The classic beach towel gets a new spin

The key to racking up likes on your summer posts? This statement blanket/towel/throw/shawl, which works equally well for picnics, cold shoulders, sandy beaches or even unadorned walls that need prettying. The plush, 100 per cent cotton Roundie from the Beach People is 1.5 metres in diameter, which leaves lots of space for bags, books, snacks and kids. It’s a worthy backdrop for all your outings—no filter necessary. $165. Likely General, 389 Roncesvalles Ave., 647-351-4590.

More of the Best of Summer

City

The top spots to eat, drink and play in Toronto right now

Outlandishly good ice creams, secret beaches, sleepaway camps for grown-ups, and oodles of other creative ways to max out the all-too-short season

Toronto’s best new barbecue joints

Smoke ’em if you got ’em

Beer-cizing—enjoying a brew at the end of a workout—is the funnest way to get fit this summer

The city’s best boozy workouts

Drone racing is the newest, fastest sport you’ve never heard of

A Q&A with one of Toronto’s top pilots

Three of the city’s coolest unorthodox ice cream parlours

Vanilla who?

City

The summer’s quirkiest camps for grown-ups who don’t wanna grow up

Plus mushroom foraging sessions, zombie survival training and Beyoncé dance classes

Ten of the coolest ways to bring the cottage home this summer

Ten ways to invoke Kawarthan charm at an urban address

The city’s best non-Neapolitan pizzas

There’s more to life than wood-fired pies

The coolest unofficial Blue Jays gear

Way-cool swag to show hometown pride

Shopping

A guide to drone-buying in Toronto

A primer on the weirdest avocation of 2016

City

These crowd-free beaches are the city’s best-kept secrets

Five pristine shores to escape the swarms

City

The city’s most picturesque beach, Sunnyside Pavilion, is back in action this summer

The city’s historic waterfront destination is getting a nip and tuck this summer