Whitby travel guide
Lake Ontario trails, the Camp X spy school site and an 1850s courthouse
A commuter town on Lake Ontario, 40 km east of Toronto and a half-hourly GO train from Union Station. Come between May and September for the Waterfront Trail, Lynde Shores and the Camp X site at Intrepid Park. Half a day covers it. Costs are very high, and visa-exempt visitors arriving by air need an eTA.
Between Ajax and Oshawa on the Lake Ontario shore, about 40 km east of Toronto, Whitby is mostly a commuter town. It is the seat of Durham Region and takes its name from the fishing port in North Yorkshire. Peter Perry laid out its business centre in 1836, and the old crossroads of Brock and Dundas streets still has the look of a county town.
The best of it is on the water. The Waterfront Trail runs along the shore past the harbour and east to Intrepid Park, site of Camp X, where British Security Co-ordination trained agents from 1941 to be dropped behind Nazi lines. Lynde Shores Conservation Area, on the western edge of town, is a lakeside marsh where birders come with binoculars.
Back in town, the Centennial Building on Centre Street South served as the county courthouse from 1854 to 1964 and now houses the Courthouse Theatre. Station Gallery on Henry Street began as a community gallery in 1967. To the north the town turns rural around Brooklin, where Heber Down Conservation Area has a campground in 633 acres of forest.
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A lakeshore trail to a wartime spy school, a marsh for birds, an old courthouse and a forest campground.
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Best time to visit Whitby
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Lake breezes keep the shore comfortable for the Waterfront Trail, and Heber Down's campground is open.
Migrating birds pass through the Lynde Shores marsh and the trails are quiet once school terms start.
Cross-country skiing, tobogganing and skating in the conservation areas, and theatre in the old courthouse.
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Getting there
Lakeshore East double-deckers to Whitby GO
Toronto Pearson is the airport, on the far side of Toronto, and the drive east on Highway 401 can take twice as long at rush hour. Without a car, ride the UP Express from Pearson to Union Station and change to a GO Lakeshore East double-decker train to Whitby GO. Without a car, ride the UP Express from Pearson to Union Station, then change to a GO Lakeshore East train, the double-decker line that runs half-hourly to Whitby GO on Brock Street South near the harbour. Oshawa's small airport next door handles charters only. Long-distance rail passengers use the VIA station in Oshawa, just over the town line on the Toronto to Montreal main line, and then take a short taxi or bus west. Some long-distance coaches between Toronto, eastern Ontario and Montreal also call in Durham Region, but stops change often.
- UP Express then GO train
- Pearson to Union, then Lakeshore East to Whitby GO
- VIA Rail
- Oshawa station, on the Toronto to Montreal corridor
- Coaches
- Some Toronto to eastern Ontario and Montreal routes call in Durham; check current stops
- Highway 401
- Main road from Toronto; Highway 412 links it with the 407 toll road
- One Presto card covers the UP Express, GO trains and Durham buses, so load it once at Pearson.
- Drivers heading for Brooklin or Heber Down should use the 407 and Highway 412 to avoid crawling up Brock Street.
Where to stay
Dundas Street motels, Port Whitby or Brooklin village
Day-trip to Whitby from Toronto or book a motel, because the town has no hotel district. The Dundas Street West strip is plain but close to downtown and the 401, Port Whitby sits by the harbour, and Brooklin village to the north suits drivers. The strip along Dundas Street West, home of the Lakeridge Motel, is plain but puts you near downtown's shops and two minutes from the 401. The Lucien Motel on Byron Street North sits close to the old Brock and Dundas crossroads, the walkable core. Port Whitby, down by the harbour and the GO station, is a newer residential area that suits those planning trail walks, though it has few beds. Brooklin, the village to the north, has the Bon Voyage Motel and is quieter and closer to Heber Down, but everything else means a drive.
- Dundas Street West
- Motels with easy highway access; traffic noise
- Downtown Brock and Dundas
- Walk to cafés and the courthouse
- Brooklin
- Village calm near Heber Down; car needed
Getting around
Durham Pulse buses along Dundas and the lakeside path
Ride Durham Region Transit (DRT) buses around Whitby, or cycle the lakeside path. DRT routes feed the GO station and continue into Ajax, Oshawa and Brooklin, and the Pulse service along Dundas Street, the old Highway 2, is the most frequent line and the easiest way to cross town. Tap a Presto card or pay cash on board; the same card works on GO trains and buses. Local taxi firms include Bell Taxi and Circle Taxi, both based downtown. For the lakeshore, cycling is the best option: the Waterfront Trail is paved or packed gravel for most of its length and runs flat from Lynde Shores past the harbour towards Intrepid Park. A car is the only practical way to Heber Down and the northern countryside.
- DRT buses
- Presto or cash, connecting to Whitby GO and neighbouring towns
- Taxis
- Bell Taxi on Dundas Street West, Circle Taxi on Brock Street North
- Bike
- Waterfront Trail from Lynde Shores to Intrepid Park, flat and car-free
Know before you go
What makes Whitby worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- Intrepid Park, the site of Camp X, reached along the Waterfront Trail.
- Heber Down in winter, when cross-country ski trails wind through the forest north of Brooklin.
- The Courthouse Theatre, community theatre inside the 1850s Ontario County courthouse.
Good to know
- Check opening days before driving to a restaurant; several family-run places in Whitby and Brooklin close one day a week.
- Pearson airport is across Toronto, and the drive depends on traffic on the 401.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Whitby, month by month
Month-by-month climate figures for Whitby are being researched.
Whitby by bike from Lynde Shores marsh to the Camp X memorial
See Whitby by bike, because its best sights are strung along several kilometres of Lake Ontario shoreline. Bring a bike on the GO train, ride west from Whitby GO to the boardwalks of Lynde Shores Conservation Area in the morning, then follow the waterfront trail east to Intrepid Park and the memorial to Camp X, the wartime spy school.
Bring a bike on the GO train, or rent one in Toronto before you set out, because the best of Whitby is strung along several kilometres of shoreline. In the morning the boardwalks over the marsh are at their quietest, and the chickadees along the woodland trail are tame enough to land on an outstretched hand.
Double back along the Waterfront Trail to Port Whitby, where the harbour makes a good coffee stop, then continue east along the lake. The path stays close to the water most of the way to Intrepid Park. A memorial there marks Camp X, the secret school where British Security Co-ordination trained agents for occupied Europe from 1941, and it is worth reading the panels slowly; nothing of the camp itself survives.
Return to town in the afternoon. Station Gallery on Henry Street, near the GO station, shows contemporary work from the region. Then walk up to the 1850s Centennial Building on Centre Street South, the old county courthouse designed by Frederick Cumberland, where the Courthouse Theatre stages community productions. Finish with dinner around the old Brock and Dundas crossroads, a few minutes north on foot.
Italian suppers on Brock Street and lunch at the old crossroads
Whitby serves neighbourhood cooking for locals, so check opening days before you set out. Bella Notte on Brock Street is the reliable sit-down Italian dinner, and the cafés around the old downtown crossroads of Brock and Dundas streets are the place for lunch.
Most of what you will eat here is neighbourhood cooking for locals, so plan around opening days.
Further north, Bella Notte on Brock Street serves Italian food and is a reliable sit-down dinner on the way to or from Brooklin and Heber Down. Brother's Restaurant on Lupin Drive is a family place; check both for current opening days before you drive out. Downtown, the blocks around Brock and Dundas hold a handful of cafés and pubs that work for a quick lunch. If you want more choice, Oshawa's downtown is ten minutes east and Toronto's restaurants are a train ride away.
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How we research our Whitby travel guide
Whitby's waterfront trail, GO trains and DRT Pulse buses are checked against the Town of Whitby and Metrolinx; Destination Canada and the eTA page cover the rest.
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Checked against trusted sources:
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Whitby.
Timing & weather
Under an hour on the double-decker trains, which run every 30 minutes. Driving the 40 km on Highway 401 takes longer at rush hour.
The best time to visit Whitby is May to Sep. Mild weather for the Waterfront Trail and the conservation areas.
- Best overall: May - September (Lake breezes keep the shore comfortable for the Waterfront Trail, and Heber Down's campground is open)
- Autumn: October (Migrating birds pass through the Lynde Shores marsh and the trails are quiet once school terms start)
- Winter: December - March (Cross-country skiing, tobogganing and skating in the conservation areas, and theatre in the old courthouse)
General
A secret wartime training school on the lakeshore where British Security Co-ordination prepared agents from 1941. The site is now Intrepid Park, reached on Whitby's Waterfront Trail.
Yes if you like lakeside cycling, birding or wartime history. Apart from the shore, the courthouse and Station Gallery, there is little else to see.
May to September for walking and camping. In winter the conservation areas switch to cross-country skiing, tobogganing and skating.
Yes. On the woodland trail at Lynde Shores Conservation Area the birds are used to people and will often land on an open palm holding seed.
In 1971 volunteers bought a Victorian Grand Trunk Railway station at Whitby Junction that was due for demolition and moved it to Henry Street, where the arts group behind the gallery set up shop.
GO buses link Whitby with Toronto and the rest of Durham. Some long-distance coaches from eastern Ontario and Montreal call in the area, but stops change often, so check the operators' sites before travelling.
The Ontario County courthouse, which held trials and council meetings from 1854 to 1964 and is now a community centre with a theatre and local archives.
Heber Down Conservation Area on Coronation Road has a wooded campground surrounded by 633 acres of forest and valleys.
Ride Durham Region Transit (DRT) buses around Whitby, or cycle the lakeside path. DRT routes feed the GO station and continue into Ajax, Oshawa and Brooklin, and the Pulse service along Dundas Street, the old Highway 2, is the most frequent line and the easiest way to cross town. Tap a Presto card or pay cash on board; the same card works on GO trains and buses.
Getting there
In Oshawa, the next town east, on the main line between Toronto and Montreal.
Toronto Pearson is the airport, on the far side of Toronto, and the drive east on Highway 401 can take twice as long at rush hour. Without a car, ride the UP Express from Pearson to Union Station and change to a GO Lakeshore East double-decker train to Whitby GO. Without a car, ride the UP Express from Pearson to Union Station, then change to a GO Lakeshore East train, the double-decker line that runs half-hourly to Whitby GO on Brock Street South near the harbour.
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.
