Things to Do in High Park When You're High

Our High Park store sits a short walk from 400 acres of the best municipal park in the country, so we’d be lying if we said we hadn’t given this topic serious field research. Grenadier Pond, the off-leash dog hill, oak savannah trails, frozen-pond winters, cherry blossom springs: High Park rewards a wandering pace, and cannabis and wandering pace go way back.

First, the rules, because getting this wrong ruins the afternoon.

Where you can actually consume

Ontario allows smoking or vaping cannabis roughly anywhere tobacco is allowed, which includes most outdoor public space. The buffer zones matter though: stay at least 20 metres from playgrounds and sports fields, well clear of the zoo and the pools, and off restaurant patios. In practice that leaves you the trails, the quiet lawns, and a bench by the pond, which were the best spots anyway. Edibles and drinks skip the question entirely, and a 2.5 mg can of something sparkling is honestly the ideal park format.

The walks

The classic loop runs down to Grenadier Pond to watch the ducks and the swans, then back up through the trails. In late October the maples and oaks put on a show that’s worth planning a session around; go late afternoon on a weekday if you can. Spring has its own headline event, and we wrote a separate guide to the cherry blossoms because it deserves one. The dog hill is a year-round destination. Watching thirty dogs lose their minds in every direction is the single most reliable entertainment a buzzed person can buy for free.

The Lesya Ukrainka monument makes a good pause point: a memorial to the Ukrainian poet and activist, tucked somewhere quiet enough to think.

The munchies plan, Bloor West edition

The park exits straight onto Bloor West Village, which handles the second half of the afternoon:

• A ramen bowl from Kinton on Bloor is the cold-weather move after a winter walk.
• Bread and Roses bakery covers the pastry-and-coffee end of things.
• Village Juicery exists for the day you got high and decided to become a healthier person.
• The brunch spots along Bloor West do heroic volumes of eggs Benedict on weekends; pick whichever has a free table.

Slightly further west, Old Mill Toronto does an afternoon tea that is a deeply funny thing to attend two hours after a gummy, and in summer the Humber River kayak rentals nearby will put you on the water among the herons.

Start the day at our shop

We’re Seven Point High Park, at 2114 Bloor St W, a few minutes from the park gates. Grab a pre-roll, a drink, or a low-dose edible on your way in, or order ahead for pickup so it’s ready when you walk by. Pace yourself, pack out your roaches, and give the swans their space. They know what you did and they don’t care. 19+ only.