Hidden Rivers 2025 in Review

And just like that, the third year of Hidden Rivers has come to a close. ​We have come a long way in three years. What began as me sharing my love for Toronto on social media has turned into something extraordinary: a meaningful community sharing our passion for this city with each other.

When I began this tour company, I thought its purpose was to walk around and share facts about Toronto; I now see the purpose is the friendships, relationships, and collaborations that have been sparked along the way. Seeing this community form, and hearing your stories about how Hidden Rivers has changed you, has been a singular joy.

Here is a summary of this summer’s major highlights.

This summer marked a meaningful change in Hidden Rivers’ trajectory: the launch of our first course, Toronto’s 12,000 Year History. Our pilot group of 25 students met twice a week to try to answer the question: on a fundamental level, what is Toronto? We read widely, we filled multiple whiteboards weekly, we ventured all over the city, and we studied ecology, geography, history, and urban planning to try to make sense of our city together.

Because of the success of this pilot course, Toronto’s 12,000 Year History will be returning for 2026. There will be two offerings of the course, so mark your calendars now:

• Wednesdays at 6pm and Sundays at 10am, from July 15 to August 16, 2026

• Thursdays at 6pm and Sundays at 10am, from July 16 to August 16, 2026

Applications will open in the spring. This essay outlines the motivations behind the course. You can pre-register your interest here.

Register interest in course

This summer’s main new tour was The Signal & The Noise, an exploration of all of the infrastructure at a single intersection—hydro, sewage, water, telephone, streetcar, bike share, graffiti, playgrounds, signage, traffic lights.

Another major milestone was the debut of tours with American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation. Accessible tours like this one will become a fixture of the Hidden Rivers schedule in years to come. Toronto’s history is for everyone, and so are these tours.

Finally, this year concluded with a Mystery Tour. We met in Union Station, but no one was told where we were going. After much speculation, we boarded the ferry to the Toronto islands. Even once we were on the island some people were still skeptical. Some believe the mystery remains unsolved to this day.

Earlier this summer, I attended Rebecca Arshawsky’s Jane’s Walk on the Jewish history of Harbord Village, and knew she’d be a perfect fit for the Hidden Rivers team. Her tour told a story that is familiar to every group that has ever called Toronto home: immigration and resettlement, marginalization and allyship, tradition and assimilation.

Rebecca’s tours have been a highlight of the summer. Her final tour is on September 7th, but, unsurprisingly, it’s sold out. Even I can’t get a ticket! It’s competitive out there!

Last week we launched Hidden Rivers merch. The back of the shirt has images that represent all 9 tours I have created thus far. Can you recognize them all?

We are now running a limited-time sale of this shirt. A one-time exclusive drop. Cop yours before it's too late.

Buy Hidden Rivers Merch

Hidden Rivers wouldn’t be possible without the hard work of many people behind the scenes. This year, I want to give a special thank you to:

• Alex Stein, for his unmissable graffiti & sticker walking tour

• Aneessa Mustafa & Alex Gurbin, for their extraordinary ASL interpretation

• The Bike Share Toronto Team — Cai, Grace, and Wes — for teaching us about their exponentially growing program

• Dani Milanovic, Pranathi Mokkapati, Rares Popa, Ruth Tryphosa, Stephanie Koehl & Syvanne Avitzur, for planning the kick-off

• Deaf Spectrum, for helping make my ASL tour launch video

• Ellen Li, for taking us behind the scenes to Village By the Grange, and for her incredibly detailed support on t-shirt design and production

• Julianna Skye, for being a phenomenal video editor

• Laurel Schwulst, for invaluable thought partnership, and for inspiring both Hidden Rivers’ new website and The Signal & The Noise

• Rebecca Arshawsky, for being Hidden Rivers’ first “signed artist”

• Suzanne Jordan, Mitchell Jordan, and Hannah Jordan, for being the backbone of the Kick-Off and End-of-Summer Celebration events

• Victoria Morton, for perpetual wisdom and handling all printing

• Wygo, for strategic consultation on all aspects of Hidden Rivers

Yours in exploration,
Matthew Jordan
hiddenrivers.ca