Celebrate Easter weekend with parades, easter egg hunts and fun at the Toronto Zoo.
As you make your weekend plans, click here for a list of what’s open and closed in Toronto on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Toronto Beaches Lions Easter Parade
Known as the largest, longest-running Easter parade in the world, Toronto Beaches Lions Easter Parade draws a crowd of around 50,000 people each year.
The parade, which starts at 2 p.m. on Sunday, begins at Munro Parkand, heads west along Queen Street and ends at Woodbine Avenue. It runs for approximately two hours. Click here for the parade route.
Road closures will be in effect (scroll below for a list) and TTC vehicles will be diverting in the area.
Ahead of the parade on Sunday, an Easter eggs scavenger hunt will take place on Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Click here for more information.
Easter Eggstravaganza at Distillery District
Collect colourful eggs over the Easter weekend at Distillery District as they host the third annual Easter Eggstravaganza.
Each day from Friday until Sunday, families can register to participate in an egg hunt where over 20,000 eggs will be collected.
All participants will leave with a delicious chocolate treat bag and returning their basket full of eggs to the cabins on Gristmill Lane.
Kids can also meet the Easter Bunny and play games all across the Distillery District.
The event kicks off at 10:30 a.m. each day when registration opens and runs until 2 p.m.
Toronto Zoo Spring Marketplace
Over 50 artisans and producers from local and surrounding communities will be at the Toronto Zoo’s Spring Marketplace this weekend.
Entrance is free with a Toronto Zoo ticket and guests can enjoy delicious food and beverages in the Rouge National Urban Park.
The three-day marketplace runs from Friday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. A full list of vendors can be found on their website.
The Easter Bunny will also be hopping by in the Discovery Zone on Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Families can snap a pic and get a sweet treat.
TTC/GO closures
Partial Line 1 closure
Subways won’t be running one Line 1 between St. George and St. Andrew stations from 11:59 p.m. on Friday until Sunday due to planned station work.
Shuttle buses won’t be running during the closure. The TTC says riders can take surface routes or take Line 2 to Bloor-Yonge Station to connect to Line 1 to St. Andrew Station. As well, Museum, Queen’s Park, St. Patrick and Osgoode stations will be closed.
Regular service will resume at 6 a.m. on Monday.
Good Friday and Easter Sunday adjustments
On Friday, from 2:15 p.m. to 6 p.m., 506 Carlton streetcars will run along Dundas St. between Ossington Ave. and Bathurst St. for the St Francis of Assisi Church Good Friday Procession. Customers may experience delays on the 505 Dundas during the event.
On Easter Sunday, the 64 Main, 92 Woodbine South and 501 Queen will be diverting between 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to accommodate the annual Toronto Beaches Easter Parade.
Road closures
Beaches Easter Parade (Sunday)
- Queen Street East, from Munroe Park Avenue to Fallingbrook Road, will be closed from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
- Queen Street East, from Woodbine Avenue to Fallingbrook Road, will be closed from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Woodbine Avenue, from Queen Street East to Lake Shore Boulevard East; and Lake Shore Boulevard East, from Coxwell Avenue to Woodbine Avenue, will be closed from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Lake Shore Boulevard West
From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily on weekdays until Thursday, April 30, one westbound lane will be closed between Yonge Street and Raptors Way for Gardiner Expressway repairs.
The following nightly closures will be in place on Lake Shore Boulevard West for routine Gardiner Expressway inspections:
- From 11 p.m. on Sunday, April 5 to 5 a.m. on Monday, April 6, two westbound lanes will be closed on from Yonge Street to Lower Jarvis Street.
- From 11 p.m. on Monday, April 6 to 5 a.m. on Tuesday, April 7, two westbound lanes will be closed from Jarvis Street to Sherbourne Street.
- From 11 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7 to 5 a.m. on Wednesday, April 8, two westbound lanes will be closed from Lower Sherbourne Street to Parliament Street.
- From 11 p.m. on Wednesday, April 8 to 5 a.m. on Thursday, April 9, two eastbound lanes will be closed from Lower Sherbourne Street to Parliament Street.
- From 11 p.m. on Thursday, April 9 to 5 a.m. on Friday, April 10, two westbound lanes will be closed from Parliament Street to Cherry Street.
Gardiner Expressway
The following Gardiner Expressway lane restrictions will be in place for maintenance and catch basin work:
- From 11 p.m. on Monday, April 6, to 5 a.m. on Tuesday, April 7, eastbound Gardiner will be reduced to four lanes from the 427 on-ramp to Wickman Road.
- From 11 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7, to 5 a.m. on Wednesday, April 8, the eastbound Gardiner will be reduced to four lanes from the 427 on-ramp to the Kipling Avenue off-ramp and to two lanes from the Kipling Avenue off-ramp to Royal York Road.
- From 11 p.m. on Wednesday, April 8, to 5 a.m. on Thursday, April 9:
- The Kipling Avenue on-ramp and Islington Avenue on-ramp to eastbound Gardiner, and South Horner Avenue and North Islington off-ramps will be closed.
- Reduced to two lanes in each direction from Park Lawn Road to Kipling Avenue.
- Reduced to two westbound lanes from Windermere Avenue to the Lake Shore Boulevard West on-ramp and three westbound lanes from the Lake Shore Boulevard West on-ramp to Park Lawn Avenue.
- The eastbound Lake Shore Boulevard on-ramp will be reduced to one lane.
- From 11 p.m. on Thursday, April 9, to 5 a.m. on Friday, April 10:
- The Horner Avenue to eastbound Gardiner on-ramp, and the South Islington off-ramp will be closed.
- Reduced to two eastbound lanes from the Horner Avenue on-ramp to the Islington Avenue off-ramp.
- The westbound left shoulder lane will be closed from Islington Avenue to Kipling Avenue.
- Reduced to two westbound lanes from the St. Lawrence Avenue off-ramp to Kipling Avenue.
- Reduced to four westbound lanes from the Kipling Avenue on-ramp to the East Mall off-ramp.
- Reduced to two westbound lanes from the Expressway to Collector crossover to Kipling Avenue.
- The westbound left shoulder lane will be closed over the East Mall.
Eastern/Adelaide Bridge Rehabilitation Project
From 10:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 2 and Monday, April 6, the southbound Don Valley Parkway will be reduced to one lane from Dundas Street East to Eastern Avenue.
From 9 p.m. on Thursday, April 9 to 5 a.m. on Friday, April 10, Eastern Avenue will be closed from Sumach Street to Broadview Avenue, and Adelaide Street East will be closed from Parliament Street to Eastern Avenue.
Gardiner Expressway long-term closure
As part of the long-term construction plan on the Gardiner Expressway, a stretch of the westbound Gardiner has been reduced from four lanes to three. The westbound lane closure will stretch from Park Lawn Road to Grand Avenue in southern Etobicoke. The eastbound lanes along the same stretch will be narrowed, but with no lane reductions, from April 2025 to December 2026.
For full traffic and closure updates, click here for the latest information from 680 NewsRadio Toronto.