Drinking alcohol in the open on Toronto Island is not allowed under the City of Toronto parks by-law. Chapter 608 of the Toronto Municipal Code prohibits an open container of liquor in a park unless the area is designated, a permit is held, and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has approved it. The Toronto Islands are not among the parks on Schedule A, the list where adults aged 19 and older may drink without a permit, and open alcohol is also on the City’s list of items banned from its ferries.
What the parks by-law says about alcohol
Section 608-8 of Chapter 608 governs liquor in all City parks. In the version of the Municipal Code consolidated on June 3, 2024, the section was last amended by By-law 380-2024, enacted on April 18, 2024. The rules that matter for a visit to the Islands are set out below.
| Provision | What it says |
|---|---|
| Section 608-8 A(1) | No person in a park may have an open container of liquor, unless in a designated area, authorized by permit, and with the approval of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. |
| Section 608-8 A(2) | No person may supply liquor to anyone who is not permitted to be supplied under Ontario’s liquor license law. |
| Section 608-8 A(3) | No person may consume, serve, or sell liquor in a park without the same designation, permit, and approval. |
| Section 608-8 A(4) | Exception: in the parks listed in Schedule A, a person may possess an open container and drink between 5:30 a.m. and midnight, with no permit. |
| Section 608-9 B | Unless authorized by permit, no person may use, enter, or gather in a park between 12:01 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. |
The by-law text speaks of open containers. It does not describe what happens to sealed bottles carried through a park, and the City’s pages do not address that point either. Anyone unsure should ask City of Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation before the trip.
Why the Schedule A exception does not reach the Islands
The exception began as a pilot. By-law 767-2023, enacted on July 20, 2023, amended Chapter 608 to allow possession and consumption of liquor in listed parks, and By-law 380-2024 later set up a process for designating parks and replaced the earlier text. In the June 3, 2024 consolidation, Schedule A lists 45 parks, and none of them is on the Toronto Islands. The City’s Alcohol in Parks Program page, read in October 2026, lists 55 parks and states that Toronto Island, Centre Island, Ward’s Island, and Hanlan’s Point are not among them. The number of parks has changed over time, so the program page is the reference for the current list.
Inside the listed parks the exception has limits. Drinking is not allowed within the boundary of an outdoor pool or deck, or within two meters of playground equipment, wading pools, splash pads, skateboard or BMX parks, and ice rinks. The City’s program page adds that public intoxication and disruptive behavior are not allowed and that bottles and cans must go into park recycling bins or be taken home. These conditions apply only where the exception itself applies, which on the evidence above excludes the Islands.
Alcohol and the ferry
The City of Toronto operates the Toronto Island ferry service under a security certificate issued by Transport Canada. Its Ferry Ticket and Passenger Information page lists open alcohol among the items passengers may not carry onto a ferry, along with dangerous goods such as propane and butane, fireworks, weapons, and electric scooters. Staff may inspect bags. The page gives no further alcohol rules, so it is the place to check before boarding.
Events, permits, and licensed sales
A group that wants to serve or sell alcohol in a City park needs a City Special Event permit and a permit or license from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, according to the City’s program page. Section 608-8 itself refers to a permit and the commission’s approval for any consumption outside designated areas. The City does not describe a separate Island-only regime on the pages consulted.
Other park rules that visitors ask about
Camping is not allowed without a permit. Section 608-13 says that, unless authorized by permit, no person shall dwell, camp, or lodge in a park, and section 608-14 bars erecting a temporary or permanent tent, structure, or shelter without a permit. The Islands are City parkland, so these sections apply. The City’s Island pages do not advertise a public campground.
Section 608-15 requires proper swimwear or beach clothing in park facilities, with one stated exception: clothing is optional in the designated area of Hanlan’s Point Beach on Toronto Island. The City’s Island park plan page describes Hanlan’s Point Beach as a long-standing 2SLGBTQ+ and clothing-optional gathering place.
Reaching the Islands
All City ferries leave from the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal. The City’s schedule page describes three routes in the warmer months, to Centre Island, Hanlan’s Point, and Ward’s Island, and a winter schedule that lists Ward’s Island departures only. Dates and times change by season, so the City’s Ferry Routes and Schedules page should be read on the day of travel. Tickets can be bought in advance online, according to the City, and the passenger page explains how long tickets stay valid.
Bicycles, strollers, wagons, and paddle crafts are allowed on the main deck. Leashed pets are allowed. For vehicles, the City publishes access information only for commercial and emergency vehicles. The schedule page also names water taxi operators as an alternative to the ferry.
A short history of the Islands
The City describes the Islands as a place of healing, ceremony, and gathering for thousands of years for the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and other Indigenous communities. Secondary histories describe the landform as a sandbar built by lake currents, and the Canadian Encyclopedia and Toronto Public Library blog posts agree that a storm in April 1858 cut a channel through the sandy peninsula and left the Islands separate from the mainland. The channel became the Eastern Gap.
In the nineteenth century the sand spit became a resort. Hanlan’s Point is named for the Hanlan family, whose hotel stood at the western tip, and Ward’s Island for the Ward family. Sources disagree on dates: one account puts John Hanlan’s move to the point in 1862, another dates his hotel to 1878, and the Ward family’s arrival is given as about 1830 or 1834. Ferry service is older than the resort. Secondary sources describe a horse-powered boat in 1833 and steam ferries from the 1830s onward, and report that the City took over the ferry service in 1927. Those ferry dates should be read as approximate.
The airport that now occupies the western end opened before the Second World War. Secondary accounts say its construction removed the Hanlan’s Point stadium and a number of cottages, and displaced cottagers settled on what is now Algonquin Island. After 1953 the Metropolitan Toronto government demolished many cottages on leases that had expired, and the park was formally established in 1956 according to a 2024 City staff report. Residents on Ward’s and Algonquin islands remained, and the Toronto Islands Residential Community Stewardship Act, 1993 later gave them leases on the land. In July 2024 City Council adopted the Toronto Island Park Plan, which followed engagement with more than 4,500 participants between 2021 and 2024.
The Mississaugas of the Credit also pursued land claims that, by their account, covered the Islands. In 2010 the Government of Canada announced a settlement of $145 million (CAD) for the Toronto Purchase and Brant Tract specific claims, finalized on October 8, 2010. Canada’s own release describes it as a financial settlement with no land component and does not mention the Islands. For the wider story of the city, see the overview of Toronto’s history.
Can you drink alcohol on Toronto Island?
Not in the open without a permit. The Islands are not on the City’s list of parks where adults may drink their own alcohol, so section 608-8 applies in full. Check the City’s Alcohol in Parks Program page for the current list.
Can you bring alcohol on the Toronto Island ferry?
Open alcohol is on the City’s list of items passengers may not carry onto the ferry. The passenger information page is the authority for any other rule.
Can you camp on Toronto Island?
Not without a permit. Chapter 608 bars camping, lodging, and erecting tents in a park unless authorized by permit, and the City does not list a public campground on its Island pages.
Can you drive to Toronto Island?
The ferry service starts at the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal, and the City publishes vehicle access information only for commercial and emergency vehicles. Visitors traveling by car should plan to leave the vehicle on the mainland.
Can people live on Toronto Island?
Yes. A residential community has existed on Ward’s and Algonquin islands, and its leases were put on a statutory footing by the 1993 Stewardship Act.
Related reading
- History of Toronto: the full overview
- Indigenous history of the Toronto area
- Where the name Toronto comes from
- Toronto from Indigenous roots to metropolis
- Historic buildings of Toronto
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- City of Toronto, Municipal Code Chapter 608, Parks (consolidation of June 3, 2024)
- City of Toronto, Alcohol in Parks Program page
- City of Toronto, Toronto Island Ferries: Ferry Ticket and Passenger Information; Ferry Routes and Schedules
- City of Toronto, Toronto Island Park and Toronto Island Park Plan pages
- Government of Canada, 2010 release on the Mississaugas of the New Credit claim settlement
- Secondary: Canadian Encyclopedia, Toronto Islands; Toronto Public Library local history blog
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 23). Alcohol on Toronto Island: Park Rules, Ferry, and History. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/is-it-allowed-to-consume-alcohol-on-toronto-island-discover-the-recreation-rules-for-drinking-on-the-island
MLA: “Alcohol on Toronto Island: Park Rules, Ferry, and History.” History of Toronto, 23 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/is-it-allowed-to-consume-alcohol-on-toronto-island-discover-the-recreation-rules-for-drinking-on-the-island. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “Alcohol on Toronto Island: Park Rules, Ferry, and History.” Last modified October 23, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/is-it-allowed-to-consume-alcohol-on-toronto-island-discover-the-recreation-rules-for-drinking-on-the-island.
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