Bruce Peninsula National Park

Georgian Bay, Bruce Peninsula National Park, Ontario

After driving over 2,500 miles (roughly the equivalent of driving from Los Angeles to Buffalo, New York AND traveling a third of it on gravel roads... all in six days), we were definitely feeling a bit road weary when we arrived at Bruce Peninsula National Park in Ontario.  After the shock of discovering that dogs were not even permitted confined within your vehicle within parks in Quebec, we were relieved to read in Ontario’s camping guide (in prominent print!) that dogs were welcomed in both Ontario's provincial and national parks.

Our original plans for finishing this trip were to travel across Manitoba and Saskatchewan, dropping down through North Dakota, and then heading home.  In August, however, David received an email inviting him to a conference in Orlando for the Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals that would be held in mid-October.  David was chair of the group in 2008-2009.  This conference would be SMRP’s 20th anniversary celebration, and they were inviting as many past chairs to join them as possible.

So we changed our plans, giving up Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and North Dakota to attend the conference.  As a wonderful bonus, it would give us the opportunity to see grandchildren!  What grandparent wouldn’t gladly change plans for that gift? 

The new plans are to travel along Lake Superior, drop down to visit David’s mom, then travel back to the Carolinas and Orlando before heading home.  With that in mind, we chose Bruce Peninsula National Park as our next destination.  The park rests on Lake Huron and is known for its old growth forests and beautiful beaches.  It was early evening when we arrived. 

We pitched camp as clouds began to gather and the sun began to set.  We snacked for supper and made it an early night.  Soon the rain began to pound the roof of the camper.  It was still misting when we awoke.  We relished the break and sat under the camper’s awning, drinking coffee and reading books. 

By mid-afternoon, the clouds began to lift.  We decided to take a hike to Georgian Bay, through the old growth forest.  We had read that these forests were the oldest east of the Rocky Mountains.  We looked forward to seeing old trees like we had visited last year along the northern coast of Washington.  To our surprise, the forest looked much like those we had been traveling through, only with a different kind of cypress tree.  The trees were not much more than a foot or so in diameter.  We learned at one of the interpretive signs that although they were quite stunted next to their western cousins, some of these cypress were over 1,000 years old.

David & Roxanne at Georgian Bay, Bruce Peninsula National Park

The hike meandered through the forest until we reached the beach.  Georgian Bay was a delight to the eyes.  It was tremendously craggy.  A storm brewing in the distance sent the waves crashing to shore.  The water looked deep and treacherous.  We dared not let Roxanne in the water without a lead for fear of her going out too far and catching an undertow. 

There was a short hike from the bay to a rock formation called the Grotto.  The trail, however, was narrow, steep, and followed along a high cliff.  We decided that it would be too much to try with Roxanne.  The storm was also moving closer.  By the time we reached the truck, we were in heavy rain.

The following day, the sun was out again.  We hiked the Singing Sands trail on Dorcas Bay.  The water here was much calmer, so Rox was able to enjoy a swim.  We learned that John Muir had been quite taken with the rich ecosystem on this part of the peninsula during his visit in the 1860s.  He was one of the first to catalog the rare wildflowers here, including the wild iris, orchids, and insect-eating pitcher plant. 

Insect-eating pitcher plant on Dorcas Bay

Later that afternoon, we strolled along the small lake near our campsite.  Feeling much more rested, we were ready for our final ferry ride of the trip the next morning.  It would take us from Bruce Peninsula to Manitoulin Island.  From there, we planned to go along Lake Superior and come back into the States via the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Bruce Peninsula on Dwellable