September 7, 2024

Swan Lake Park in Markham is a nice place to visit for a walk and to enjoy some time with nature. It is the second largest water body in Markham and is man made like the other two large lakes. Swan Lake can trace its history back to the 1850s when the site was found to be a large gravel deposit dating back to the last ice age about 12,000 years ago. Markham was founded around 1825 when a dam was built on the Rouge River to provide water for a mill that was located in the area of Milne Dam. Around 1840 another dam was built which created Toogood Pond near Unionville. We had previously written about these two ponds and so it was time to visit Swan Lake.

When you enter the park off of Swan Lake Boulevard the first thing you will see is a canoe full of plants. These canoe gardens have been showing up throughout Ontario and are used to create a space to plant shrubs and flowers that attract bees and other pollinators to the area. The first canoe garden was set up in 2013 near Fort York on the old waterway for Garrison Creek. Since then, dozens of them have been placed throughout Toronto, Markham and Richmond Hill. The idea is to improve habitat for pollinators as their populations have declined by over 45% since the 1980s.

Swan Lake was used as a gravel pit from the 1850s until the 1970s with the largest amount of gravel being removed in the 1960s and 1970s. Gravel is needed for construction purposes and as Markham and surrounding area were developed for houses and roads, a good local source was needed. It isn’t economically viable to truck gravel for long distances so it is usually extracted near where it will be used. When the gravel pit was closed it was allowed to fill up with water to become Swan Lake.

Swan Lake Park is 45 hectares (111 acres) and has many foot trails to be explored. There is a main trail that goes all the way around the lake and many secondary trails, especially through the wooded areas.

Although housing has been built up to the edges of the park and often encroaches on the ability to take natural looking photographs, there’s still plenty of places to get some great pictures.

The lake itself is 5.4 hectares (over 13 acres) and is somewhat smaller than the 21 hectare (52 acres) lake in Milne Dam Conservation Area. It is larger than the 3.5 hectare (8.6 acre) Toogood Pond.

The lake supports many turtles of which the Painted Turtles and Snapping Turtles are natural while the Red-eared Sliders are invasive. Red-eared Sliders are sold as pets and subsequently dumped into the lake by irresponsible owners.

The lake is a natural part of the local aquifer and it is estimated that 35% of all the water that enters the lake goes into sustaining local groundwater levels. Based on this, Swan Lake is considered to be a significant groundwater recharge area.

Swan Lake has been prone to large amounts algae which is related to excess phosphorus in the water. Canada Geese are one of the primary sources of nitrogen and phosphorus in the lake. The many enhancements in the past few years are an effort to manage the geese populations. These include changes to the shorelines to make them less attractive to geese as nesting areas. Lake bottom sediments also contribute to the high levels of phosphorus in the lake. In 2013 an application of Phoslok was done and the water improved but only for a couple of years. There is an ongoing program to monitor and treat the lake to prevent excess blooms of algae which can be toxic to pets and humans.

The north end of the park is forested and has a small hill that looks out over the lake. This is where you are most likely to see some of the 12 species of mammals that have been observed in the park. These include coyote, red fox, racoons, squirrels and chipmunks. Mink and muskrats have been found around the edge of the lake. 155 species of birds have been spotted in the park, many of them migratory. This makes the park a great place for bird watchers.

The Friends Of Swan Lake Park have made a request to the City of Markham to add the park to the Markham Natural Heritage Network. As an ecologically sensitive area it qualifies even though it isn’t part of the Rouge River watershed. Whether you’re looking to enjoy some time in nature, get some exercise or just take the dog for a walk, Swan Lake is a great place to visit.

We are definitely planning to return to Swan Lake in a few weeks when the trees are changing colours as it has many species of trees and is likely to be very colourful. Our walk can be seen on the map below.

Related stories: Milne Dam Conservation Area, Toogood Pond

Google Maps link: Swan Lake

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