Hanlan's Point

Toronto, Ontario

Hanlan’s Point Beach is a Blue Flag Beach for the 2022 season*.

Hanlan’s Point is located on what is now the Toronto Islands. This chain of islands used to be a peninsula connected to the mainland. Hanlan’s Point has long-served as a recreation spot for Torontonians. At one point it was home to an amusement park and baseball stadium where Babe Ruth hit his first professional home run (into Lake Ontario). Once you take the Hanlan's ferry from downtown Toronto, a short walk will get you to the beach – keep to the well-marked trails to protect the native flora and fauna. This beach is bordered by vegetated sand dunes. Learn more about sand dune ecology, by reading the interpretive signage posted at the beach. If you’re looking to get rid of your pesky tan lines, Hanlan’s Point is the place to go: it’s one of the only two official “clothes optional” beaches in all of Canada (the other is far away in BC). Feeling shy? Don’t worry, there’s a clothed area as well. Lifeguards are present daily from 11:30 to 18:30, with first aid equipment on site.

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

Photo by Jospeh Morris

COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is still essential. Only go to the beach if you are able to keep 6 feet or 2 meters away from others. Follow the instructions provided by your local health authorities. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter our efforts to curb the virus’s spread.

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 9:18 AM.
For water quality icon legend, click:  
Current Weather
-1°C
Clear and sunny
Monitoring Frequency

Hanlan's Point is sampled daily from June 1st to September 15th.

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!

Read more
Water Quality Graph

Hanlan's Point

Toronto, Ontario

COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is still essential. Only go to the beach if you are able to keep 6 feet or 2 meters away from others. Follow the instructions provided by your local health authorities. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter our efforts to curb the virus’s spread.

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 9:18 AM.
For water quality icon legend, click:  
Current Weather
-1°C
Clear and sunny

Hanlan’s Point Beach is a Blue Flag Beach for the 2022 season*.

Hanlan’s Point is located on what is now the Toronto Islands. This chain of islands used to be a peninsula connected to the mainland. Hanlan’s Point has long-served as a recreation spot for Torontonians. At one point it was home to an amusement park and baseball stadium where Babe Ruth hit his first professional home run (into Lake Ontario). Once you take the Hanlan's ferry from downtown Toronto, a short walk will get you to the beach – keep to the well-marked trails to protect the native flora and fauna. This beach is bordered by vegetated sand dunes. Learn more about sand dune ecology, by reading the interpretive signage posted at the beach. If you’re looking to get rid of your pesky tan lines, Hanlan’s Point is the place to go: it’s one of the only two official “clothes optional” beaches in all of Canada (the other is far away in BC). Feeling shy? Don’t worry, there’s a clothed area as well. Lifeguards are present daily from 11:30 to 18:30, with first aid equipment on site.

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

Photo by Jospeh Morris

Monitoring Frequency

Hanlan's Point is sampled daily from June 1st to September 15th.

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!

Read more
Water Quality Graph

  Beach Location Water Quality
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto, Ontario
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