Advice on seeing the eclipse for Toronto-based person

February 15, 2024 7:59 AM

I asked a very similar question yesterday, but want to broaden and follow-up today. I live in Toronto. I’d like to see the April 8 eclipse with my kid, in a place where we can see the total eclipse. What are good ways to do that, what should I know, what should I consider?

In a previous/narrower version of the question, I had some time constraints, but I’ve changed my schedule to eliminate those. I can take the fully day for this (or even the night before/after if helpful/necessary)

I wonder if traffic will be horrible - I’d love to avoid that if I can, just because it’s unpleasant.

My current frontrunner plan is: Get a via rail ticket, well in advance, from Toronto to Kingston. The 8:30 train gets in at 11:00 am. Eclipse is at 2:00, totality is 3:20, so lots of slack time if delays, etc… Get another train back in the afternoon/evening

- Does that seem reasonable?
- Are there other factors I should be considering?
- Is there some better plan I’m overlooking?
- Any other tips/advice?

Another idea would be stay overnight somewhere, but my thought is it might be hard to find accommodation?

I guess a big factor here is cloud cover. I suppose it could be the case that, say, it's sunny that day around Niagara Falls but not around Kingston? So maybe nice to have a plan that allows for some flexibility?

posted by ManInSuit to Grab Bag (10 answers total)

Here is a comprehensive breakdown of the path of the eclipse, including projected cloud cover and weather info, the width of the totality and the timing.
Be aware that there will be a metric shit-ton of other people wanting to do a last minute "drive to it and see it" plan, so traffic will be an issue, a big issue. It's already too late for "well in advance" planning.

Good luck and happy viewing!
posted by OHenryPacey at 8:12 AM on February 15 [3 favorites]

Kingston resident to say that you will need a cab depending on where you want to view the eclipse at. Our train station is weird in that it is NOT centrally located. There is a taxi stand there so you should be okay. I hope it's a nice day that to see it myself.
posted by Kitteh at 8:15 AM on February 15 [1 favorite]

If you're feeling up to it, you're welcome to join us in Rochester NY. :-)
posted by Wild_Eep at 8:41 AM on February 15 [1 favorite]

I expect clouds could be an issue in Canada in April? For the 2017 eclipse we stayed overnight on the edge of the zone of totality and checked the forecast in the morning before picking a town with clear skies to drive to.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 8:49 AM on February 15 [1 favorite]

Spring for business class on Via Rail, definitely worth it on a long travel day.
posted by shock muppet at 9:36 AM on February 15 [1 favorite]

Traffic will be horrible. Even in rural areas, the highways leading to and from areas of totality will absolutely be backed up.

Accommodation is highly unlikely to be found, unless you're willing to pay megabucks for it.

Clouds could very well interfere with totality but even if it is cloudy it's still a cool experience.

Go into this with plans but not expectations and I think you'll be better off.
posted by cooker girl at 9:43 AM on February 15

I’m in Buffalo and saw a presentation from our Science Museum about the eclipse earlier this week.

Here we are expecting a million people coming into town from surrounding areas. (Our city’s population is less than 300,000.) They said other areas in the path of totality are expecting similar influx. It’s going to be intense.

Their recommendations:
-if you’re traveling, do so as early as possible, direct to your destination, and then stay off the roads, especially the closer we get to the event
-expect extreme traffic conditions, as most locations will be full of people unfamiliar with the area they’re traveling to
-determine your destination in advance
-plan to stay wherever you are as long as possible, including food, water, and distractions for kids
-at minimum plan to stay until after the full event ends, which is several hours
-get your eclipse glasses in advance from a reputable source (NOT Amazon). Here our libraries and museums have them but you have to prove you’re a resident of the county

Have fun and stay safe!
posted by okayokayigive at 10:14 AM on February 15 [2 favorites]

On cloud cover: there was pretty heavy cloud cover where we saw the 2017 eclipse, but there were breaks in the clouds both before and during totality so all was not lost. Even with cloud cover there's still the fact that all the wildlife stops making noise, which is crazy. I also got some pretty dramatic photos just by taking the solar filter off my camera and aiming it straight at the clouds. Meanwhile, that link from OHenryPacey says:

The upshot of all of this is that lower elevations and a position on the south side of the larger lakes will give a greater likelihood of sunshine on eclipse day. With some interruptions, there is a band of lower cloudiness along the south shore of Lake Erie as far east as Dunkirk, and along the south shore of Lake Ontario from Niagara Falls to Oswego and a little beyond. Rochester is particularly well located along the south shore of Lake Ontario with a median cloud amount of just over 60 percent in the month. Over Canada, there is little variation in cloud amount through this section of the eclipse track, though Figure 18 shows a small advantage to the Kingston area due mostly to the absence of adverse terrain.

We've got friends with a place on Amherst Island and what amounts to a standing invitation to come visit, so that's basically been our plan since they bought it.
posted by fedward at 11:00 AM on February 15 [2 favorites]

This is my plan. In fact, you just reminded me to buy the ticket. If it's cloudy, you can cancel and get most or all of the fare back, depending on how much you want to spend up front. Or just have a cloudy short holiday in Kingston.

Get your eclipse shades now if you haven't already.
posted by rodlymight at 6:19 PM on February 15

Last eclipse the population of Wyoming approximately doubled. Now we know how long a (planned) evacuation of Wyoming would take.

Yes, there will be traffic. That having been said it’s definitely worth going— just plan that traffic will exist.
posted by nat at 11:04 PM on February 15 [1 favorite]