Sean Kidd and two other locals exercise at an outdoor gym on Lakeshore West in Toronto on May 29.Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail
Unlike many indoor workout spots in Toronto, the makeshift gym that sits on Lake Shore Boulevard West has no free weights, leg-press machines, Drake playlists or long lineups to use the bench press.
Rather, shoes crunch on wood chips and two nearby Muskoka chairs offer a respite from the cardio routine. Poodles frolic with each other in a nearby parking lot.
On this Friday afternoon, four men, in their 30s to late 50s, are going through their reps and sets with the 10 pieces of outdoor fitness equipment at Lakeshore Boulevard Parklands, which is wedged between tennis courts and a Royal Canadian Legion. They move from the parallel bars to curving monkey bars to a 20-foot-high rope.
Sean Kidd, a 58-year-old clinical psychologist and married father of two, dips slowly on the parallel bars, then moves to execute 10 perfect pull ups, as a grey-haired middle-aged man clambers up on the rope behind him. A shirtless man, a construction worker by day, zips from one end of the monkey bars to another.
Come to Toronto’s lakeshore for the view, but stay for the people
For Kidd, who does park workouts around three times a week, these outdoor gyms offer an alternative to the usual indoor gyms.
“The aesthetics can’t be beat,” he says of the lakeside spot which he’s visited for more than nine years. He also frequents the equipment area in High Park “I love being immersed in the woods while I exercise,” says Kidd, breathless from a quick run he finished at a nearby hill.
Lakeshore Boulevard Parklands is one of 56 Toronto parks equipped with outdoor fitness equipment, with some boasting more features than others. Bellevue Square Park only has several bars while Riverdale East’s impressive space includes a massive cargo net for climbing enthusiasts. With gym membership and classes costing more and more – Statistics Canada reported overall prices at recreational sports centres and fitness facilities increased by 15.9 per cent between 2021 and 2024 – many see these outdoor spaces as not only more affordable but better options.
Brothers Joshua and Kenneth Lockwood turned to the free and accessible playground equipment to work out, instead of paying high gym membership fees.Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail
As cars careen down Lake Shore, Kidd says he never joined a gym after he moved to Toronto from Hamilton 16 years ago. “Gym memberships can be expensive, with some fitness classes costing around $40 each. And this is free,” he says.
The public access isn’t as appealing as what is actually available in some cases. For Joshua Lockwood, who lives in the Bremner Boulevard area, the Lake Shore park-slash-gym became his training space. When Lockwood, 33, wanted to prepare for the annual Spartan Race in Mont Tremblant, Que., where participants have to traverse through dozens of obstacle courses, he turned to outdoor equipment instead of the gym in his condo.
“Here, I have ropes and the sloped monkey bars, with that curve making that exercise trickier, more challenging,” he says.
His brother Kenneth, joining the conversation after a quick workout, says his hometown of Vancouver doesn’t offer outdoor equipment at the same rate as Toronto. “I see it here and there in Vancouver, but I wish we had more outdoor gyms,” he says.
Kidd points out another reason he prefers working out in the fresh air as opposed to a gym. “My job is intensely social and indoor gyms can be too social and performative, and I just like doing my own thing here,” he says.
Anjelic Goldsky, a 28-year-old poet and musician, has been enjoying that same park for the past two years, calling it a “gold mine” when they first spotted it while running along Lake Shore as the sunset dipped down by the water.
Sean Kidd takes a breather after completing the running portion of his workout routine.Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail
“There’s an unspoken camaraderie at these places, and no one is watching you do your thing, everyone is focused on their own routine,” they add.
But in the winter, the cold can be too overwhelming and Goldsky will turn to the YMCA.
Not so for Kidd. He’ll opt for parks for his workout regimen all year. “I’m here whether there’s snow or ice, it doesn’t matter to me,” he says.
He pauses, smiles and shares another reason why he continues to work out in this patch of greenery. “I like the quiet and there’s no bad techno music blaring from the speakers.”