Adventures on Ontario’s Bruce Peninsula
It’s early on an Ontario morning, the air heavy with a cool misty rain that amplifies the crimson and gold maple leaves in this patch of forest, broken in two by a rocky chasm. My sisters and I spent the previous day following the length of a cedar-lined gorge, walking on slippery needles above the rocks; today we approach a tamed drop-off, where a rock wall prevents a skid over the edge. The roar of a cataract beckons from below; from the top, we only see a hint of blocky stones curtained in white foam. Despite the rain, we follow the trail. Huge boulders line the chasm, the trail bouncing from rock to rock beneath the maples. From above, it looked like any other ordinary trail, but down here? I steel myself to step over a crevice two feet wide and more than fifty feet deep. Further along the blazes I slip on the slick rock, and lose my nerve. I call out to Sally to go on down without me—for how will I drive home to Pennsylvania if I break a leg on a Canadian trail?

It is thus I inauspiciously and unknowingly start my first hike down a section of Ontario’s Bruce Trail, a ribbon of wilderness stretching from Queenston, on the Niagara River, at its southernmost point, following the crest of the long, lean Niagara Escarpment to its plunge into Lake Huron at Tobermory, more than 800 km (497 mi) north. At Inglis Falls Conservation Area, just outside of Owen Sound, I first sample the nature of the Bruce Peninsula—and I return, time and again, to explore. From the craggy cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment on Georgian Bay to the soft sand beaches of Lake Huron, Ontario’s Bruce Peninsula encompasses a variety of unique natural areas. In addition to Ontario’s only national park, the Bruce contains many provincial parks, geologic sites, First Nation reservations, and delightful coastal towns. Brimming with natural wonders, this rugged landscape attracts photographers, painters, hikers, kayakers, cavers, fishermen, and birders—all lovers of outdoor beauty.


THE SOUTHERN CONNECTION
At its southern connection with the rolling landscapes that typify Ontario’s prime agricultural region, the city of Owen Sound is the jumping-off point into the Bruce, where northbound Hwy 6 meets Hwy 21. Just southwest of the city off Hwy 6 lies Inglis Falls Conservation Area, where the waterfall plunges 18 m (54 ft) down a staircase of stone, and the scenic view reaches to Georgian Bay. Enjoy a walk on trails around the marshes above the falls, or summon your rock-hopping skills to follow the Bruce Trail downstream.

Further north on the Bruce Trail, Jones Falls cascades 12 m (36 ft) as the Pottawatomi River plunges over the escarpment. Follow Hwy 6 west of Owen Sound and park at the Grey Bruce Tourism Association to find the 1 km (0.6 mi) trail to the falls. Pick up a good map in Tourist Information Center to discover the side roads leading from Hwy 6 to the peninsula’s many natural treasures. Major roads avoid the bulge of peninsula between Owen Sound and Wiarton, but the Bruce Trail cuts through this countryside of stone and greenery, lush with rare ferns like the hart’s tongue and wall rue, spotted with bogs brimming with pitcher plants, sundew, and rare wild orchids showing their brightest colors in June. In 1990, UNESCO named the Niagara Escarpment a World Biosphere Reserve—an international recognized ecosystem with unique natural value. Walk the Bruce Trail through this region, and you’ll know why. More than 40 species of orchids grow in the wetlands of the Bruce Peninsula, many of them found nowhere else in the world.

One lonely coastal road parallels the trail. From Hwy 6 in Owen Sound, follow the Eddie Sargent Parkway (2nd Avenue West) into 3rd Avenue West, which becomes Gray County Road 1, ending at Wiarton. Keep to the shoreline wherever the road forks. Woodsy summer residences crowd the lakeside, but the wild uplands beg exploration. Stop at Indian Falls and take a 1 km (0.6 mi) stroll to the horseshoe-shaped waterfall, lush with ferns and wildflowers. Pause at the overlook, where you can see the sweep of the escarpment – a virtual wall of limestone, topped with greenery – bounding the land’s edge all along the lakeshore to the north.

Explore Bruce’s Caves Conservation Area, along Road 1 and just a mile or two south of Wiarton, where a 200-acre tract intersects the Bruce Trail. Ancient Lake Nippising once lapped at the base of the escarpment here, hollowing out sea caves in the limestone. Mosses and ferns now do their best to root in the soft rock, creating a wonderland of green against white. The rugged Bruce Caves Trail leads up and past the many tall, wide caverns to join up with the Bruce Trail on the top of the escarpment.


SPIRIT WALKING IN THE CENTRAL PENINSULA
Just north of Wiarton – a great stop for a whitefish dinner – rejoin the wilds at Spirit Rock Conservation Area, on Colpoy’s Bay. Spring flowers show their beauty around the ruins of The Corran, a nineteenth century manor home. A spiral staircase leads down the escarpment to the rounded rock beaches of the lakeshore.

Follow the Forty Hills Road (Concession Rd 9) north through wetlands, farms, and woods. Watch for the turnoff into the Cape Croker First Nation, where you can walk 8 km (5 mi) in the footsteps of the Ojibwa along the Cape Croker Loop Trail. According to Ontario writer Shirley Teasdale, this is one of the most dramatic hikes in the Bruce Peninsula. “With its long, sweeping vistas of water, land and sky, it has doubtless been a place for communing with the natural forces and spirits that control these elements of the earth.”

At Hope Bay, scramble over mossy rocks and slip through fern-edged crevices at Grieg’s Caves, a pleasant commercial attraction on the water’s edge. Water and ice meeting rock accounts for much of the mystery of the Bruce Peninsula, forming sea stacks, caves, sinkholes, and potholes. No other place in Ontario boasts as many deep potholes as Lion’s Head, where the whirlpool-like action of pebbles and stones drilled giant smooth-walled cylindrical holes under receding glaciers. To check out the potholes, visit Hope Bay Forest Provincial Nature Reserve for an 11.4 km (7.1 mi) loop hike along the Bruce Trail and the Jack Poste Side Trail, meandering through dense forests of birch and maple.

Two trails ramble along the next promontory on the coastline, Cape Chin, where the Cape Chin North Road guides you to both trailheads. At Smokey Head Access Point Nature Reserve, enjoy an easy out-and-back walk of up to 16 km (10 mi), strolling through rolling countryside and wetlands busy with beaver activity. From Devil’s Monument Access Point, hike 2 km (1.2 mi) along a natural rock ridge to see the Devil’s Monument, a sea stack (or flowerpot formation) formed as the ancient glacial lake receded. The monument hangs from a dizzying height off the escarpment.

All along the edge of Georgian Bay, the Bruce Trail touches, crosses, and joins these trails as it continues its journey northward. At Dyer’s Bay, the trail sticks to the escarpment, passing the ruins of slides once used by the logging companies to dump logs down to the lake. Picturesque stone beaches define the shoreline, looking like a collection of sun-bleached dinosaur eggs. Loons bathe in the cool, clear waters.


BRUCE PENINSULA NATIONAL PARK
Unusual karst topography awaits within Bruce Peninsula National Park. It’s a landscape of perpetual erosion, full of caves, disappearing streams, and sinkholes. Be sure to grab a map from the park ranger, as many trails delve into deep woods, following rugged rocky terrain, edging wetlands brimming with wildflowers. Park near the Head of Trails within Cyprus Lake, and study your options. Will it be a quiet 2 km (1.2 mi) walk around the expanse of Cyprus Lake? Or one of several routes to the shore, all roughly a kilometer (0.6 mi) long? The Horse Lake Trail provides the most direct route out to Georgian Bay and the Bruce Trail, while the Georgian Bay Trail skirts the other edge of Horse Lake, past a stream disappearing into a swallow hole. Orange daylily and yellow lady’s slipper lend splashes of color to the jagged landscape. The rugged Marr Lake Trail seems like a streambed in places, but it meets the Bruce Trail on a dolomite beach, where the large chalky slabs of rock give off a strange clinking sound as you walk on them, like poker chips bouncing against each other. Enjoy the views of white cliffs against the dark turquoise bay; walk across a natural bridge, over a sea cave. Giant boulders crowd the coastline near Indian Cove, where cold-hardened divers bravely jump from limestone terraces into the icy depths of Georgian Bay. A warmer, shallower cove attracts families for sunning and swimming. A full loop hike out and back to Indian Cove will fill an entire afternoon.

On the western shore of the peninsula, the singing sands of Dorcas Bay beckon with beaches leading into shallow waters along a boggy shoreline. Unusual flowers flourish here, including many species of tiny wild orchids. Red dots in a sea of reeds, the carnivorous pitcher plants wave in the mild breeze, attracting flies with a stench like rotting meat. The purple blooms of dwarf swamp iris edges the bogs, along with several varieties of lady’s slipper. Indian paintbrush raises its red head over the shallow streams. One hiking trail loops through the wildflower reserve, where you’ll frequently pause to examine the flowers. The Backlands Trail meanders 0.5 km (0.3 mi) through the lowlands. Watch your step! This is a favored habitat of the endangered Massasauga rattlesnake; its tawny colors blend easily into dried grass.


TOBERMORY: END OF THE ROAD
At the peninsula’s northern tip, two shallow bays called The Tubs protect the quaint fishing town of Tobermory. It’s a restful base camp with shopping, lodging, and restaurants, a great place from which to explore Bruce Peninsula National Park and the offshore Fathom Five Marine Park. Tour boats depart from the docks for shipwreck tours and to escort hikers to the outer islands. Certified divers are welcome to explore wrecks in crystal-clear deep cold water, but landlubbers will find their fun on Flowerpot Island. Be sure to choose a boat trip that will drop you off in the morning and pick you up in the afternoon.

Two massive vase-shaped sea stack formations give the island its name. Visitors who bring flashlights and hardhats are welcome to explore the island’s many caverns, and overnight camping is permitted on several tent platforms along the lake. Reserve through the National Park office in Tobermory. Hikers will find the 2 km (1.2 mi) of interior trails challenging but rewarding, affording an up-close look at unusual flora. In June, the woods sparkle with stands of trillium, marsh marigold, and twenty different species of orchids. The island’s rocky beaches bloom with wild columbine and patches of red and yellow butterfly weed. Follow the Marl Trail from Beachy Cove to the marl bed, where giant flat-edged boulders lie like a card deck strewn from a giant’s hand.


PLANNING YOUR VISIT
June is the peak month for wildflower viewing, but the black flies and mosquitoes can overwhelm a hiker. Be prepared! Prime hiking season is August, when the insect population drops down and the weather stays warm and dry.

Experienced hikers recommend the Bruce Peninsula segment as the most scenic portion of the Bruce Trail, good for a week or two worth of backpacking. The Bruce Trail Association <http://www.brucetrail.org/ > provides maps and guidebooks for the entire trail, and gives recommendations on shorter loop hikes in the Bruce Peninsula, such as the pothole hike at Hope Bay Forest Provincial Nature Reserve < http://www.brucetrail.org/hopebay1.htm>. The Peninsula Bruce Trail Club <http://www.pbtc.ca/Default.htm > maintains this segment of the Bruce Trail, and is your best resource for current information on camping and backpacking permits, trail closures or reroutes, reservations for tent sites, and the like. Find out more about the Bruce Peninsula’s trails at their website.

Most lodgings on the peninsula are bed and breakfast, particularly along the Bruce Trail.
The Home to Home Bed and Breakfast Network allows you to hike, paddle, or bicycle between homes and have your luggage delivered to your next stop. Make reservations in advance at 1-888-301-3224. For a regional B&B guidebook, call the Grey Bruce Bed & Breakfast Association (1-888-749-6604) or visit their website at
http://www.canoe.bbcanada.com/greybruce.html

Campers (RVs and tents) are welcome at the Bruce Peninsula National Park < http://parkscanada.pch.gc.ca/parks/ontario/bruce_peninsula/Bruce_peninsula_e.htm>, with its extensive campground at Cyprus Lake. For reservations (recommended, as this is a popular destination during the summer season), call 519-596-2263, or email the park at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . There are many private campgrounds along the peninsula, including one at the Cape Croker First Nation (519-534-0571). Hunting lodges, fishing camps, and cottages abound. For detailed information on lodgings, call Bruce County Tourism at 800-268-3838, or visit their website at http://naturalretreat.com

Reprint rights available