The best MTB trails around Markham

This is an easy, shady singletrack that you can use to connect the upper and lower trail networks of Jefferson Forest.

Hidden Trail Park is a small green space connected to neighbouring trails and parks. The public is welcome to enjoy the parks' open grassy fields, swaths of trees, and amenities like restrooms, benches, trash cans, and gardens. Though the park is in northern urban Toronto, it feels like a nice escape from big city life.

The Don River West Branch is a scenic river that flows through the western side of the Don Valley. As it passes through urban spaces, greenways, and natural landscapes, it creates a haven for animals with its surrounding trees, shrubs, and wetlands. Ongoing restoration strides have helped improve water quality and restore the riverbanks, so with the help of TRCA, the City of Toronto, Don't Mess with the Don, and Waterfront Toronto, everyone can enjoy a healthy river.

Jefferson Forest Trails form an informal network of natural-surface paths in the Jefferson Forest area of Richmond Hill. The system includes winding singletrack routes through mixed woodland, with sandy sections, tree roots and gentle elevation changes. Popular with hikers, trail runners, and mountain bikers, the trails are not formally signed, so local knowledge and/or your offline komoot GPS route are best for navigation.

The Gravel Cut Trail is a roughly 4 kilometre gravel-surfaced multi-use path running through Jefferson Forest that links many of the smaller forest trails. It’s relatively flat and easy, suitable for hikers, trail runners and cyclists as an access spine to the surrounding network. As a main trail in the area, it helps connect users to both technical singletrack routes and quieter wooded segments.

The Rouge Valley Trail in Markham is a 12-km multi-use route that winds along the river with boardwalks, bridges, and gravel paths. You’ll pass lakes, ponds, dams, and a mix of old homes and changing scenery, making it a quiet but surprisingly varied nature escape without leaving the city.

The Rouge River flows through eastern Toronto and the surrounding region, winding past forests, wetlands, farms, and suburban neighbourhoods before reaching Lake Ontario. Much of the river is protected within Rouge National Urban Park, where visitors can explore an extensive trail system, spot wildlife, and enjoy peaceful sections of the valley.

Set in a quiet residential pocket of north Oshawa, Valley View Park is a small but pleasant green space with open lawns, mature shade trees, and a short walking path that links into nearby neighbourhood trails. The park overlooks gentle ravine terrain in places, giving it a slightly elevated, peaceful feel despite its urban location. It’s an easy spot for a short walk, dog-friendly outing, or a calm break outdoors, and often used as a local access point to the wider creek-side green corridors nearby.