Ward's Island Beach

Ward's Island beach is a Blue Flag Beach for the 2022 season*.

Take the Ward's Island Ferry from the Toronto Ferry Docks at Queens Quay and Bay Street to get to this hidden gem. Ward’s Island Beach was named after a fisherman and his family who settled on Toronto Island in 1830. Ward’s Island Beach is a part of the small residential community on the island. It is far less touristy than the Centre Island park. Ward's Beach is sheltered a bit by the Leslie Split, so its calm water is ideal for swimming. There is usually enough wind here for kites and wind boards, though. Ward's Beach is a treasure trove for beach glass because the current brings the wave-smoothed glass to the shore. Find the ferry schedule and purchase tickets at: http://www.toronto.ca/ferry

*A Blue Flag beach is one that meets strict water quality and safety criteria. These beaches are certified annually as being clean, accessible, eco-friendly, and having great water quality! Swim Drink Fish is the National Operator for Blue Flag in Canada.

For more information, visit www.blueflag.ca

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Water Quality

Passed water quality tests at least 95% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on August 29th, 2022. Lake Ontario Waterkeeper updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on August 31st, 2022 at 9:19 AM.

For water quality icon legend, click:

Current Weather

20°C

Clear and sunny

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Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

Toronto Public Health monitors recreational water quality at sites in this region. Sampling season starts in June and ends Labour Day Weekend. Swim Guide updates Toronto beaches using the City of Toronto's Open Data.

Water at all sites is sampled for E. coli.

Toronto Public Health issues beach advisories when the geometric mean concentration of at least five samples exceeds 100 E. coli / 100 mL of water. This standard was set by the Ministry of the Environment.

Water samples are collected daily at Toronto Beaches. Results are posted to Swim Guide as soon as lab results are available. They are also available at https://www.toronto.ca/health/swimsafe and via Toronto's open data portal.

In Swim Guide, a beach is marked Green when the geometric mean of at least 5 samples is below 100 E.coli / 100 mL water.

A beach is marked Red when the results are equal to or above a geometric mean of 100 E.coli / 100 mL water.

A beach is marked Grey when there are no current results or there is no available information.

A Ministry of the Environment Procedure (F-5-5) says that a clean beach is open at least 95% of the swimming season, even if it is near a sewage pipe or combined sewer outfall. This rule applies to every place that is public, accessible, and feels like a good place to swim. When all else fails, the Ontario Environmental Protection Act strongly states that no one can interfere with the use that you can make of a public waterway - like swimming!

Water Quality Graph