A guided bike tour down a historic railway line turned trail. Flat, scenic, and easy on everyone. Roll past lakes and through the forest at a relaxed pace, with a Parkbus guide leading the way and a fat-tire bike waiting for you.
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 flat, hard packed railway bed, 16 km one way at a relaxed pace, with a fat tire bike included.
A full-size coach: reclining seats, air conditioning, large windows, a washroom on board and room for daypacks and gear.
The Old Rail Trail follows the bed of a historic Algonquin railway, and because trains could never climb steep hills, the grade is gentle and flat the whole way. That's the magic of a rail trail: all the scenery, none of the climbing.
You'll roll along packed gravel past quiet lakes and through hardwood and pine forest, with interpretive "From Rail to Trail" signs marking the history along the route. It's calm, open, and genuinely easy. The kind of ride where you spend more time looking around than catching your breath. Listen for a loon out on the water. Keep an eye on the treeline.
Flat, scenic, and quiet the whole way. Algonquin at bike pace.
The bus drops you where the bikes are, and the rest of the day happens on a railway line that has not seen a train since 1959.
We pick you up
34 Asquith Ave, just north of Yonge & Bloor subway station.
This route runs a full-size coach, with a washroom on board.
We pick you up
Major Mackenzie Dr. @ Hwy. 400 Park & Ride Highway 400, Maple, ON https://www.gotransit.com/en/find-a-station-or-stop/00334/station-details
The coach pulls in and Cristina is waiting with the bikes. Everyone gets a fat tire bike and a helmet, sized on the spot, and a few minutes to get comfortable before anybody rides anywhere. The fat tires are the right tool rather than a gimmick: wide and run soft, they smooth out packed gravel and stop the loose patches feeling loose.
Good to know:
The trail is the railway. The Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound line opened through here in 1896 and was decommissioned in 1959, and what it left is sixteen kilometres of level, hard packed bed. A train could never climb a steep hill, so there is no steep hill. That is the whole trick, and it is why the park calls this its easiest bike trail and means it for families with children on board.
Good to know:
The line runs from near Cache Lake in the west out to Rock Lake in the east, passing the Mew, Kearney, Pog, Raccoon and Rock Lake campgrounds on the way. Between them it is hardwood and pine, with water appearing on one side and then the other. Hardwood is the part that matters in the autumn, because hardwood is what turns. Listen for a loon. Keep half an eye on the treeline.
Good to know:
The group stops properly at least once, off the bikes rather than idling at a sign. Nothing is for sale out on the trail, so the water and the lunch you want come with you from the bus. This tends to be the part of the day the photographs come from, because a rail bed running dead straight into the forest is a better picture than it sounds.
Good to know:
You turn around and ride back on the same flat grade, which is the quiet advantage of a rail trail: there is no sting in the tail when your legs have gone. Bikes and helmets go back at the end, and the coach takes over from there.
Good to know:
We drop you back
The bus calls at both pickup points on the way back, so you get off where you got on.
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.
We supply the fat-tire bike and helmet. You bring the day-trip basics.
The bike, the helmet, the guide and the coach from Toronto are all part of the fare. Small groups, so they fill up.
Only one trip scheduled
October 02
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.
A fat-tire bike and helmet, the guided ride, the coach and park access. Nothing else to pay on the day.
Algonquin Outfitters has it ready at the trail. Nothing to carry, nothing to rent.
The Old Rail Trail is a former railway line, so the grade is gentle the whole way.
Leave from downtown Toronto and let someone else drive.
★★★★★ 4.6/5.0 on Google
Booked in minutes, had an unreal day in Algonquin, and was home by dinner.Cameron · Happy Parkbus customer
Used this service for a weekend in Algonquin. These guys stuck to the schedule well and ambassadors checked everyone in at their pickups. Easy drop offs all across the park and across the city. Reasonably priced and no need to think about a rental car to get to the wilderness.James Johnson · Happy Parkbus adventurer
This is a great service if you don't have a vehicle or just don't want to drive. I'm so happy to have discovered this. There will definitely be more Parkbus trips in my future!James Taylor Wilson · Happy Parkbus customer
This is the 1st time I used Parkbus but it won't be the last.Brenda H. · Google
Factor in the cost of gas, parking and renting a car, it's a lot cheaper than taking a personal vehicle.Toronto Star
Parkbus is a great option for nature lovers, whether it's a day trip or overnight camping getaway.The Globe and Mail
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.
Pick a date, meet Cristina at the trail, and let Algonquin roll past.
Not quite the right fit? These all leave from the same spot downtown.
