Walking on the Edge
- Bee Dee
- 6 hours ago
- 4 min read
October 4, 2025 · CN Tower EdgeWalk, Toronto, Canada
There is a moment — somewhere between the harness clicking shut and the door opening onto the ledge — when your brain quietly informs the rest of your body that this is, objectively, insane. You are 356 metres above downtown Toronto. The ledge is five feet wide. There is no railing. And yet here you are, in a red jumpsuit, about to walk around the outside of the CN Tower with nothing between you and the city below but air, steel mesh, and a very robust harness. This is EdgeWalk, and it is extraordinary.
Suiting Up
It begins at base camp on the ground floor of the CN Tower. You're met by the EdgeWalk crew — calm, professional, and clearly used to the look of mild terror on people's faces. Everything loose gets locked away: phones, wallets, jewellery, keys. You keep your clothes, your glasses and your nerve, and they provide the rest — a bright red jumpsuit that zips over everything, a full-body harness, and a carabiner that will clip you to the overhead rail for the duration. Many checks are made of you and the equipment.
The safety briefing is thorough. You're shown how the harness works, how the rail system works, what you can and can't do out on the ledge. Everything is designed to reassure you. It mostly works. And then you and the equipment is throughly checked again. Then you ride the elevator to the Summit Room, two storeys above the main observation deck, and the guide opens the door to the outside.
Stepping Out
That first step is something else. The wind hits you. The scale of the city below hits you. The fact that you are standing on the outside of a building, 116 storeys up, hits you. For a few seconds your legs have their own opinion about all of this, and that opinion is very clear. But then you take a deep breath and look out — Lake Ontario stretching to the horizon, the Toronto Islands, the baseball diamond of the Rogers Centre directly below, the grid of downtown towers that suddenly look quite small — and the fear gives way to something closer to awe.
There is no experience quite like standing on the outside of a building taller than anything else on the skyline, with your arms out and the whole of Toronto at your feet. Your brain says no. Your heart says absolutely yes.
The walk itself takes you around the full circumference of the tower's main pod, directly above the 360 Restaurant. The guides encourage you to try different poses — lean back over the edge, look straight down, hang forwards, stand with your toes over the rim. They photograph everything. You have no phone, no camera, no distractions. It's just you, the wind, and the view.
The Views from the Top
What strikes you most isn't the height itself — it's what the height lets you see. As you walk the full circle around the pod, the panorama shifts constantly. To the south, Lake Ontario stretches out like an inland sea, with the Toronto Islands laid out below you and the faint smudge of the New York State shoreline on the clearest days. To the north, the city's glass-and-steel downtown core gives way to neighbourhoods, ravines and suburbs fading into the distance. To the east and west, the waterfront curves away, dotted with marinas and parkland.
But the view that really stops you is the one directly below. The Rogers Centre sits right at the base of the tower, and if the retractable roof is open — as it was on our walk — you can look straight down into the baseball stadium. You can see the diamond, the outfield, the seats. It's like peering into a giant bowl from the sky. On a game day, with the crowd visible as a mosaic of tiny coloured dots, it must be even more surreal.
The Group
You walk in a small group — in our case, five of us plus the guide. There's something bonding about shared terror. By the time you've made it halfway round, everyone's grinning. Strangers become instant companions in the kind of experience that most people only ever watch on YouTube. The guide calls out poses, counts down for the cameras, and keeps the energy high. It's brilliantly run.
Back on Solid Ground
The whole experience lasts about 90 minutes, with around 30 minutes spent out on the ledge itself. When you step back inside, there's a rush of relief and exhilaration in roughly equal measure. You receive a certificate of achievement, a short video of your walk, and two printed photos — all included in the ticket. You also get a pass to visit the rest of the tower, including The Top observation platform, which at 447 metres is the highest in the western hemisphere. And you can purchase all the photos and a full video for an additional fee.
Walking back out onto the street afterwards, looking up at the pod you were just standing on, the whole thing feels faintly unreal. But the photos on your phone — well, the photos they email you later — confirm it. You really did that.
EdgeWalk — Everything You Need to Know What is it? The world's highest full-circle, hands-free external walk on a building. You walk around the outside of the CN Tower's main pod on a 1.5-metre wide ledge, 356 metres (116 storeys) above the ground. How long? About 90 minutes total, including the briefing, suiting up, and 30 minutes out on the ledge. What's included? A keepsake video, two printed photos, a certificate of achievement, and a ticket to visit the rest of the CN Tower including The Top. Cost? From around CAD $199–$225 per person (prices vary seasonally). Check the website for current rates. Age & requirements? Participants must be at least 13 years old. Closed-toe lace-up shoes required (they can provide some). No loose items permitted — everything goes in a locker. Weather? EdgeWalk operates in most weather conditions. Walks are only cancelled for lightning, high winds, or extreme weather. Some of the best visibility days are the coldest. Season? Operates seasonally (typically April/May through October/November). Arrive 30 minutes before your scheduled time. Book here: cntower.ca/brave-the-edgewalk |
