Etienne Brule Park Awesome Salmon Run

Etienne Brule park is special, every year in autumn the salmon start to migrate up the Humber River on who’s banks the park is located. Join us to take a short tour of this park and enjoy watching the salmon run and also take a look at the natural beauty that this park offers.

Salmon were so plentiful in Lake Ontario before the first European settlers arrived that when the first settlers built homesteads around the salmon catches an industry was born. They would catch and sell these fish by the barrel until the late 1900’s. But industrial pollution, environmental destruction and degradation and changes in the watershed including diverting the river, and building barriers on it lead to the local extirpation of these magnificent fish in Lake Ontario. Early attempts to reintroduce them in the mid 20th century were not very successful. But as conservation practices improved the quality of the water in these rivers was improved to allow the salmon to start running again. Watch the video and enjoy the Salmon run at Etienne Brule Park.

Currently Chinook Salmon mostly make the run but attempts are underway to reintroduce the native population of Atlantic salmon here. But there are many other factors that would influence the successful outcome of the reintroduction of the Atlantic Salmon including levels of algae, water temperature, oxygen levels, water flow rates, amount of silt, and availability of nutritious food for the salmon.

The Humber river which is one of forty Canadian Heritage Rivers is fed by over 750 creeks that fan in to feed it. All these waterways join together to north of Toronto to form the river which flows almost 100 km and empties into Lake Ontario. If more efforts to improve the water flow and water quality come to fruition we can hopefully expect the atlantic Salmon to make a comeback to their native waters. There are numerous weirs along the river that regulate the water flow but these barrier also pose a daunting barrier for the migrating salmon.

Salmon are a unique fish in that they are anadromous they spend portions of their life in fresh water then salt water and comeback to breed in freshwater. But in many places these magnificent fish have adapted to an exclusive fresh water existence. For many species like the pacific or Chinook Salmon the breeding time is also the end of their life cycle. But Atlantic Salmon have been known to migrate back to the oceans and comeback to breed in multiple years.

Etienne Brule Park can be best viewed and enjoyed if you go along the path by the riverside. Areas around the weirs are actually very nice and enjoyable to just sit and enjoy the scenery.

Etienne Brule Park also has some stunning fall colors that people can enjoy even without the salmon run. The skirts the bank of the Humber river offering vista’s of all the surrounding woods and parkland to the sound of gurgling water and the murmur of leaves. It is a park that is worth visiting anytime of the year. There is a pedestrian bridge on the north end that is worth viewing and offers a good vantage point to view the Humber River. The bridge leads on to a wooded area where you can view some excellent fall foliage. It ultimately ends in beautiful James Gardens.

Hope you’ve enjoyed watching these amazing salmon make their annual journey. This my amazing Canada!!!