Forty kilometres east of Toronto, Pickering is bordered by farmland to the North, parks along the Rouge Valley to the West and Lake Ontario to the South.

Convenient access to Highways 2, 401 and 407 makes getting around the GTA easy for Pickering's 90,000+ residents.  Ajax-Pickering Transit also serves the area.

Though Pickering is home to one of North Americas's largest nuclear generating stations, as well as significant industrial, commercial and office developments, 220 hectares of the city is dedicated to parkland. The recent creation of an inviting waterfront trail along with a boardwalk, water-spray park and sandy play areas add to Pickering's Frenchman's Bay, a natural harbour.  Adjacent to the westerly boundary of Pickering is Rouge Park, one of North America's largest urban parks.

Pickering has its share of apartment buildings and high rise condominiums, but family sized townhomes, semis and detached houses are more common.  Housing prices here are higher than in neighbouring Ajax but significantly lower than in Toronto.