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John Cletheroe's
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The Bruce Peninsula is home to two National Parks and several Provincial Parks - a fact which suggests that many people feel that it is a special area.
Both parks are near the tip of the peninsula, clearly signposted from Highway 6.
Maybe it was the mood we were in, maybe we were expecting something different, maybe it was the rainy weather, but the Bruce Peninsula National Park didn't strike us as having very much to offer. This is probably doing it a great disservice.
As the name suggests, Fathom Five National Park is an underwater park (possibly including some small islands, I believe). We haven't visited this park.
Sauble Falls Provincial Park is located in the southwestern part of the peninsula. We haven't visited this park.
Two features keep coming up in any literature on the Bruce Peninsula. They are the Niagara Escarpment and the Bruce Trail, both of which stretch about 700 kilometres (about 440 miles) from Tobermory to Niagara Falls.
The Niagara Escarpment is a geologically ancient rock formation that shows itself primarily by the cliffs along its edge (especially striking on the Georgian Bay side of the Bruce Peninsula), or by falls and gorges cut into the rock by various rivers.
The Bruce Trail is a well-groomed trail that offers the opportunity to hike the whole 700 km (about 440 miles), but can also be accessed for short walks. It goes through many of the places listed here.
Sauble Beach is the most "touristy" town in the area. It is located at the South end of the Lake Huron (West) side of the Bruce Peninsula. Highway 8 and the Lakeshore Blvd. are festooned with fast food joints (mainly local, there may have been one franchise) and souvenir shops. The beach, however looks West into Lake Huron and offers awe-inspiring sunsets. People park on the beach to watch the show and each, as he leaves, turns on his lights only after passing the sight line of those remaining.
Olliphant Fens is also on the Huron side. There is a 1500 foot boardwalk with interpretive signs, all constructed and maintained by local volunteers. As impressive for the spirit it shows as for the natural history lesson.
Saugeen Amphitheatre (along Hwy 21 East of Southampton) is another volunteer based knockout. A formal garden and stone amphitheatre (used for pow-wows and for shows) were designed, scrounged for (in terms of begging money and building materials) and to some degree built by the hands and vision of one man, who was the assigned missionary pastor of the church that shares the grounds. Most of the labour was donated by the local First Nation (the Saugeen tribe, I believe). A winding river provides a marvellous vista and there is a nature walk (which was too muddy for us, due to 3 inches of rain).
Spirit Rock Conservation Area, north of Wiarton, has the ruins of an early 1900's mansion that was the centre of culture in the area. There is a spiral staircase that gives you a good start down the Escarpment to lake level.
Bruce's Caves is a great spot on the south side of Colpoy's Bay, east of Wiarton. The main cave is a cavern with a hornets nest rock formation dividing the entrance in two. A "secret passageway" allows one to scramble out the side and crawl over rocks back down to the trail. A second cavern was deep enough that the combination of darkness and distance made people at the far end invisible as we approached. "Budding" stalactites and stalagmites (less than an inch tall) could be seen at the far end.
Lions Head is a pleasant town on the Georgian Bay side named for a rock formation visible from its attractive harbour. A loop of the Bruce Trail provides a very nice hike out to a vantage that looks back on the town from just beyond the Lion.
Tobermory offers a choice of at least three glass-bottom boat tours that take you over two shallow wrecks in the harbour and on to Flowerpot Island. There is a lighthouse north of town that offers a pleasant walk with some nice vistas from a boardwalk and a view of the lighthouse. The Chi-Cheemaun Car Ferry to Manitoulin Island docks in town.
Flowerpot Island is part of Fathom Five National Marine Park which was established to protect the numerous wrecks in the area. As this implies, most of the park is underwater. Scuba diving is very popular.
Flowerpot Island is named for the geological formations that look like flowerpots (small base flaring out to flat, wide top). The trail passes two flowerpots and also visits a small cave and a lighthouse where there is a great view.
Cape Chin, north of Lion's Head has the only flowerpot on the mainland. The hike is short, but the scramble down over the rocks is interesting, especially after a rain.
Information is readily available all over the area. Every town of any size at all has an information building marked by a question mark on the map. The people all but trip over themselves giving you brochures and directions.
If one simply drives the length of the peninsula, between Wiarton and Tobermory, one is bound to be disappointed with the Bruce Peninsula. Route #6 has little to recommend in the way of interesting scenery. The Bruce is interesting only at its edges and in its unique interior sites.
The Bruce Caves, in the Bruce Caves Provincial Park are free and very interesting. I understand that the caves were used in part of the filming of the movie, "Quest for Fire."
In the north/central part of the peninsula a couple of guys have designed and grown a spectacular perennial garden (Larkwhistle Garden) which they open to the public a few days per week.
The Cabot Head Lighthouse isn't really much to see, but getting there along a narrow gravel roadway and imagining the lives of the first lighthouse operators will make the trip worthwhile to some visitors.
The eastern side of the peninsula (escarpment side, Georgian Bay) is drastically different in character from the western side (Lake Huron). The escarpment side consists of wildly rugged cliff faces and huge slabs of rock. The water is exceptionally clear, affording views of the jumbled assortment of rock through great depths of water. Where beaches exist, (Lion's Head, Wiarton) the water is clean and bracingly refreshing.
The western side of the peninsula slopes gently into Lake Huron. We often go to Sauble Beach. At Sauble Beach you can partake in the jaunty flash of the young and wish-they-were-young beach crowd by staying near the town of Sauble Beach. If you're inclined toward more solitary enjoyment, simply drive a few kilometres further north along the beachfront road and find a less congested (or empty) site.
The water at Sauble Beach varies with the weather (calm water means clear water; waves churn up the sandy bottom) but the beach is consistently fine, light brown sand that feels wonderful under foot. The water is generally shallow at Sauble Beach, though the shifting sand bottom may make the water depth slightly different year to year. We walked out at least 50 meters from shore to find that the water depth was fairly consistent at knee depth. (The water was warm and clear that day too.) But Lake Huron is a big lake and when conditions change you can also find one to two meter waves crashing to shore. Body surfers can catch these waves for short rides, but fresh water does not provide the same buoyancy as salt water and experienced wave riders would soon be disappointed. Still, the waves can be fun for good swimmers.
The Bruce in general is very underdeveloped. If your family needs fast food restaurants and generally high levels of service, you probably won't enjoy the Bruce. If you enjoy seeing a great variety of natural environments in a fairly compact area (you can get anywhere on the Bruce in an hour's drive) and are willing to walk over sand, rock, etc. and if you can stay in the area for a few days, you'll surely come to appreciate the beauty of the place.
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Most recently modified 23-Jul-00