The best family-friendly hikes and walks around Mississauga

Fleetwood Park is a small neighbourhood park set along Etobicoke Creek, with open grassy space and direct access to the surrounding trail system. The park feels tucked into the residential area, with mature trees and the creek corridor creating a lovely, peaceful, natural space. From here, paths connect easily to the Etobicoke Creek Trail, making it a simple access point for walking or cycling along the water.

Etobicoke Creek flows south from the Oak Ridges Moraine to Lake Ontario, forming a natural boundary between Toronto and Mississauga along much of its course. The creek winds through a mix of wooded ravines, parkland, and urban areas, with sections that feel surprisingly quiet despite the surrounding city. Along its lower reaches, slower-moving water, small floodplains, and frequent green spaces make it a defining natural corridor in the western GTA.

Etobicoke Creek Trail follows Etobicoke Creek for roughly 10 kilometres through a long green corridor on Toronto’s western edge, connecting parks, neighbourhoods, and natural areas along its route. The paved multi-use path is mostly flat and easy, winding between wooded sections, open parkland, and occasional road crossings. Along the way, the creek remains a constant presence, with stretches of quiet water, small bridges, and pockets of wildlife breaking up the urban surroundings.

Flowing through east Mississauga toward Etobicoke Creek, Little Etobicoke Creek winds through a mix of wooded ravine pockets, neighbourhood parks, and open green corridors. Trails like the Applewood Trail follow long stretches of the creek, offering shaded sections, small bridges, and quiet views of the water as it moves through gentle bends and shallow riffles. Despite running through residential areas, the creek feels surprisingly natural in places, with regular birdlife and steady tree cover. It’s a calm, easily accessible urban waterway that anchors several connected walking and cycling routes.

Located in the heart of the Rathwood neighbourhood, Rathwood District Park combines open sports fields, shaded tree-lined paths, and access to the Applewood Trail along Little Etobicoke Creek. The park offers a mix of quiet walking sections and active recreation areas, with gentle paved paths that connect into nearby green corridors.

Running through eastern Mississauga along the Little Etobicoke Creek corridor, Applewood Trail is a paved, family-friendly route linking neighbourhood parks, wooded creek sections, and open green spaces. The trail offers steady shade in places, small bridges over the creek, and quiet stretches that feel surprisingly natural for an in-city path. It connects to larger routes like the Etobicoke Creek Trail, making it easy to extend a walk or ride. With gentle grades and multiple access points, it’s a reliable everyday trail for walking, cycling, or enjoying a calm stretch of the creek.

A corridor of forest and creek, perfect for walking or biking under beautiful tree canopies. The trail mixes paved sections with hard-packed dirt, a few roots, and the occasional wooden boardwalk. It’s a gentle, shaded route where the sound of the creek follows you most of the way, and you can see picturesque cascades along the creek. During autumn, the surroundings burst with color, and the creek adds the perfect touch to the beautiful scenery.

This stretch of the Credit River offers plenty of spots to pause along the bank. If you walk across the grassland in this area, you’ll find an entrance to a rocky beach along the river shoreline, perfect to chill and have a picnic. You can often see herons, ducks, and other wildlife in the slower pools.