Playing here
Brantford offers a healthy life-balance
Play, though different for each person and every family, is an important part of a healthy life-balance. It permits us to shift gears and apply ourselves to creative and active outlets. Brantford offers many avenues for “play” through sport, culture, art, events, social connection, and much more. We are a growing community with a legacy of creating these outlets and participating in activities that help us strike that much needed symmetry in life.
On this page, we encourage you to:
- explore our recreational activities;
- discover our arts and culture scene;
- sample our retail, food and drink establishments; and,
- tap into our community events and programs.
Explore our recreational activities
Our connection to natural features and green spaces coupled with access to fantastic facilities opens the door to healthy benefits for all our residents. Whether soloing it on the trails or participating in organized sport, opportunities to be active abound in Brantford. Consider just a few of the amazing options in our community.
Cycling
With over 70 km of natural trails winding along the Grand River, and 18 km of bike lanes throughout the City, Brantford has become a premier destination for cyclists. The Brantford Rotary Bike Park (“Bike Park”) is free to use and offers a wide selection of opportunities and challenge levels for beginners and advanced riders alike.
Earl Haig
The Earl Haig Family Fun Park boasts a wide variety of water attractions including a splash pad, swimming pool, waterslide, and a lazy river. Other activities include batting cages, 18-hole mini golf, picnic areas and more.
Fields and Facilities
Brantford has a strong history of excellent sports, tournaments, and events with a diverse offering of sports surfaces and facilities.
Golf
The Walter Gretzky Municipal Golf Course and Learning Centre delivers 18 memorable holes of golf complete with complete amenities. The Brantford Golf and Country Club, one of Canada’s oldest clubs and most venerated golf courses, is an exclusive establishment providing breathtaking views and outstanding experiences along the Grand River.
Grand River
The serene Grand River, a designated Canadian Heritage River, is a paddler's and angler's paradise weaving its way through our city along some of the largest stands of Carolinian forests in Canada. The beautiful river is one of the city's largest tourism assets and also links Brantford to neighbouring communities of Six Nations of the Grand River and County of Brant.
Parks
Green space is a defining feature of the Brantford landscape. The City operates 60 playgrounds and hundreds of acres of parkland throughout the community.
Sporting Groups
With first class facilities, our local sport organizations offer a variety of programs that have gone on to win regional, provincial, and national titles.
Swimming and Splash Pads
Municipal pools and splash pads along with the Laurier Brantford YMCA provide year-round aquatics and active refreshment for all ages. The Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre houses a 65m swimming and high diving pool along with a 25m competitive lane pool.
Trails
With over 70 km of trails, you can run, hike, and bike through beautiful outdoor spaces. Many connect to nearby communities such as Port Dover, Hamilton, Paris, and beyond offering virtually limitless options for exercise and exploration.
Discover our arts and culture scene
Rooted in the past, our arts and culture environment continues to evolve and expand in step with the growth of the community. We have an array of performing, literary and visual arts organizations; multicultural groups; libraries; museums, galleries and historic sites; artists and artisans; and the historic Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts. Take in some of our local treasures:
Grand Exhibit
Our Grand Exhibit is a partnership between the City of Brantford and Glenhyrst Art Gallery of Brant, which features twelve to-scale reproductions from Glenhyrst's permanent collection displayed throughout the City.
Libraries
The Brantford Public Library has two branches and online tools that provide free access to information, ideas and opportunities for discovery, and spaces to use and share them.
Performing Arts
Our performing arts community offers incredible entertainment throughout the city, and some of the most popular annual events will have you dancing and singing along. With over 100 years of history, the Sanderson Centre is the crowning jewel of performing arts in Brantford.
Public Art
Brantford's Public Art Collection reflects some of our community's most important people, places and stories. It shares our history and envisions our future.
Sample our retail, food and drink establishments
Our community’s cultural fabric is accented with many outstanding retail, food and drink establishments. We invite you to sample some of these unique places that appear most to your interests and tastes.
- Food and Drink – Brantford has diverse dining options you need to satisfy your palate. With a great mix of popular chains, unique local establishments, and microbreweries, you can enjoy tasting your way around Brantford.
- Retail Shopping – From specialized downtown establishments to commercial shopping centres like the Lynden Park Mall and Brantford Commons to unique boutique and lifestyle shops, there is so much to find without ever having to leave the community.
Tap into our community events and programs
Events, programs, and activities may be the most visible signs of our flourishing community. Tap into what’s happening in our community.
- Brantford Community Events
- Brantford Public Library Calendar
- Brantford Recreation Activities Calendar
- Discover Brantford “What’s On”
- Sanderson Centre Calendar
Contact Us
City of Brantford
58 Dalhousie Street
P.O. Box 818
Brantford, Ontario
N3T 2J2
Phone: 519-759-4150