The Track and Tower Trail is a 7.5 km loop through rugged forest, over boardwalks and up a 130 step wooden staircase to a lookout over Cache Lake. In autumn the hills below turn red, orange and gold, and plenty of walkers call it the best view in the park. A Parkbus guide comes with the group.
Pick your date below. The bus leaves from 34 Asquith Avenue, just north of Yonge and Bloor.
Cancel 14 or more days before you go and you get 90% back.
A Parkbus guide leads the group all day, so you do not need to know the trail.
A 7.5 km loop of forest path and rock, with a 130 step wooden staircase up to the lookout.
A full-size coach: reclining seats, air conditioning, large windows, a washroom on board and room for daypacks and gear.
The Track and Tower Trail is a 7.5 km loop of rugged forest path, boardwalk and rock, with a wooden staircase near the end of the climb that takes you to a lookout over Cache Lake.
The view from the top is the one people come back for. In late September and early October the maples and birches turn and the rolling hills below go red, orange and gold.
On the way round you pass what is left of the old railway and the fire tower site, and quiet stretches of lake and river that feel a very long way from the city.
Rated moderate to difficult, and worth every step.
The payoff
Climb the last wooden staircase and the whole park opens up below you. Hills of red, orange and gold roll out in every direction, with Cache Lake down below.
It is the best view in Algonquin, and you get there on your own two feet. Bring a charged phone. You will want this picture.
Jeff has been guiding with Parkbus for the past six years, and he is a fan favourite. He is an expert outdoorsman, and he will get you up to that view.
But a guided trip is about more than the view. It is a fun, social day out with a group of people who love being outside. Our guided trips are not just about getting outside. They are about getting out there together.
One loop, and a guide who has walked it before.
We pick you up
About 100 metres north of the Yonge and Bloor subway entrance, on the Yonge Street side. There may be more than one coach, so check you are in the right queue.
This route runs a full-size coach, with a washroom on board.
Forest path, boardwalk and rock, with a 130 step wooden staircase up to the Cache Lake lookout. The trail can be muddy and slippery after rain.
Good to know:
Note: Rated moderate to difficult. Rocky ground and 130 steps. If that is not your kind of day, the self-guided Algonquin trip lets you pick an easier trail from the same highway corridor.
We drop you back
The bus returns to the same place it left from, so you go home the way you came.
This is our estimated return time, not a guarantee. Traffic can change it and some trips do run late, so please leave yourself some room afterwards rather than booking something tight against it.
Boots first. Everything else is secondary.
Seven and a half kilometres, rocky ground and a 130 step staircase. It is rated moderate to difficult and the trail gets muddy and slippery after rain, so proper footwear with grip is not optional.
If you want Algonquin without the climb, the self-guided day trip drops you on the Highway 60 corridor and you pick your own trail.
Late September to early October, and it moves a little every year. Sugar and red maples turn first, from mid September. Birches and poplars follow in early October and give it a second, golden run.
An overcast day is not a wasted day: flat light makes the colours photograph better than bright sun does.
This one runs for the autumn colour, which is a short season. Dates appear here when they open in the booking system.
Only one trip scheduled
October 17
This is the only date this season, so there is no second chance at it.
We're Canada's outdoor bus service. Since 2010 we've taken more than 300,000 people to parks and trails without a car. You bring boots. We handle everything with wheels.
A wooden staircase climbs to a sweeping view over Cache Lake, and in autumn the hills below are a blaze of colour.
Walk with them or find your own pace. Nobody is timing you.
You pass remnants of the old railway and the fire tower site on the way round.
Three and a half hours back after 7.5 km. Sleep through it.
★★★★★ 4.6/5.0 on Google
“I just recently went on my first guided tour with a friend of mine from work. And man, was it amazing! Speaking from someone who doesn’t drive. This is a must!!”Linda Ann · Facebook · Jun 2024
I have always had excellent experiences with Parkbus. I have been to many of their destinations, and I have thoroughly enjoyed myself. The ambassadors have been knowledgeable and friendly. The drivers drive safely, and with the passengers’ comfort in mind.Sharlene Haye · Google
Came with my friend in April, our guide Mike did a great job! Nice tour, small group, everything was great! Will go again!Natalia N. · Tripadvisor · Jul 2025
Cancel more than 14 days before departure and you get a 90% refund, with 10% withheld for payment processing. Inside 14 days refunds are not available, except for a medical emergency in the 48 hours before departure, which needs a signed doctor’s note within 14 days of the missed trip and returns 50%. Tickets are transferable: you can change the passenger name up to 48 hours before departure.
If Parkbus cancels a trip, you get a full refund. We decide no later than 48 hours before departure and only on confirmed conditions: the park closed or the park authority asking us to stand down, an evacuation order or alert, an area restriction order, the highway closed, or the trip judged unsafe to run. A forecast is not one of those things, and trips run rain or shine.
When the maples and birches are at their peak there is nothing else like it in the province.
Not quite the right fit? These all leave from the same spot downtown.
