Cherry Beach

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Cherry Beach is a lakeside park located at the foot of Cherry Street just south of Unwin Avenue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is on Toronto's outer harbour just east of the Eastern Gap.

It was originally named Clarke Beach Park after Harry Clarke, a Toronto alderman who was responsible for creating the park in the early 1930s. In 2003, the city changed it to Cherry Beach which is the local common name.

While not a 'beautiful' beach by most urban standards, and located in what is considered part of Toronto's underdeveloped portlands area, Cherry Beach has still been a popular gathering place for years. There is no boardwalk or proper picnic area, and much of the surrounding areas is marshland or leftover grounds from what was once commercial industry and factory grounds. Recently the park has undergone improvements which includes a paved entranceway and a renovated washroom and swimming change room facilities.

For many years it was one of the few Toronto beaches that was clean enough for swimming. It has change rooms for bathers and barbecue areas for picnickers. It also has an off-leash area for dog walkers. The Martin Goodman waterfront trail passes through the park.

The area around the beach has also gained a reputation as being a location where police officers sometimes take homeless and intoxicated individuals to be beaten, a practice that has been dubbed the "Cherry Beach Express". [1] [2]

An adjacent wooded area was the home of raves and parties. This area is now boarded up and in the process of being turned into soccer fields.