How to get to the David Dunlap Observatory (DDO)
By car
The Observatory is located at 123 Hillsview Drive in Richmond Hill
just north of Toronto...
- Hillsview runs west off of Bayview Avenue about 3 km north of Highway 7
and 1 km south of Major MacKenzie Drive.
- The DDO is the only property on the south side of Hillsview (look for the large
open field and trees... you won't see any buildings till you enter the grounds).
- The entrance is near the end of Hillsview. The gate will open 30 minutes before
any scheduled tour. Park in the lot at the end of the access road.
Both Major Mac and Hwy 7 have well-marked exits from...
- Highway 400 (...which starts at Highway 401 in north-western Toronto,
i.e. via "Black Creek Drive - 400 north to Barrie" exit); and
- Highway 404 (...which is the extension of the Don Valley Parkway
as you travel north of Highway 401 in north-eastern Toronto).
Bayview and Yonge Streets have exits from Highway 401 and Highway 407
(Express Toll Route).
By transit (TTC + YRT)
By TTC,
go to the Finch station at the top of the Yonge
subway line. Walk underground to the GO/YRT bus station.
There are two bus routes provided by
York Region Transit (YRT) that you can take to get to the DDO:
Any* of the Yonge buses (Route 99) to Richmond Hill...
(* i.e.- the "Short Turn" buses are ok)
- Buses run north along Yonge Street, departing every 15 minutes till 10 pm.
For the return trip after your tour (i.e.- after 10 pm), buses run every
30 minutes, passing Weldrick at ~5 and ~35 minutes after the hour till the
last bus passes at ~1:05 am.
- Get off at Weldrick Street, which is one block north of Observatory Lane.
(following path "A" on the map shown below...)
- Walk along Weldrick (East), over the railway tracks, until you reach Kirsten.
- Turn right and walk until you reach Hillsview.
- Turn right and walk to the DDO.
- Give yourself at least 20 minutes for the walk.
(following path "B" on the map shown below...)
- Walk along Weldrick (East) until you reach the first traffic light.
- Turn right onto Church Street and walk to the end of the street.
- Keep walking straight throught the parkette and then through the
"pedestrian-only" railway crossing. You will now be on Hillsview Drive.
- Walk a short way up the hill to the DDO entrance on the right.
- Give yourself at least 15 minutes for the walk.
Bayview bus (Route 91) to Richmond Hill...
(note that this route generally cannot be used for your return trip,
as the last bus passes Weldrick at 10:50 pm
- Leaves from platform 4, and runs every half hour, at the hour and half hour.
- It travels north along Yonge, then east along Steeles, then north along Bayview.
- It stops on request at Weldrick Avenue (the fourth stop north of 16th Avenue).
- Allow at least 20 minutes to walk to the Observatory from the bus stop
(following path "C" shown on the map below).
Transit Info and Other Maps