The ferry got into Tobermory at the north end of the Bruce Peninsula at about 3:30 PM on July 12. We already had our campsite reserved and we knew that once the RV was set up we weren’t going to be moving it for two days, so we drove right past the campsite and headed for the Cyprus Lake area of Bruce Peninsula National Park. From there we walked down to Indian Head Cove on the shores of Georgian Bay, where we all enjoyed a dip or wade in the cool waters. After a while we hiked a short distance further to The Grotto, and climbed down into the partially flooded cave, where Lyndsay and Salty enjoyed a swim. Then it was back into town for gas and supplies before heading to Tobermory Village Campsite and RV Park, a nice enough place, with a pool and lots of other activities. We got down the bikes and set up the propane fireplace, but had difficulty making s’mores with the oversized marshmallows that the kids insisted that we buy. The Bruce Peninsula is a designated “dark skies” area to allow for better stargazing, and just before bed Lyndsay and I went and found a big field to lie down in and look at the stars, including part of a big meteor shower.
At Indian Head Cove
4 Photos Above: at The Grotto
We got a late start on Saturday July 13. It was another hot day. The kids wanted to check out the petting zoo, which opened at noon, and after that we cycled into Tobermory, which was probably about a 4 km ride, leaving Salty in the air-conditioned motorhome. There was a 2 hour cruise that still had space and was leaving at 1:15, so we locked the bikes and climbed aboard. The cruise took us to two shallow shipwrecks dating from the late 1800’s, then out past several islands that are part of Fathom Five National Marine Park including Flowerpot Island, with the two “flowerpot” rock formations (eroded sea stacks) on the eastern shoreline. Back in Tobermory we had lunch at an outdoor restaurant with good fish and chips, reasonably priced beer, a pirate theme, and non-stop Jimmy Buffet music - does life get any better? After a bit of shopping we cycled back to our campsite for a swim, and later the girls had a horse and wagon ride while we made dinner. Later we all went stargazing again, but the sky wasn’t as dark as the night before.
On Sunday after leaving camp just before noon we decided to check out the Bruce Peninsula National Park and Fathom Five National Marine Park Interpretive Centre – a decision that would end up defining our activities for the rest of the day and part of the next day. After we finished seeing what the interpretive centre had to offer, we decided to climb the observation tower, but
we noticed some people setting up some tables, so we went back after the tower to see what they were all about. They turned out to be from the Bruce Tourism Association, and were running an activity called Explore the Bruce, for the seventh year. We were each given a punch card, and had to visit at least six locations on the Bruce Peninsula that most visitors bypass to get
our cards punched. This led to us visiting the marina at Lions Head (on the Georgian Bay side), a nice beach at Black Creek Provincial Park on the west side, part of the Bruce Trail north of Wiarton (only Salty and I did the hike but I punched all of the cards), the home of Canada’s groundhog Wiarton Willy in Wiarton on Georgian Bay, and a park at Southampton back on the west side. We still needed one more punch, at Inverhuron Provincial Park, but by the time we found it, it was getting late, so we just got a campsite and hiked down to the Lake Huron shoreline just in time to see the sun set on the lake off to the west. We found our final checkpoint the next morning, before leaving the park.
The start of the Bruce Trail, Bruce Peninsula National Park
Sunset on Lake Huron, Inverhuron Provincial Park
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