The Bruce Peninsula Information

If you enjoy the outdoors, but aren’t keen on the complete isolation of a bona fide wilderness retreat, make plans to visit the Bruce Peninsula instead. Located on the Niagara Escarpment, on Lake Huron and the western and southern shores of Georgian Bay, this rural oasis, only a few hours northwest of Toronto, seems worlds away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

The Bruce Trail

Vacation planning is simple, too, with easy-to-obtain guides that outline the many tours of the peninsula’s infamous Bruce Trail. Ontario’s longest and most popular hiking trail, this 780-kilometre path runs from Queenston Heights in the south, to Little Tub Harbour in the north. You’ll also be happy to discover that every portion of the trail is clearly marked, and, depending on where you decide to go, you’ll be able to take in views atop the Niagara Escarpment that include spectacular cliffs, caves, and bluffs that are the caprock of ancient fossilized coral reefs, rare plants and flowers (particularly the orchid, of which more than 40 types bloom on the peninsula), and 1,000-year-old cedar trees, some of the oldest trees in Canada.  Among these trees and cliffs, you are also likely to discover formations called alvars, one of the many types of natural landmarks that distinguish the Bruce Peninsula. The majority of the peninsula’s alvars are found along the western and Georgian Bay shores, and these flat limestone plains are a globally threatened habitat type that also supports many rare and endangered species. The lakeside daisy is one of the rarest plants to be found on the Bruce Peninsula’s alvars, and when inspecting these rocks, be sure to listen for the telltale rattle of the Massassauaga snake, because these reptiles often like to lie on the stones to absorb the heat of the sun.

Bruce Peninsula National Park

If you follow the trail to the Bruce Peninsula National Park, don’t miss the section from Halfway Rock Point to Overhanging Point. This one-kilometre stretch is considered by many to be the most spectacular portion of the Bruce Trail. On the way, make sure to keep an eye out for the many varieties of wildflowers that grow within the park, including the dwarf lake iris and more than 30 types of ferns. Wildlife sightings could also include porcupines, chipmunks, squirrels, raccoons, deer, hares, and frogs. Black bears and foxes live within the forest as well, but in much smaller numbers.

Adventurous souls can get their adrenalin rush when they visit the Grotto, a large sea cave that’s located within the Bruce Peninsula National Park. A 30-minute hike from the Head of Trails parking lot at Cyprus Lake will have you staring into the biggest sea cave on the park’s Georgian Bay shoreline, and you will be rewarded with a spectacular interior that’s yours to explore, either by walking along the cave’s ledges or by swimming through its waters. But beware: the bright, turquoise water that looks so inviting can be chilly!

Fishing and boating on the Bruce Peninsula

Fishing and angling are yet more ways vacationers can explore the Bruce Peninsula. Pike and smallmouth bass are plentiful in the Rankin River, and it’s possible to paddle or row the length of this river in five to seven hours. Boat launches are located on the Isaac Lake Nature Reserve, and canoeists, kayakers, and boaters will be rewarded at the end of their 18-kilometre journey with their arrival at Sauble Falls. These falls flow over an outcropping of escarpment that consists of a series of limestone ledges, and there are many picnic and walking opportunities in the area. Fishermen will also be pleased to know that rainbow trout swim through Sauble Falls every spring, when they can be seen leaping up over the falls on their way to spawn in the tributaries of the Sauble River.

Fathom Five National Marine Park

If being in or on the water is your thing, there’s no better way to get wet than to participate in one of the Bruce Peninsula’s world-class diving expeditions. Canada’s first national marine park, Fathom Five, located in Tobermory, is where rookie and veteran divers alike can swim down to explore 22 shipwrecks, some of which are Canada’s oldest and best preserved. The spectacular array of flora, fauna, underwater caves, rock overhangs, and ancient corals in this former primordial sea will also provide hours of fascinating entertainment. And, for the scuba-shy, there are glass-bottom boat tours available that bring interested parties to the sites of the shipwrecks, as well as several historic light-stations.

The Cove Island Lighthouse is one such station. This lighthouse is one of six famous "Imperial" lighthouses built in the 1850s, and others on the Bruce Peninsula include the Lion’s Head Lighthouse, Big Tub Lighthouse, Lyal & Knife Island Lighthouse, Cape Croker Lighthouse, and Cabot Head Lighthouse. This might seem like a lot of lighthouses for such a small area, but they were necessary when the peninsula was a booming mecca of trade. The waters off the peninsula’s shores can be quite treacherous, and there’s no better example of this than the many shipwrecks that now lie in the Fathom Five National Marine Park.

While on a glass-bottom boat tour, you also might be lucky enough to see the Chi-Cheemaun ferry pulling into its docks. The Chi-Cheemaun brings passengers back and forth between the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island every year from May to October, and it’s clear that once passengers drive off, they don’t have to go far in order to start their peninsula adventure.

Flowerpot Island

Flowerpot Island, for instance, is not only in the vicinity, but is also one of the most necessary stops on any tour of the Bruce Peninsula This island is nationally known for its curious rock pillars that rise up out of the water, and it’s amazing to consider the fact that at one point in time, Flowerpot Island was actually part of a land bridge that connected the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island.

Lion’s Head

About 40 minutes south of Tobermory is Lion’s Head, located on Isthmus Bay. Named for the limestone cliffs that look like a lion’s head when viewed from Georgian Bay, this village is in the unique position of being on the 45th parallel, which is exactly halfway between the equator and the North Pole. A particular point of interest here includes the Gun Point route of the Bruce Trail. Although challenging, this trek is worth it for the amazing view it offers of Georgian Bay.

Wiarton

Thirty-five minutes south of Lion’s Head is Wiarton, and you might recognize this town’s name as the partial moniker of the famous groundhog that lives here and annually predicts a longer winter or an early spring. The yearly Wiarton Willie Festival takes place in February, but even if you’re not in the Colpoys Bay area at this time, you can still get a picture taken beside the world’s largest groundhog statue.

Native culture on the Bruce Peninsula

Other shore-side communities worth visiting along the coast of Georgian Bay include Hope Bay, Cape Chin, and Dyer’s Bay, and it’s within their counties that you are more than likely to find remnants of the Native culture that is as much as part of the peninsula as is its natural wonders. Archeological evidence suggests that the Odawa tribe lived on the Bruce Peninsula about 2,500 years ago, and Saugeen and Nawash legends also claim that the land here was inhabited by their people thousands of years ago. Through these many years, a series of treaties, new settlements, and European takeovers have in turn created the devastation and subsequent rebirth of the Bruce Peninsula, but the Native culture still remains, particularly in the Saugeen River watershed, otherwise known as traditional Saugeen Ojibway Nation Territory. It’s here, in Cape Croker, that the Cape Croker Pow Wow takes place every August.

Breweries and wineries on the Bruce Peninsula

Besides traditional activities such as the pow wow, the Bruce Peninsula also offers winery and brewery tours. Carrick Wines and Ciders, the Formosa Springs Brewery, and the Neustadt Springs Brewery are each worth a drink (or two).

By this point, it’s clear that naturalists, fishermen, hikers, scuba divers, swimmers, canoeists, kayakers, boaters, sailors, walkers, runners, and more are welcome on the Bruce Peninsula. And it’s because of this amazing variety of activities that this Ontario vacation destination is perfect for travellers of any age, in almost any season.