Gibraltar

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Gibraltar Beach is Toronto's best kept secret. Nestled between Hanlan’s Point and Centre Island, this stretch of sand that faces out on Lake Ontario, seemingly a million miles away from the city over your shoulder. The sandy beach here is what remains of the Gibraltar Beach Sand Dunes. They once coated the entire south shore of the island. These dunes are actually runoff from the Scarborough Bluffs to the east. It’s still classified as an Environmentally Significant Area due to the rare species that exist here. Don’t forget to check out the woven fence at the sand dune entrance – made specifically to help prevent erosion. Take the Centre Island Ferry from the Mainland Ferry Terminal. Follow signs to Centre Beach, then walk west. You can also take the smaller, quieter Hanlan's Point Ferry to avoid the throngs of tourists. As you travel to the beach, be sure to stop by Gibraltar Point Lighthouse. It's said to be haunted by the spirit of one of its first keepers.

Gibraltar is a Blue Flag beach. The Blue Flag is awarded to beaches and marinas that meet strict standards for water quality, environmental management and education, safety and services.

Find the ferry and plan your trip at http://www.torontoislandferryfinder.com

Get directions to this beach

WATER QUALITY

Passed water quality tests at least 95% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on September 2nd, 2019. Lake Ontario Waterkeeper updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on at

For water quality icon legend, click:

CURRENT WEATHER

4°C

Clear

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MONITORING FREQUENCY

SOURCE INFORMATION

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

Gibraltar

Toronto, Ontario

Managed by Lake Ontario Waterkeeper

WATER QUALITY

Passed water quality tests at least 95% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on September 2nd, 2019. Lake Ontario Waterkeeper updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on at

For water quality icon legend, click:

CURRENT WEATHER

4°C

Clear

MONITORING FREQUENCY

SOURCE INFORMATION

WATER QUALITY GRAPH

Beach	Location	Water Quality
Centre Island Toronto, Ontario	Toronto, Ontario	Historical Status
Hanlan's Point Toronto, Ontario	Toronto, Ontario	Historical Status
Snake Island Toronto, Ontario	Toronto, Ontario	Historical Status
Algonquin Bridge Toronto, Ontario	Toronto, Ontario	Historical Status

Other Beaches Near This One

Beach	Location	Water Quality
Centre Island Toronto, Ontario	Toronto, Ontario	Historical Status
Hanlan's Point Toronto, Ontario	Toronto, Ontario	Historical Status
Snake Island Toronto, Ontario	Toronto, Ontario	Historical Status
Algonquin Bridge Toronto, Ontario	Toronto, Ontario	Historical Status

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* The RBC Foundation

Swim Guide shares the best information we have at the moment you ask for it. Always obey signs at the beach or advisories from official government agencies. Stay alert and check for other swimming hazards such as dangerous currents and tides. Please report your pollution concerns so Affiliates can help keep other beach-goers safe.

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	Green means the beach’s most recent test results met relevant water quality standards.

	Red means the beach’s most recent test results failed to meet water quality standards.

	Grey means water quality information for the beach is too old (more than 7 days old) to be considered current, or that info is unavailable, or unreliable.

	Green means the beach passed water quality tests 95% of the time or more.

	Yellow means the beach passed water quality tests 60-95% of the time.

	Red means the beach failed water quality tests 40% of the time or more.

	Green means the beach has historically excellent or pristine water quality, but there is no current data.

	Red means the water at the site has water quality issues or there is an emergency.

	Grey means there is no current water quality information, the beach is under construction, there has been an event that has rendered water quality information unreliable or unavailable.