Dust off your sneakers, it’s time to hit the streets for the annual extravaganza of citizen-led walking tours – all inspired by Jane Jacobs – Jane’s Walk. Right here in the city, there are dozens of walks you can take part in and really get to know the place you call home. Here are a few to get you started.

Rouge National Urban Park: Explore where the city meets the outdoors! Managed by Parks Canada, Rouge National Urban Park is home to an amazing combination of natural, cultural and agricultural features, including 1,700 species of plants and animals, over 11,000 years of human history, rare farmland, a campground, and some of Toronto’s largest and best remaining wetlands and Carolinian forests. Dogs are welcome, trails are rugged. May 5th. (2 hrs)

Lost Toronto: What would we unearth if we dug below the towers that blanket downtown Toronto? Your guide, “Anna Jameson” (1794-1860), will take you back through time to the earliest days of Muddy York. Anna will explain the secrets of the area, such as the corner dubbed “Education, Salvation, Legislation and Damnation,” the reason why Graves Street was eliminated, the obscure sculpture marking the site of the original fever sheds, and the question that provoked Osgoode Law students: are the gates really cow-proof? May 5 & 6. (1 hr)

Harbord Village West Side: Backlanes, Boulevards and Graffiti, Bounded by Bathurst, Bloor, Spadina, College: Harbord Village – a more than 100-year-old community – strives to preserve its evolving heritage in a sea of change that is engulfing the entire city. Walks start at the Brunswick House – recently restored and converted to a Rexall drugstore (to the delight of some and dismay of others). The walk visits what used to be the Brunswick House stables (now the Green Room), winding through the graffiti alley and finishing up with a last look at Honest Ed’s. May 5 & 7. (2 hrs)

Here’s the Thing: A Creative Writing Walk (Part 1/Uptown): Led by Denise Pinto, this is a writer’s walk, a creative storytelling meander, a journey along inventive paths of your own spontaneous devising! You’ll be led through a few creative fiction exercises. We might write under trees, we might write under bridges. The route is up to us, and the walk leader might be you! We’ll pick the start point, but we’ll wander from there. We will rotate through volunteer guides, on a two-minute timer each time, until we find the next surprising perch, distressing nook, or enigmatic tableau. Let’s find places, scenes, people, sounds, curiosities, and use the world as fodder for making up stories. May 5. (1.5 hrs)

The Walk of Discovery: The Malvern You Thought You Knew! This walk starts at Neilson Park (1555 Neilson Road), a recreational space with a historical house built in the 1860s. We’ll pass by Habitat for Humanity houses, a conservation area where native flowers grow in the summer and a church where free community lunches take place. Finally, we will visit a local community heath centre, cross the street to visit the Children’s Garden, community orchard and The S.P.O.T., where we will learn about the youth initiatives that are taking place in the community. May 6. (1.5 hrs)

Under the Rainbow – Don Mills to the Rainbow Tunnel and the East Don: Meet at the Shops at Don Mills and look at items that tell the story of Canada’s first planned community. You’ll then enter a greenbelt and arrive at a road that goes down a long and steep hill through a lovely wooded ravine to Moccasin Trail Park. We pause for a rest and then go under the DVP through a little-known tunnel. After a brief connecting trail, we come to the portal of the “Rainbow Tunnel” under the Metrolinx Richmond Hill Line. Our path is a trail planned as part of a network of scenic routes connecting outer and inner Toronto. May 6. (1.5 hrs)

Toronto’s Reggae History: This walk has got plenty of indoor spots, so don’t be too weary of the rain. Do come with your raincoat/umbrella for the in between bits.*We will explore the Reggae history of the neighbourhood from the 1960s onward. There is a rich history told through food, style and music. Through the walk we will encounter some of the people and places that made the neighbourhood a “home” for talent.

You’ve Changed: History, Lifestyle & Culture in West Queen West, Lower Ossington & Trinity Bellwoods Park: “You’ve Changed” focuses on cultural landmarks, community hubs and gathering places in the West Queen West, Trinity Bellwoods Park and Lower Ossington neighbourhoods. In this walking conversation, we’ll explore the forces of change (in geography, architecture, culture and attitudes towards mental illness) that have made this neighbourhood what it is today. With a focus on lifestyle, food, architecture and history, we’ll delve into the community’s past while appreciating its present – how the area has evolved and all the great things it has to offer. May 6. (1.5 hrs)

Skateboarding in Toronto’s Financial District: For decades, skaters have been gathering in Toronto’s Financial District to play in the streets – but why? What’s so intriguing about Toronto for skateboarders? What do we lose or gain by allowing skaters to play in these spaces? Dogs welcome. May 6. (1.5 hrs)

Wychwood Park: Wychwood Park is a little enclave of woods, beautiful houses, a pond, a creek, and a lot of history, in the heart of Toronto. The gate is usually locked – only the residents have keys – but the pedestrian gate allows people on foot to explore the park freely. The sign at the gate says PRIVATE, but respectful visitors are not unwelcome. The pedestrian entrance is on Davenport Road, the oldest road in the province – the shoreline of the post-glacial Lake Iroquois. Inside the park you can see the last few metres of Taddle Creek that remain above ground, and the fine old houses of the founders of the park. May 7. (1 hr)