Richmond Hill travel guide
Canada's largest telescope, a mill pond and Asian food on Highway 7
A suburban city north of Toronto with the country's largest telescope, a mill pond with summer concerts and good Chinese food along Highway 7. June to September is best. Half a day is plenty, and a car helps. Visa-exempt visitors who fly in need an eTA for Canada.
Richmond Hill runs up Yonge Street north of Toronto, between Vaughan and Markham. It was a village with an interurban line to the city until the post-war boom, and it is now a suburb of about 200,000 with a large Chinese community in the east and a Persian one in the north. The old village core survives on Yonge between Major Mackenzie Drive and Crosby Avenue.
Stargazers come for the David Dunlap Observatory, home to the largest telescope in Canada and now run by the Royal Astronomical Society; visits are by ticketed event, so book. Mill Pond, a former sawmill pond about 1 km east of Yonge, hosts Thursday evening concerts at its gazebo in July and August. Bring a chair.
Further north, Lake Wilcox is a kettle lake on the Oak Ridges Moraine, protected as a wetland. Food is a real strength: Jubilee Square at Highway 7 is lined with Chinese and Japanese restaurants, and Covernotes pours coffee inside the 1897 former high school on Yonge.
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Top things to do in Richmond Hill
A big telescope, a mill pond and a lake on the moraine, with plenty of Asian food in between.
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Best time to visit Richmond Hill
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Highs of 24C to 27C in June to August and nights around 15C, comfortable for the Mill Pond concerts and for standing outside at an observatory event.
January runs from -2C by day to -10C at night; the Centre for the Performing Arts and the Highway 7 restaurants carry the season.
Mill Pond's gazebo concerts run on Thursday evenings in July and August; bring your own chair.
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Getting there
Finch to Richmond Hill Centre on Viva Blue, or GO route 40 from Pearson
Reach Richmond Hill by bus or car, because the Yonge North subway extension is still being built, with tunnelling only starting in 2026. From downtown Toronto, ride subway Line 1 to Finch and change to the Viva Blue rapid bus up Yonge Street; from Pearson, GO bus route 40 runs to Richmond Hill Centre. From downtown Toronto, ride subway Line 1 to Finch, the northern end of the Yonge branch, and switch to Viva Blue, which runs up Yonge Street with limited stops to Richmond Hill Centre in about half an hour; YRT routes 98 and 99 cover the same road more slowly. Richmond Hill Centre, the bus terminal at Yonge and Highway 7, is the hub. From Toronto Pearson, GO bus 40 runs straight there, hourly and every 30 minutes in weekday rush hours, and a taxi takes around 30 to 40 minutes and the toll Highway 407 is usually the faster road. GO trains on the Richmond Hill line run only on weekdays at peak times, between Union Station and stations including Langstaff and Richmond Hill.
- Viva Blue
- Finch station to Richmond Hill Centre, about 30 minutes up Yonge Street
- GO bus 40
- Pearson airport to Richmond Hill Centre, hourly, half-hourly in weekday rush hours
- GO trains
- Richmond Hill line from Union, weekday rush hours only
- GO bus 61
- Covers the Richmond Hill rail corridor when trains are not running
- GO buses 41, 54 and 56 also stop at Richmond Hill Centre, linking it with Hamilton, Pickering, Markham and Oakville on weekdays.
Where to stay
Highway 7 at Leslie, Yonge Street motels or the Oak Ridges end
Choose a Richmond Hill base by food or by bus access, since the city has no walkable hotel quarter. The hotels on Highway 7 near Leslie Street sit beside the Chinese plazas, the Yonge Street motels are on the Viva Blue line, and the Oak Ridges end is closest to the moraine trails. With a car, any works.
- Highway 7 and Leslie Street
- Business hotels such as the Best Western Parkway, close to the Chinese restaurant plazas; heavy traffic and few pavements
- Yonge Street near Elgin Mills
- Budget motels on the Viva Blue line north of the old village, plain but well connected
- Oak Ridges
- Quiet northern end near Lake Wilcox and the moraine trails; a long bus ride from anything else
- Old village
- No hotels, but rentals within walking distance of Mill Pond and the Yonge Street cafés
Getting around
Viva's rapidways, YRT tickets and the Oak Ridges Moraine trails
Drive around Richmond Hill, where sights are scattered and parking is free almost everywhere, or use the buses on the two main corridors. York Region Transit (YRT) runs local routes and Viva rapid buses on dedicated lanes along Yonge Street and Highway 7, and the Oak Ridges Moraine trails start in the north. Buses work well on the two main corridors. York Region Transit (YRT) runs local routes plus Viva rapid buses, which use dedicated lanes on stretches of Yonge Street and Highway 7: Viva Blue north-south on Yonge, Viva Purple east along Highway 7 towards Markham. Viva stops have screens showing the next three buses from live GPS data. Pay with a Presto card, cash, or tickets in the YRT mobile app; a fare lasts two hours, and paper tickets must be validated. Off the main roads, buses can be half-hourly, so check the timetable. For walking, the Oak Ridges Trail crosses the moraine in the north, and Lake Wilcox has a lakeside path.
- Viva Blue
- Yonge Street from Finch through Richmond Hill Centre and the old village
- Viva Purple
- Highway 7 east from Richmond Hill Centre towards Markham
- YRT local buses
- Every 30 minutes on many side routes; check times before you go
- Driving
- Free parking at most sights, including Mill Pond and Lake Wilcox
Know before you go
What makes Richmond Hill worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- An evening at the David Dunlap Observatory, looking through the biggest telescope in Canada.
- Thursday concerts at Mill Pond, with chairs on the grass by the gazebo in July and August.
- Coffee at Covernotes, in the 1897 high school building at Yonge and Wright.
Good to know
- Observatory visits need a ticket for a scheduled event; you cannot just turn up.
- Without a car, stick to the Yonge Street and Highway 7 corridors, where buses come often.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Richmond Hill, month by month
North of Toronto, winters run a little colder and snowier than downtown.
Climate figures are approximate long-term averages for Richmond Hill (Environment and Climate Change Canada, via Wikipedia).
Old Yonge Street village, Mill Pond and the David Dunlap Observatory
Richmond Hill's day starts in its old Yonge Street village and can end at a telescope. Have coffee at Covernotes inside the 1897 high school at Yonge and Wright, walk the stretch of Yonge Street between Major Mackenzie Drive and Crosby Avenue, circle Mill Pond Park, and book an evening public program at the David Dunlap Observatory telescope.
Begin mid-morning in the old village, the stretch of Yonge Street between Major Mackenzie Drive and Crosby Avenue that still keeps a few 19th-century fronts among newer buildings. Coffee comes first at Covernotes, at Yonge and Wright, inside the brick high school that opened in 1897. The old school now fronts the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts, so check what is playing while you are there.
Walk a block east to the Richmond Hill Heritage Centre on Church Street North, an 1840s Regency cottage that was home to Amos Wright, with herb and rose gardens around it; it opens only on a few afternoons and Saturdays, so check before going. Continue about 1 km east along Wright and Mill Streets to Mill Pond. A loop of the water, past the fountain and the ducks, takes half an hour. On a July or August Thursday, come back in the evening for the gazebo concert.
In the afternoon, drive north to Lake Wilcox, a kettle lake left by the glaciers on the Oak Ridges Moraine, for a lakeside walk. Eat an early dinner on Highway 7, then finish at the David Dunlap Observatory on Hillsview Drive, where the Royal Astronomical Society runs ticketed evenings under the 1935 dome. On a clear night you may get a turn at the eyepiece of the 1.88 m telescope, still the largest in Canada.
Congee on Highway 7 and Persian kebabs up north Yonge
Eat Chinese food in south-east Richmond Hill and Persian food in the north. The plazas along Highway 7 around Leslie Street and West Beaver Creek Road hold Cantonese, Sichuan and Japanese restaurants, starting at Jubilee Square, while Yonge Street north of the old village has the Persian kebab houses and bakeries.
Richmond Hill's two big immigrant communities shape what is worth eating. Jubilee Square, at the corner of West Beaver Creek and Highway 7, is the easiest place to start, with several kitchens under one roof. For a cheap and filling Cantonese meal, Congee Wong serves bowls of congee with century egg or fish, rice rolls and stir-fried noodles in generous portions. Weekend mornings bring families out for dim sum, so arrive early.
North of Major Mackenzie, Yonge Street turns Persian. Bakeries sell flatbread straight from the oven, grocers stock saffron and dried limes, and kebab houses serve chelo kebab on mounds of rice with grilled tomato, plus tahdig, the crisp rice from the bottom of the pot, when it is on the menu.
The old village keeps the cafés: Covernotes for coffee in the former school, and BB Cafe on Yonge, south of Lorne Avenue, for pastries and sandwiches. When it comes to beer, the British-style pubs are also on Yonge Street, among them The Three Crowns and King Henry's Arms, a traditional pub that keeps late hours.
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How we research our Richmond Hill travel guide
The Yonge North subway is years from opening, so transport here is checked against the City of Richmond Hill and York Region Transit; Destination Canada and the eTA page supply the rest.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Richmond Hill.
Timing & weather
About half an hour to Richmond Hill Centre. YRT routes 98 and 99 follow the same road with more stops.
Thursday evenings in July and August, in the park on Mill Street about 1 km east of Yonge. Bring your own chair.
Only on a few days, typically Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and Saturdays. Check before you go.
The best time to visit Richmond Hill is Jun to Sep. Thursday concerts at Mill Pond in July and August, and walks around Lake Wilcox.
- Best overall: June - September (Highs of 24C to 27C in June to August and nights around 15C, comfortable for the Mill Pond concerts and for standing outside at an observatory event)
- Winter: December - March (January runs from -2C by day to -10C at night; the Centre for the Performing Arts and the Highway 7 restaurants carry the season)
Booking
Visits are ticketed events run by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada; buy tickets online for a specific date. The observatory is at the end of a long drive on Hillsview Drive.
Getting there
Its mirror is 1.88 m across, the largest optical telescope in Canada, housed under a dome that opened in 1935.
Yes, GO route 40 runs from Pearson to Richmond Hill Centre every hour, every 30 minutes in weekday rush hours.
No. The Richmond Hill line runs only on weekdays at peak times; at weekends use the subway to Finch and Viva Blue.
Reach Richmond Hill by bus or car, because the Yonge North subway extension is still being built, with tunnelling only starting in 2026. From downtown Toronto, ride subway Line 1 to Finch and change to the Viva Blue rapid bus up Yonge Street; from Pearson, GO bus route 40 runs to Richmond Hill Centre. From downtown Toronto, ride subway Line 1 to Finch, the northern end of the Yonge branch, and switch to Viva Blue, which runs up Yonge Street with limited stops to Richmond Hill Centre in about half an hour; YRT routes 98 and 99 cover the same road more slowly.
Stay & facilities
Start at Jubilee Square on West Beaver Creek Road, then explore the plazas towards Leslie Street. Congee Wong is a dependable cheap option.
North of Major Mackenzie Drive, where bakeries, grocers and kebab houses serve the city's Persian community.
General
It is a kettle lake formed by glacial ice and a provincially significant wetland, with a lakeside path near Bayview Avenue and Bethesda Side Road.
Drive around Richmond Hill, where sights are scattered and parking is free almost everywhere, or use the buses on the two main corridors. York Region Transit (YRT) runs local routes and Viva rapid buses on dedicated lanes along Yonge Street and Highway 7, and the Oak Ridges Moraine trails start in the north. Buses work well on the two main corridors.
Visa & documents
Visa-exempt travelers, including citizens of the UK, the EU and Australia, need an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) to fly to or through Canada. US citizens need only a passport. Other nationalities need a visitor visa.
Health & safety
Canada's main risks are natural: wildlife, summer wildfires and extreme winter cold. Store food properly in bear country, check wildfire and road conditions before summer drives, and carry winter gear when driving in snow. Call 911 for police, fire or ambulance anywhere in the country.
