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For Dustin’s birthday, we decided to make a trip to Toronto, Canada, and Niagara Falls. Why Toronto you ask? Well, this is partially because we found out we could do the EdgeWalk, where we walk around the outside of the CN tower with no railing! Imagine that! Walking around the outside of the tower that is 1,168ft (356 meters) high, with nothing but a harness!! We could be in the Guinness World Record for the highest external walk on the building in the world!! Sign us up!
CN Tower:
290 Bremner Blvd, Toronto, ON M5V 3L9, Canada
The CN Tower has only one entrance, which is the Bremner Boulevard entrance (south side of the CN Tower).
The closest parking lots to the CN Tower for your Edgewalk experience are the south lot of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (enter off Lower Simcoe Street from Bremner Boulevard or Lake Shore Boulevard) and the Impark lot on Navy Wharf Court (along the west side of the Rogers Centre just north of Bremner Boulevard). These are paid lots by the way.
At the time of our visits, it is CAD 199/person. You can check for more updated pricing here.
90 minutes fo the Edgewalk. However, we recommend budgeting at least another 1.5 – 2 hours extra to spend at the Observation Levels and the Top.
Early morning for less crowd or during sunset for beautiful views. We also recommend choosing a calmer day. You don’t want to be out there if it’s too windy.
At the time of this article, it is CAD 199/person. This includes the EdgeWalk experience itself AND a ticket to visit the rest of the tower. With the EdgeWalk ticket, you can access the Main Observation area and the Top without having to pay extra or make a timed reservation. Pretty cool right? You’ll also get a video about your experience and 2 printed photos of you looking all sexy out on the edge.
The video is a helmet cam from your guide, about 15 minutes long. They also took 5 photos of each person and some group shots. You’ll get 2 photos out of those. If you want the rest of the photos, you’ll have the option to purchase them.
As mentioned above, you’ll be 116 stories above Toronto. That is 356 meters (1,168 feet) high! It is higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris!
We recommend wearing clothing warm enough but not bulky. This way, you can move around easier. They’ll give you a jumpsuit to go over your clothes. However, if you get cold easily, wear a jacket. As for shoes, you’ll need closed-toe shoes with laces. My sister wore her slip-on Adidas shoes and they made her switch. The good thing is, they have shoes there for you to use if you don’t have the appropriate footwear. They also have jackets, hats, and gloves if you need some.
Besides that, you’ll also need to remove anything that is removable such as jewelry, wallets, keys, and even gums. The only thing we could have on are our glasses. If you have long hair, you’ll need to tie your hair up with a hair tie. However, you can’t have bobby pins or anything else.
Pretty much only yourself. You’ll need to leave EVERYTHING, including medicines in a locker at the prep room on the bottom floor. The only thing you can bring is your glasses, which are attached to you by a provided lanyard. And no, you cannot bring your phones or cameras with you. Once done with the EdgeWalk, you’ll go back to the prep room to change and get your stuff. For the Main Observation Deck and the Top, you can take all your belongings with you.
The CN tower EdgeWalk takes about 1.5 hours. The majority of the time is the prepping time where they’ll get you suit-up and go over all the rules and such. The EdgeWalk itself is 30 minutes. So, make sure you use the washroom before going into the prep room to get suit-up.
Heck yeah! This is like the safest adventure that we’ve ever done. No seriously! Besides the fact that they have at least 2 different staff members checking your gear multiple times, they also regularly do safety reviews and maintenance to make sure everything works properly. Before even getting outside, you’ll be attached to not 1, but 2 tethers, front and back. These tethers are super strong and can hold thousand of pounds. So, unless you weight thousands of pounds, I’m pretty sure you’ll be fine!
And guess what, it IS wheel-chair accessible! They have a specially designed one-piece wheelchair for those who need it. For this, you’ll need to call and book through the phone though. You can call 416.601.3833 for more info!
The day before our highly anticipated EdgeWalk, the CN tower sent us an email reminding us about our adventure and about the check-in process. According to both the email and the website, we need to get there 30 minutes before our scheduled time. Once at the entrance, we can bypass all the ticketing lines to the Main Entrance where a team member will direct us through security, and then to the check-in room for EdgeWalk.
It sounded easy enough. The only problem: our scheduled time was 10 am, the same time the CN Tower opened. So when we got there at 9:30 am, 30 minutes prior, there weren’t any staff members working. The staff members arrived eventually, but even after we told them that we had the EdgeWalk tickets, we weren’t allowed in. They made us wait in line to get in. It wasn’t a big deal but we weren’t sure if we were running late for our 10 am scheduled time. Not sure what to do, we called the phone number for the CN Tower and were told that we could go in. Well, that wasn’t the case. We waited in line until 10 am before being let it. So, we weren’t sure where that miscommunication came from. It wasn’t a big deal but it was quite confusing.
After going through security, we ran toward the check-in desk for the EdgeWalk, hoping that we weren’t late. Luckily, all the staff members at the EdgeWalk area were super nice and helpful. We signed our waivers and headed to the prep room to get ready.
Once we entered the prep room, we were asked to put all our belongings away, including removable jewelry. Then, Eddie and Gael, the 2 staff members there helped us gear up. They were super nice and answered all of our questions. By the way, the staff members will check multiple times to make sure that you don’t sneak anything that could be dropped up to the tower. They took that seriously. During our gear-up, Damien and Gwynette joined us, rounding our group to a total of 6 people.
When everyone finished suited up, Ronnie, our guide, met us at the prep room. After we introduced ourselves, Ronnie went over a few rules, double-check our gear. Then, we were ready for our adventures. My sister, Vivienne, and my brother-in-law, Marvin, were very nervous because she wasn’t a big adrenaline like Dustin and I. However, Ronnie did a great job pumping everyone up.
Ronnie took everyone on a private elevator to the Edgewalk floor. At this point, we were a floor above the Main Observation deck, which is 116 stories high. Here, we met with our Walk Master, Lacy. She’s the one who makes sure all the cameras and equipment are running properly. After explaining how everything worked, Ronnie hooked each of us onto the tethers. Then, a few more rounds of safety checks and we were ready to get outside.
The CN Tower Edgewalk goes all around the tower, giving us 360-degree views of the entire Toronto. From the top, we could see Niagara Falls and more. Ronnie divided our walks into different sections, with each section a different activity.
We started with an easy “toes-over-the-edge” exercise. This was where we literary put both of our feet about 5” over the edge. It was easy for Dustin and me since we’re used to Bungee Jumping and similar activities. However, my sister was pretty nervous. After this exercise, it is the “sit backward over the edge.” Ronnie showed us how to do it first and then have everyone do it one by one. Since we’re canyoneers, we’re used to rappelling. So, it was the same concept as rappelling for us. However, it was still pretty cool being able to dangle our bottoms 1,168 feet in the air. We were just hanging out, watching people below and above us while waiting for everyone else to take their turns. As terrified as my sister was, she did it!
Once we moved to a different location, we were ready for the third exercise “Leaning forward as far as you can.” For this one, everyone except for Dustin and I had a little nervous breakdown. There’s something nerve-wracking about looking over 1,000ft down with just you and the air. The only reason Dustin and I were fine was because we had wing-walked before. After walking on the wings of a flying airplane as it did aerobatic moves, the CN Tower Edgewalk didn’t seem that bad. It’s funny because my sister was so scared at first but as we went along, she got better and better. She said that it felt very safe.
After all the exercises, it’s time for photos. Ronnie took photos of each of us individually, then group photos. Along the way, she also showed us different areas of Toronto. Unfortunately, all good things had to come to an end. This one seemed quite fast. After taking off our harness, Ronnie took us back to the prep room so we could change and get our belongings. She also told us that we each had a re-entry ticket that we could use to get to the Main Observation and the Top of the CN tower. Make sure to hold on to these tickets since you’ll also need them to go to the Top.
Once we collected our stuff, we made our way to the elevator for the Main Observation Level. The Main Observation Level has pretty much the same views that we just had but behind big glass panels. To be honest, we were ruined by the unobstructed views that we just had on the Edgewalk. However, here, you’ll have more time to appreciate and take photos of the cityscapes. There are also restrooms, a restaurant, and a little cafe where you can get food and drinks.
Pro-tip: The CN Tower has its own app that you can download. It helps you locate different landmarks and more.
We recommend taking the stairs to the Lower Observation Level. Here, there are a clear glass panels on the floor where you can stand and look straight down to the bottom of the CN Tower. It’s similar to the Sky Walk at the Grand Canyon. Even though it’s not much, some people were terrified just standing on top of these glass panels. At the outdoor terrace, you can feel the wind and listen to the noises of Toronto from the outside. There is also an OverView station. This is a small area where you can lean forward to look down below. It’s similar to the lean forward exercise that we did on the Edgewalk but way more protected. There are clear glass panels beneath you.
After we were done with the Main and Lower Observation Levels, we were ready for the Top. For normal visitors, you’ll need to pay extra and make a timed reservation to go up top. For the Edgewalk badasses, you can just walk to the elevator and inform the people there that you have done the Edgewalk. With the Edgewalk ticket, you don’t need to wait in line. You can access the Top anytime.
The Top of the CN Tower is interesting. You’ll have almost the same views as the Main Observation Level. However, from up here, we could see other people doing the CN Tower Edgewalk below us. It was interesting seeing it from a different angle. There is also a pendulum at the escalator. If it’s windy, you could tell by the pendulum swinging. We came on a very calm day so this pendulum was very still. Lucky us!
The CN Tower is such an interesting experience. We highly recommend doing the Edgewalk if you’re visiting. Trust us, the views from the Main Observation and even the Top can’t compare to the views outside!
Happy Adventuring. Don’t forget to check out the related posts below for more inspiration on your upcoming adventures. While at it, follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel! We’ll love you forever!
These are the gear that we personally use and find helpful for this particular adventure. Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.
Our favorite hiking/travel jacket. It's warm and packable, perfect to bring on a hike or a road trip.
Our favorite hiking/travel jacket. It's warm and packable, perfect to bring on a hike or a road trip.
Our favorite biodegradable, eco-friendly, reef-safe sunscreen!
This is our go-to camera for all of our adventures. It comes with us everywhere!
Compact GoPro pole that extends to 25", perfect to bring on your adventure.
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Hi! We are Dustin & Vy, the proud creators of Live That Adventure. We created this website because we wanted to inspire others to live their lives to the fullest. On here, you’ll find everything from hiking, canyoneering, kayaking, and snorkeling to adventure and travel tips, gear reviews, and bucket list items such as bungee jumping or wing walking. We’ll show you the ropes so you can do them too!
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