Some have been well preserved and offer a chance to experience days gone by, while others are graffiti-filled or slowly being reclaimed by nature.
And if their emptiness isn't eerie enough, some are said to even house a few spirits.
From crumbling ruins of once-beautiful mansions to an isolated former prison, here are nine abandoned places in and around Toronto to check out on your next adventure.
Indiana
Location: Cayuga, Ontario
Why You Need To Go: Located in Haldimand County about an hour and a half from Toronto is the former village of Indiana, which was once home to about 300 people.
The village was laid out by David Thompson, a promoter of the Grand River Navigation Company, which transformed the Grand River into a navigable waterway for commercial activity during the 1830s.
Indiana thrived as a result of the company's activity. Over time, however, the town was abandoned.
Today, all that's left of the former village are its cemetery, pasture land and orchards, and one remaining house known as the Hill House.
Thompson also developed an estate known today as Ruthven Park, a mid-19th-century country estate with a Greek Revival villa, the focus of the area, built in 1847.
Today, the area is a national historic site and is open to visitors. The property has also earned a reputation for being haunted.
Ruthven Park Website
Screaming tunnel
Location: Warner Road., Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
Why You Need To Go: Known as one of the most haunted areas in Ontario's Niagara Region, the Screaming Tunnel is a 125-foot-long brick tunnel located just outside of Niagara Falls.
The eerie 12-foot-high, 125-foot-long tunnel was constructed in the early 1800s, primarily serving as a drainage tunnel for the Grand Trunk Railway, according to the Clifton Hill BIA.
The tunnel also functioned as a pathway for farmers, livestock, and equipment to cross beneath the busy railway tracks. No longer in use, moss and algae have taken hold of the tunnel's stones, further adding to its creepy look.
According to local legend, a young girl who was killed and burned in the tunnel haunts the area to this day.
The famous urban tale has inspired generations of teens to strike a match in the tunnel and wait for the ghost of the girl to blow it out — the act is supposed to be followed by an "unearthly scream from the spirit," giving the tunnel its name.
It was even turned into a movie called Warner Road in 2018.
Clifton Hill BIA website
Balaclava
Location: Balaclava, Ontario
Why You Need To Go: Balaclava has been called Ontario's "most famous ghost town," and is definitely worth a visit.
Located in Renfrew County about 3 and a half hours from Toronto, Balaclava was once a thriving lumber town and home to some 200 people.
The sawmill, a well-known spot now completely run-down, was built in 1855, according to Reader's Digest.
It was forced to shut down sometime in the mid-1950s due to a lack of timber in the area. What's left today are crumbling and dilapidated buildings slowly being taken over by nature that provide an interesting look into the history of the region.
It's worth noting that the abandoned buildings are private property. That, in addition to their condition, means they're best admired from afar.
Ontario Trails Website
Burwash Correctional Centre
Location: Burwash Trail, Burwash, ON
Why You Need To Go: You can explore an abandoned prison that's just a road trip away from Toronto.
The Burwash Correctional Centre, also known as the Camp Bison Prison Farm, is a correctional facility located along the Trans Canada Highway.
While it's a bit of a trek from Toronto, the prison is an urban explorer's dream.
The prison was opened in 1914 and once housed anywhere between 180 and 820 inmates; it was later shuttered in 1975, according to Atlas Obscura.
Today the dilapidated and crumbling halls of the facility still stand, with rooms marked by graffiti and peeling paint.
Avalon Eco Resort, an off-the-grid resort in Killarney, facilitates tours of the historic prison. For a fee of $13.75 per person, you can take a peak into the eerie building and wander its halls.
To book a visit, you can contact the resort by phone or email.
Avalon Eco Resort website
Eldorado
Location: Eldorado, Ontario
Why You Need To Go: This ghost town about two and a half hours from Toronto on Highway 62 was the site of Ontario's first gold mine, the discovery of which caused the region's first gold rush.
The small village was once home to hotels, bars, brothels, boarding houses, stores and more than 80 buildings, according to Bancroft.com.
However, the boom soon became a bust — by the end of the 1870s, Eldorado consisted of grown-over streets, unoccupied homes, and a landscaped of failed digs, according to TVO.
Today, you can see what little remains of El Dorado — a few homes, one of the early general stores, a now-closed cheese factory, and other forgotten buildings.
Bancroft Ontario website
Crook's Hollow
Location: Crooks Hollow Road, Dundas, ON
Why You Need To Go: In Hamilton, you can visit this park that's home to the ruins of an abandoned village.
Located in the Christie Stream Valley natural area is Crooks' Hollow Conservation Area, where you'll find the remnants of early settlers that came to the area.
According to the Ontario Trails Council, a 1.5-kilometre self-guided trail in the conservation area will take you past early homes and the ruins of barns and water-control devices, as well as the Darnley Mill, which was gutted by fire in 1934, leaving only the ruins behind.
Conservation Hamilton website
Spirit Rock Conservation
Location: 92 Hwy. 6, Wiarton, ON
Why You Need To Go: You can visit a spiral staircase hidden in the forest and the abandoned ruins of an 18th-century mansion in this conservation area.
Located near Sauble Beach in Wiarton, the Spirit Rock Conservation Area is a popular spot for hikers due to its history, legends and remarkable view of Colpoy’s Bay.
Here, you'll find a spiral staircase that leads you down to the rocky shores of the bay and looks like something out of a fairytale.
You can also explore the ruins of the abandoned Corran, a once-beautiful 17-room stone mansion overlooking Colpoy's Bay constructed and owned by Alexander McNeil, an Irish aristocrat who moved to Canada in 1872.
The mansion was destroyed by a fire, according to Visit Wiarton, and was later taken over by the Sauble Valley Conservation Authority. Today, what remains of it are crumbled stone walls surrounded by vegetation.
Grey Sauble website
Hermitage ruins
Location: 621 Sulphur Springs Rd., Dundas, ON
Why You Need To Go: These ruins in Hamilton's Dundas Valley Conservation Area are eerie on their own, but rumours say a ghost may roam the grounds.
The Hermitage Ruins are all that remain of the Hermitage, a once magnificent stone mansion that was built in 1855 by George Gordon Browne Leith, according to the Ontario Trails Council.
Visitors can see the stone foundations of numerous buildings, some of which have been restored.
It's said that visitors may hear the cries and see the ghostly figure of William Black, a Hermitage estate coachman who died on the property in the 1830s and was buried at a nearby crossroad.
You can see the ruins for yourself in the conservation area. Stick around to do a nighttime ghost walk to the ruins and learn more about their haunted history.
Conservation Hamilton website
Gibraltar Point Lighthouse
Location: Hanlan's Point Park, 9 Queens Quay W., Toronto, ON
Why You Need To Go: You'll encounter more water than road to get to this spot, but its eerieness may be worth it.
On the Toronto Islands, you can visit a lighthouse that's said to have a spirit lingering around.
The Gibraltar Point Lighthouse on Hanlan's Point is one of Toronto's oldest buildings, having been completed in 1808, according to the Toronto Public Library.
No longer used for its original purpose, the lighthouse sits eerily alone on the island.
It's also said to be the site of strange and paranormal occurrences. According to legend, the ghost of a former lighthouse keeper haunts the grounds, and visitors have reported seeing unexplained lights on in the lighthouse windows.
While you can't go inside, you can visit the lighthouse on the island. The building occasionally also opens for tours for Doors Open Toronto, according to the TPL.
Hanlan's Point website
Before you get going, check out our Responsible Travel Guide so you can be informed, be safe, be smart, and most of all, be respectful on your adventure.
