Rouge is the first national urban park in Canada. It has more than 40 kilometres of trails, Carolinian forest, working farms and 10,000 years of human history, and it starts about 35 kilometres from Yonge and Bloor. The shuttle costs nothing. You hold your seat with a deposit and get it back when you show up.
Pick your date below. The seat is free. You put down a $15 deposit per seat to hold it, and it comes straight back to you when you turn up on the day.
Cancel 14 or more days before you go and you get 90% back.
Choose your own adventure: we drop you off, and the bus picks you up in the same spot.
A short, flat walk on even ground, at your own pace.
A yellow school bus, which is the most cost-effective way to run a short trip. It is what keeps the fare down and lets us run these days as often as we do.
Rouge is not a scaled down version of a national park. It is river valley, forest, meadow and working farmland that happens to sit inside the Greater Toronto Area, and it was made a national park because that combination does not exist anywhere else in the country.
The forest here is Carolinian, which is the northern edge of a habitat that mostly belongs further south. That means trees and birds you do not see much of elsewhere in Ontario, and a long list of rare species living in a park you can reach on a bus.
The human history is just as old. People have been living in this valley for around 10,000 years, and the park protects Indigenous heritage sites alongside farms that are still being worked today.
Our bus puts you down at the north end, where the trails run through restored tallgrass meadow. There is far more trail out of that one car park than you can cover in a single visit, so pick a direction and see how far you get.
Ten thousand years of history, one hour from Bloor Street, no fare.
One stop, with three trails leading out of it.
We pick you up
About 100 metres north of the Yonge Street entrance to Bloor-Yonge station. There is often more than one bus here, so check you are in the right queue before you get on.
This route runs a yellow school bus, which keeps the fare down on a short ride.
The bus stops at Bob Hunter Memorial Park in the north of Rouge. It is a restored meadow and wetland, and the trails run straight out of the car park, so you are walking within a minute of getting off.
Good to know:
Facilities: Bring your own water and food, Bring a bag and carry your rubbish out with you
Note: Ticks live in long grass here, as they do all over southern Ontario. Long trousers, socks over the cuffs, and a check when you get home.
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.
There is nothing to buy in the park, and the bus has no washroom, so plan the day a little.
Lyme disease is spreading across North America and Rouge has long grass. The odds of being bitten by an infected tick are low, and the steps that keep them low are easy: cover your legs, stay on the trail, and check yourself, your kids and your gear when you get home.
Parks Canada publishes advice on the tick situation in the Rouge. It is worth two minutes before you go.
Bring a bag for your rubbish and carry it out with you. No campfires, alcohol, barbecues or fireworks anywhere in Rouge.
Picking plants and taking wildlife are not allowed, because this park protects species that are running out of places to be. Photos only.
Do not feed or approach the animals, for their sake more than yours.
These buses are parked outside the city and go straight out on other routes, so we cannot go back for a lost jacket or phone. Have a look around your seat before you step off.
Dates run through the autumn. Each one opens for booking two weeks ahead, which is new for 2026 and is there to stop the whole season disappearing in one morning.
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 a daypack. We handle everything else.
TD and Parks Canada pay for this service so that a day in a national park does not depend on owning a car. Park fees and parking are covered too.
Tallgrass meadow, Carolinian forest, river valley and beach. Some of it is flat and buggy-friendly, some of it is a proper walk. You pick.
People have lived and farmed in this valley for a very long time. There are Indigenous heritage sites and working farms in the park, and Parks Canada staff out there who will tell you about both.
Join a Parks Canada event if there is one on, or ignore the lot of it and walk. What you do once you step off the bus is up to you.
★★★★★ 4.6/5.0 on Google
Speaking from someone who doesn't drive. This is a must!! I highly recommend this!Linda Ann · Facebook · Jun 2024
This is the 1st time I used Parkbus but it won't be the last.Brenda H. · Google
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
All stops enable guests ample time to explore the destination. This is a highly a good idea trip for those that appreciate spending time in nature minus distractions.OnAir48444 · Tripadvisor · Oct 2025
Parkbus is an official partner of VIA Rail and Parks Canada, helping keep car-free trips to Canada's parks and wild places genuinely affordable.
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.
The TD Rouge Express is funded by TD, through the TD Friends of the Environment Fund, with Parks Canada. They pay for the bus so that a day in a national park does not depend on owning a car.
Reserve a seat, bring a lunch and a bag for your rubbish, and spend the day somewhere most of the city has never been.
Not quite the right fit? These all leave from the same spot downtown.
