Government of Canada announces new Rouge National Urban Park education and welcome centre

Nature is central to our identity as Canadians. For millions of Canadians living in the Greater Toronto Area, Rouge National Urban Park puts nature within easy reach.

On Aug. 27, 2019, the Government of Canada, Parks Canada and the Toronto Zoo announced a landmark agreement regarding the location of the future Rouge National Urban Park education and welcome centre. The government will also continue to support the Zoo's endangered species breeding facilities.

The future Rouge National Urban Park education and welcome centre, which will be built on the lands currently operated as the Zoo’s overflow parking lot 4, will be a learning and orientation facility where students, visitors, and residents can gather and learn about the Rouge’s incredible natural, cultural, agricultural, and Indigenous heritage, as well as about Parks Canada’s places across the country.

Also announced, visitors will be able to access a new five-kilometre trail and two visitor areas as of September 23, 2019. The new family-friendly trail, which includes scenic lookouts and rest areas, weaves through marshlands, shaded woodlots and agricultural fields.