Animal-watching at Centreville Amusement Park.

What’s the most family-friendly destination in Toronto? According to my recent blog post for “Have Family Will Travel,” the family travel blog from Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, it’s Centre Island, one of the barrier islands smack in the middle of the city’s harbor.

The story, titled, “Family Day Trip for Dad: Toronto’s Centre Island,” was published on the blog last week.

It chronicles a recent visit with an “adopted” pod—a friend, her sister, and the sister’s two kids.

Without question, the undisputed highpoint of the experience (and of the story) was our time at Centreville Amusement Park, an expansive amusement park. Here, the lot of us spent hours riding rides, playing games on the arcade, splashing around in puddles (it rained while we were there) and petting animals at the on-site petting farm.

Another fun part of the trip: The ferry ride (in a 70-year-old ferry) from Toronto’s waterfront out to the island itself.

All told, our fun-loving jaunt to Centre Island was a spectacular (and family-friendly) way to spend a day in Toronto. I can’t wait to bring my own kids next time.