Making out in a park may be clichĂŠ, but there's a reason why it's a consistent choice for teen lovers and adult partners with an affinity for over-exposure. Nature provides the view, crickets and grasshoppers make the soundtrack, and the relative reclusiveness keeps your show away from gawking eyes, while still affording you publicness that is, for some reason, desired.
High Park has many spots that are appropriately far from heavily populated urban centres--and yes, beyond just the spring Cherry Blossoms where every city dweller must take a seasonal photo. But among the most under-hyped (until now) is a little spot by the park's greenhouse, where a couple of lone picnic tables rest waiting for adoring occupants.
While many of High Park's picnic tables are arranged in designated picnic areas, the two tables here stand alone, just a few strides off the pedestrian path. Ignore the grotesque chains fixing them together at the base--think of it as a gothic-romantic symbol of eternal partnership. Yes, a gothic-romantic symbol that could give you wicked case of tetanus. These tables, fortunately, have not yet been branded with "Mista Pimp wuz here" or some other abhorrent pseudo-phrase, and are far enough from a main road to ensure some decent privacy.
The nearby vicinity is, of course, occupied by the 40,000-square-foot greenhouse facility, which supplies annuals to many of the city's gardens and landscapes. It doesn't look terribly enormous from its front picnic tables, though, and actually has a sort of charming north entrance (albeit, that opens to an office) with a rustic cottage feel and a homey flowerbed full of shrubs and yellow flowers. The surrounding trees are speckled close enough to provide a feeling of intimacy, but not so much so that you must wade through unknown plants, leaving you to risk an unfortunate rash later on (we'll leave that to your partner).
In the evening, this spot fades to quite dark and romantic, with the light from lampposts casting tree shadows over the ground. One might actually find it sort of eerie, but the atmosphere does lay the foundation for silly excuses to cuddle up close. (Though if you actually use/fall for such lines, you probably have greater things to fear). With little risk of interruption, the sights and sounds of nature at night, and a relatively clean place to sit (perhaps the most important detail of all) the picnic tables by the greenhouse in High Park are an ideal makeout spot, at least until you turn 16 and your mom lets you and your "friend" shut your bedroom.
High Park Greenhouse Picnic Table Roundup
Privacy: A+
A good year-round spot? Well, the washrooms are open year-round
Atmosphere: True Blood
Watch out for: Bites (the non-love kind)
Previously in this series:
#10: CityPlace Canoe
#9: Cloud Gardens Waterfall
#8: Sugar Beach
#7: UC Quad
#6: Chester Hill Lookout
#5: Union Station
#4: George the Martyr Church
#3: Cherry Beach
#2: Christie Pits Pool
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1 comment
I would like to add the Scarborough Bluffs! It’s near Lake Ontario, with lots of secluded places. What more do you want for your romantic interludes or should I say makeout sessions?