Rathwood

Rathwood lies north of Burnhamthorpe Road East and south of Highway 403 and Eastgate Parkway, running east to Etobicoke Creek at the Toronto border and west to roughly Central Parkway East near Cawthra Road. Dixie Road, Tomken Road and Rathburn Road East cross it.

Most Rathwood houses are single-detached homes built between 1960 and 1980 on moderate lots: two-storeys, side-splits and bungalows with attached garages, with semi-detached pairs mixed through the streets. The larger houses and lots sit in Rockwood Village near Garnetwood Park and Bough Beeches Park. Townhouse living is a strong second: condominium townhouse complexes cluster around Fieldgate Drive and Rathburn Road East, and Rathburn itself carries a string of them, including the 34-unit complex at 640 Rathburn Road East and the 1980 complex of about 100 two-storey units with a tennis court at 1951 Rathburn Road East near Ponytrail Drive. High-rise options are few but distinct: The Compass at 1360 Rathburn Road East, an 18-storey, 176-suite tower built in 1986 by United Lands with tennis courts, an indoor pool and a whirlpool on a large landscaped site, and The Capri at 1359 Rathburn Road East, a 20-storey, 229-suite building by Amacon from 2004 with an indoor pool and gym. Apartment buildings are scattered through the district as well.

MiWay's 5 Dixie runs the length of Dixie Road to Dixie GO on the Milton line and on to Long Branch, and 26 Burnhamthorpe crosses the district on its way to the TTC subway; the Dixie and Burnhamthorpe corner is a busy transfer point. The Mississauga Transitway runs along Eastgate Parkway on the district's north side, with Dixie station, Tahoe station and Etobicoke Creek station, the last two opened on February 16, 2016, and express routes such as 107, 109 and 110 feeding Kipling subway station and Renforth. Rathburn Road East has its own bus service. Drivers use Highway 403 via Eastgate Parkway or Dixie, Highway 427 via Burnhamthorpe or Rathburn, and Highway 401 up Dixie. Dixie GO at 2445 Dixie Road offers peak Milton line trains to Union.

Public elementary schools serving the district include Forest Glen at 3400 Ponytrail Drive, Burnhamthorpe at 3465 Golden Orchard Drive, Briarwood and Glenhaven Senior Public School at 3570 Havenwood Drive, with Applewood Heights Secondary School at 945 Bloor Street East and Glenforest Secondary School at 3575 Fieldgate Drive, known for its International Baccalaureate program, as the high schools; several of these sit just south of Burnhamthorpe Road. Catholic students have St. Basil at 4235 Golden Orchard Drive, Sts. Martha and Mary at 1760 Bough Beeches Boulevard, St. Vincent de Paul and St. Charles Garnier, then Philip Pocock Catholic Secondary School at 4555 Tomken Road or John Cabot Catholic Secondary School. Because Burnhamthorpe Road is a boundary for several catchments, confirm the school for any specific address with the Peel or Dufferin-Peel board.

Garnetwood Park at 1996 Rathburn Road East and Bough Beeches Park anchor the Rockwood Village end, Rathwood District Park at 1095 Rathburn Road East has a ball diamond, soccer field and playground, and the Etobicoke Creek valley along the eastern edge gives you a ravine trail. Burnhamthorpe Community Centre at 1500 Gulleden Drive reopened after a three-year rebuild with a 25-metre six-lane pool with a climbing wall, a warm therapeutic pool, a fitness centre, gymnasium, auditorium and outdoor rink, and the Burnhamthorpe branch library shares the building. Rockwood Mall at 4141 Dixie Road is a 300,000-square-foot enclosed centre with Food Basics, Winners, HomeSense, Shoppers Drug Mart, Rona, Dollarama and banks. Small plazas at Rathburn and Dixie and near Ponytrail Drive cover coffee, bakeries and takeout. The Rockwood Homeowners' Association publishes The Rockwood Times quarterly.

Rathwood is a practical choice for first-time buyers, who can start in a condo townhouse near Fieldgate and Rathburn or a suite at The Compass or The Capri, and for families who want a 1960s or 1970s detached house with a garage and a yard on a street of the same. Rockwood Village draws buyers looking for a larger lot near Garnetwood Park. Downsizers use The Capri's 2004 vintage and pool. Commuters to Toronto get the Transitway express to Kipling, Highway 427 and Dixie GO.