Richmond Hill (Ontario)

Richmond Hill is a city in Southern Ontario in the central portion of York Region. It's part of the Greater Toronto Area, about 20 km north of the downtown core of Toronto.

Understand

Richmond Hill is the third most populous municipality in York Region and the 28th most populous municipality in Canada. Richmond Hill has had a large population growth in relatively recent years, and was considered one of the fastest growing communities in the 1990s. The federal government tallied the population at 195,022 people in 2016.

Get in

Richmond Hill Centre Terminal

By bus

York Region Transit (YRT) operates bus service in York Region (including Viva express buses). From Toronto, take either the Viva Blue bus or YRT Route 98/99 from Finch Subway Station on TTC subway Line 1 Yonge-University. These bus routes will take you along Yonge Street through the centre of Richmond Hill with a major stop at 🌍 Richmond Hill Centre Bus Terminal. Viva Blue will make fewer stops than YRT 98/99 so it will generally be faster. The ride will take about half an hour. Alternatively, you can always board TTC subway Line 1 towards Vaughan Metro Centre and connect to Viva Orange service at Vaughan Metro Centre or YRT at Pioneer Village station.

GO Transit operates several routes that connects nearby towns and cities to Richmond Hill. GO Bus Routes 40, 51, 52 and 54 all stop at Richmond Hill Centre. GO Bus Route 40 connects Hamilton and Mississauga (Square One and Toronto Pearson International Airport) with Richmond Hill on hourly basis (every 30 mins during rush hour on weekdays) seven days a week. This GO bus routes also stop at Highway 407 station on TTC subway Line 1 on its way to and from Richmond Hill Centre. GO Bus Route 51 operates on Monday to Friday between Highway 407 station and Pickering via Richmond Hill Centre and Scarborough Town Centre at 30-min intervals. GO Bus Route 52 operates seven days a week between Highway 407 station and Oshawa via Richmond Hill Centre. GO Bus Route 54 operates on Monday to Friday between Highway 407 station and Markham via Richmond Hill Centre. Visitors coming from west or south of Richmond Hill can change bus at Square One Terminal in Mississauga or Highway 407 station in Vaughan to reach Richmond Hill.

By train

GO Transit provides train and bus service between Toronto and Richmond Hill with stops at the 🌍 Langstaff GO Station, 🌍 Richmond Hill GO station and 🌍 Gormley GO station on weekdays. However, this service is more useful for commuters rather than visitors with trains running either inbound to Toronto in the morning rush hours or outbound in the afternoon rush. GO bus route 61 stops at the three GO Train stations mentioned above but lacks late afternoon and evening service from Richmond Hill to Union Station. There is no GO train or bus service between Toronto and Richmond Hill on weekends and holidays.

By plane

GO Transit operates Route 40 – Airport Express GO Bus hourly, seven days a week between Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga and Richmond Hill Centre Terminal via Highway 407. The one-way fare is $7.35^{(as of 2018)} and the trip takes 20 minutes.

Toronto/Buttonville Municipal Airport (YKZ ^IATA) is just east of Richmond Hill's city boundary at highway 404 on 16th Avenue, in the city of Markham.

By car

Richmond Hill is easily accessed by major highways. Highway 404 connects from Toronto northwards to Newmarket. This highway serves as the political boundary between Richmond Hill on the west and Markham on the east from Highway 7 north to 19th Avenue and Whitchurch-Stouffville on the east from 19th Avenue north to Bloomington Road. Richmond Hill is also just north of Highway 407 toll road.

Get around

With attractions spread out and free parking available at practically everywhere, car is the most common and easiest way to get around.

By bus

York Region Transit operates the municipal buses in Richmond Hill. Bus service is adequate, although you should check the timetables to make sure you don't waste your time waiting for half an hour. Service along Yonge street and Highway 7, where most of the interesting destinations are, are excellent, and even if you miss your bus, the next one generally comes soon. Stops offering VIVA bus service have electronic timeboards that will give you the arrival times of the next three buses. Since these times are estimated through a GPS connection to each bus, the times are generally accurate. Most bus routes do stop at Richmond Hill Centre for easy connection to other routes.

A ride within Richmond Hill counts as one zone and will cost $4.00. The tickets are time-stamped and valid for two hours. You can pay by cash, Presto card or use its mobile app for payment. You can also purchase multiple tickets at a discount. Remember to validate your ticket before a ride in the machines by the bus stops. There will be a slot for you to insert the ticket to be timestamped.

See

• 🌍 Mill Pond, 321 Mill St (about 1 km east of Yonge St via Wright St and Mill St). This picturesque park has a pond with a fountain, ducks and greenery along the shores. The pond used to power a sawmill, long since gone. (updated Aug 2016)
• 🌍 Richmond Hill Heritage Centre (Amos Wright House), 9 Church St N (1 block east of Yonge St, north of Centre St), ☎ [phone]. Tue 1-4pm, Thu 4-8pm, Sat 10am-4pm. The heritage centre is in a restored 1840s Regency style cottage originally home of Amos Wright, the first Reeve of Markham Township. The cottage is in Amos Wright Park with gardens having herbs, heritage plants and roses. (updated Aug 2016)
• 🌍 Wilcox Lake (At the corner of Bayview Avenue and Bethesda Side Road). A kettle lake in the Oak Ridges moraine and a provincially significant wetland. Free. (updated Feb 2018)

Do

Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts

• 🌍 Concerts in the Park (Mill Pond), 321 Mill St (about 1 km east of Yonge St via Wright St and Mill St). There are Thursday evening concerts at the gazebo in the Mill Pond park in July and August. Attendees are advised to bring their own chairs for seating. (updated Aug 2016)
• 🌍 David Dunlap Observatory, 123 Hillsview Dr (at the end of a long driveway), ☎ [phone]. This is a working observatory operated by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Visits generally require a purchase of a ticket for a specific, scheduled event. (updated Aug 2016)
• 🌍 Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts, 10268 Yonge St (at Wright St), ☎ [phone]. 631-seat performance space for professional musicians, actors, dancers & comics. (updated Aug 2016)
• 🌍 Museum of the Streets (tour starting at the Richmond Hill Heritage Centre), 19 Church St N. The Museum of the Streets is a self-guided walking tour of sites in Richmond Hill, with an explanatory sign posted at each site. The website has a PDF map. Free. (updated Aug 2016)

Buy

• 🌍 Hillcrest Mall, 9350 Yonge St (north of Hwy 407), ☎ [phone]. Large indoor shopping centre with department stores and food court. (updated Aug 2016)
• 🌍 Times Square, 550 Highway 7 East (NW corner of Highway 7 and Leslie St). A small-size mall with Chinese restaurants and stores (updated Jan 2018)

Eat

• 🌍 BB Cafe & Pastry Boutique, 10067 Yonge St (½ block south of Lorne Ave), ☎ [phone]. In addition to lots of sweets, this cafe serves some nice sandwiches and espresso-based coffees. (updated Aug 2016)
• 🌍 Covernotes, 10268 Yonge St (SW corner with Wright St). A coffee shop located in a heritage building, which was formerly the Richmond Hill High School built in 1897 and used as a school until 1924. The interior is as quaint as the building's exterior. (updated Sep 2017)
• 🌍 Jubilee Square, 280 West Beaver Creek Rd (at NW corner with Highway 7). This mall has a cluster of Asian-cuisine restaurants (Chinese, Japanese, etc.). (updated Aug 2016)

• Akasaka Japanese Restaurant, Jubilee Square. Sushi and Tepanyaki. (updated Jul 2016)

• 🌍 Rifca's Mediterranean Kitchen, 8950 Yonge St (just north of Hwy 7), ☎ [phone]. Delicious homemade food for a decent price. Shawarma, Falafel, and other hearty selections. The owners are really friendly there too. $5-15. 
• 🌍 John's Chinese BBQ Restaurant (敍香園海鮮燒臘酒家), 328 Hwy 7 (1 traffic light east of Bayview Ave, on Hwy 7), ☎ [phone]. 11AM-11PM. Authentic Chinese restaurant. Renowned for its BBQ pork (cha siu). (updated Apr 2019)

Drink

• 🌍 Falcon And Firkin, 10300 Yonge St (north of Wright St), ☎ [phone]. English-style tavern with outdoor seating area & pub food. (updated Aug 2016)

Sleep

Budget

• 🌍 Emerald Isle Motel, 8700 Yonge St, L4C 6Z5 (At the NE corner of Yonge St and Garden Ave, just north of Highway 7.), ☎ [phone]. (updated Feb 2018)
• 🌍 Travelodge Richmond Hill, 10711 Yonge Street (just south of Elgin Mills Rd), ☎ [phone]. (updated Aug 2016)

Mid-range

• 🌍 Best Western Parkway Hotel Toronto North, 600 Hwy 7, L4B 1B2 (NE corner of Highway 7 and Leslie St), ☎ [phone]. (updated Jan 2018)
• 🌍 Sheraton Parkway Toronto North Hotel & Suites, 9005 Leslie St (NE corner of Highway 7 and Leslie St), ☎ [phone]. (updated Jan 2018)
• 🌍 Holiday Inn Express & Suites Toronto - Markham, 10 East Pearce St, L4B 0A8 (Highway 404 to Highway 7 westbound, turn north on Leslie St; the hotel is on the east side), ☎ [phone]. Despite the name, the hotel is located in Richmond Hill and not in Markham (updated Feb 2018)

Connect

Richmond Hill Centre bus terminal provides free WiFi.

Stay safe

Richmond Hill has a hospital: Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital. It is located on Major Mackenzie Drive just west of Yonge Street.

Go next

Routes through Richmond Hill

Newmarket ← Aurora ←	N  S	→ Markham → Toronto
Kitchener ← Vaughan ←	W  E	→ Markham → becomes → Peterborough
END ←	N  S	→ North York → Toronto