Happy Friday. It promises to be a hot weekend and Marie Curtis Park East Beach is among the beaches open for swimming.

Lifeguards returned to duty on June 22 at six of Toronto’s swimming beaches. They will supervise the beaches daily from 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

“Toronto’s beaches have remained open throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” City of Toronto officials said on their website. “It’s important for Torontonians to have opportunities to cool down outdoors.”

City staff say our beach water is regularly monitored and tested for quality, with samples being sent to Toronto Public Health.

The beaches open in the City of Toronto includes: our local Marie Curtis Park East Beach, Sunnyside Beach, Woodbine Beach (Blue Flag), Kew-Balmy Beach (Blue Flag), Cherry-Clarke Beach (Blue Flag) and Bluffer’s Park (Blue Flag.)

The four Toronto Island Park beaches will open for swimming on July 1. Rouge Valley Beach is inaccessible, and a supervised swim program will not operate there this summer.

“We want everyone to be safe when swimming and enjoying other water activities,” says Mayor John Tory. “It’s why we regularly test beach water quality and ensure swimming beaches are supervised by lifeguards.”
While visiting a beach or park, residents must practise physical distancing and avoid crowding.

Toronto boasts some of the best swimming beaches around, City officials say, adding eight of its 11 beaches have been awarded Blue Flag certification, meeting high standards for water quality, environmental management and education, safety and services.

“These beaches are perfect for taking a swim during the hot summer months,” according to the City.

They say every day park staff groom beaches, empty waste bins and use a tractor-mounted magnet as required to pick up metal items, in addition to the manual collection of larger items.

More information about the City’s swimming beaches is available at toronto.ca/beaches.