A rich assembly of natural, cultural and agricultural landscapes, Rouge National Urban Park is home to amazing biodiversity, some of the last remaining working farms in the Greater Toronto Area, Carolinian ecosystems, Toronto’s only campground, one of the region’s largest marshes, a beach at Lake Ontario, amazing hiking opportunities, and human history dating back over 10,000 years, including some of Canada’s oldest known Indigenous sites.
Rouge National Urban Park is home to 1,700 species, including more than 1,000 plant species, 247 bird species, 73 fish species, 44 mammal species, and 27 reptile and amphibian species. This tally includes 27 species-at-risk (species classified as endangered, threatened or of special concern) as well as many locally rare plants, birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
The Rouge’s relatively high biodiversity is a result of the park’s location and its many variations in topography, micro-climates, soil type and land use. Many types of habitat are found within the park, including forests, thickets, meadows, wetlands, rivers and agricultural fields. The park lies at the northern edge of the Carolinian Life Zone, a type of forest ecosystem that supports a rich diversity of life, including many rare and endangered species.