue to the north. Work on Heritage Walk is still in progress, but upon completion it will include a trellice feature and a village crest - the symbol of the founders of the original Village of Yorkville.
- Herbacious Border Garden
The intimate garden of shade tolerant perennial species displays a wide variety of plants including hostas, daylilies, astilbes, bleeding hearts and columbines. Graceful in flower and foliage, these perennials provide changing patterns and colour from spring to fall. Growing out of the garden beds are native Shubert chokecherries selected for their springtime flower, reddish purple summer foliage and fruit which is popular with songbirds. Take a moment and sit down with the "Lutyens" style garden benches, set on a brick walkway, and listen to the chorus of birdsong.
- The Canadian Shield Clearing and Fountain
You are at the crossroads of the Village of Yorkville Park. Known as the Clearing, it is a place for people to meet. In the centre stands a large outcropping of native Canadian Shield granite, quarried near Gravenhurst and reassembled here. Approximately 1 billion years old, the rock weighs 650 tonnes and is thought to represent the roots of an ancient mountain range, long since eroded. The Clearing is bordered on the south by Armstrong red maples.
To the east of the Clearing is a curtain of water that recalls the gentle fall of rain. This is a good spot to pause and listen. Stainless steel cables stimulate the sparkle of water when the fountain is turned off and provide a base on which icicles form in the winter. When visiting the area, take a moment to rest on one of the "bistro" chairs that are placed around the clearing.
- Alder Grove
Located to the east of the water curtain fountain you will see a planting of white alder trees. In early spring the elongated catkins of the alders open to provide colour and visual interest. Beneath the alders you will see golden coloured crushed Ontario brick.
This material is fitting in that from the 1840s to the 1890s, the Village of Yorkville was celebrated for its excellent brick. Making use of the clay and sand deposits left by glacial Lake Iroquois, the local brickyards produced the distinctive yellow-white brick that was used in the construction of a number of landmark buildings including the St. Lawrence Hall, St. James Cathedral and part of University College.
- Ontario Marsh
A marsh is a familiar element in the Ontario landscape. Wooden boardwalks made from B.C. Douglas Fir invite you to criss-cross the Village of Yorkville marsh. It contains a special mixture of wetland meadow vegetation including native arrowhead, sedge, soft stem bullrush, blue flag iris, cattail and rushes. From spring to fall, these mixed perennials provide multiple colours and textures. In the evening, edge lanterns illuminate the boardwalk paths.
- Festival Walk
At the Festival Walk you will find an arbor planted with native ornamental bittersweet and a twining vine with a superb late autumn show of fruit. As you walk the length of the arbor, note that the paving of the walkway reflects the pattern of an extended film strip. This is in recognition of Yorkville's important role in the Toronto International Film Festival. The Festival Walk is another of the important links to the community. If you look southward, through the arbor, you will see Bloor Street.
- Cumberland Cross Walk
Between the Festival Walk and the Crabapple Orchard is the entrance walk into Cumberland Court. Featuring buff pavers to match the existing walkway, this block provides an important mid block connection through the Cumberland Court shopping area to Yorkville Avenue.
- Crabapple Orchard
Reminiscent of the apple, pear, or cherry orchards that could be found 150 years ago in the Village of Yorkville, a small grove of flowering Makimik crabapples are crowned with purplish red blossoms in spring, bronze foliage until fall, and fruit the provides for songbirds. Growing the shade of the crabapples is a bed of Lilly of the valley, widely appreciated for its characteristic sweet scent and the beauty of its small white bell-shaped flowers. Red sandstone stepping stones from a Kingston area quarry invite you to wander through the orchard. The stones date from the Paleozoic Era.
- Fragrant Herb Rock Garden
Beside the orchard you will see a raised garden built of Muskoka granite in the manner of the early Ontario settlers who used stone fences to separate their fields. Herbs such as thyme, mint, yarrow, bugleweed and sweet violet cascade in the beds and along the garden walls. The pungently fragrant flowers and varied foliage fill this garden and provide delight over many months.
- Birch Grove
Flanked by the rock garden to the west and the meadow garden to the east, this garden in planted in a random manner with native river birch trees. Their interesting sculptural quality and beautiful whitish-pink to orange coloured bark provide seasonal interest as well as slender pendants of fruit appealing to songbirds. Beneath the filtered shade of the birch trees is a patio floor of crushed black and charcoal granite from Perry Sound.
- Prairie Wildflower Gardens
Passing a stone path of Muskoka granite, you will see gardens planted with a mixture of prairie grasses and wildflower species native to Ontario. Rough hewn Muskoka granite slabs provide places for seating and viewing along the random granite flagstone walk. The stones used in this garden are from the Millar Hill Quarry, just east of Huntsville and date from the Precambrian Era
- Pine Grove
At this eastern edge of the Village of Yorkville Park you are standing in a grove of Scot's pines set on a paved plaza. Precast seating rings encircle the trees, interspersed with columnar light standards, which emit a gentle fog to simulate the early morning atmosphere of an evergreen forest.
At the western and most heavily shaded end of the park, you will find a strip of native shadblow serviceberry trees grown in a bed of ferns, bluebells and trilliums. The evergreen ferns add a textural interest in the winter landscape, while the trilliums and bluebells provide elegant sprays of spring flowers. The flowering fruit and brilliant orange-red autumnal colour of the multistemmed serviceberries contribute seasonal variety and food attractive to songbirds.
