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John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints |
From Espanola, Highway 6 runs south over a swing bridge onto Manitoulin Island and into Little Current, the largest town on the island. There is no toll for the bridge, but it is sometimes closed to road traffic for short periods.
From Little Current Highway 6 continues broadly south, running through the eastern part of the island to South Baymouth, where you can take the car ferry to Tobermory on the northern tip of the Bruce Peninsula.
A number of minor roads lead west to the other towns on the island.
A number of quiet, peaceful little towns on the island are connected by equally quiet, peaceful roads which mostly run through farming country. Highway 6, being the main road, is naturally a little bit busier.
Most of the roads between the towns on the island are paved, but there are some unpaved backroads.
From a clifftop lookout point on Highway 6 called Ten Mile Point, a few miles south of Sheguiandah, there is an excellent view over part of Georgian Bay to Killarney Provincial Park on the mainland (which lies to the northeast). There is a parking area (adjacent to a shop or restaurant, I seem to remember) where you can stop and admire the view.
There are several waterfalls on the island which are worth visiting, including the Bridal Veil Falls at Kagawong. These falls are reached by a flight of steps from the parking area, which is on Road 540.
From Little Current, drive west on road 540 in the direction of West Bay for about 11 miles. There is a sign pointing left down a side road (called the Bidwell Road) to the trail. When we visited, I must say that the sign was not exactly significant, or in the best of repair. There is a parking area for the trail a short way down this side road, together with a notice board which bears a map of the trail.
We found it extremely difficult to follow the trail. We ended up in a gravel pit, retreated and eventually found a lookout point, tried to continue but couldn't figure out where to go. Perhaps those more experienced at following ambiguously marked trails would meet with more success.
I must say that while the part of the trail that we tried to follow was pleasant enough, it certainly wasn't spectacular. Presumably it improves considerably later on. A publicity booklet for Manitoulin Island that we picked up in the area contains a photograph which seems to show that is indeed the case.
According to one source the lower (saucer) trail is just over one a half miles long and the upper (cup) trail is nearly three and half miles long. The same source mentions that there is an optional "adventure trail" at the top, just over a mile long, involving the negotiation of ladders, a natural rock chimney and a narrow ledge, with a panoramic view of the North Channel.
Based on our own experiences, I wouldn't recommend this hike if you have problems navigating poorly marked trails, although it is of course always possible that the marking has been improved since we visited.
There are a number of other hiking trails on Manitoulin Island, which we haven't explored.
Also on Manitoulin Island there is an island in Kagawong Lake but the island's name isn't marked on my map, plus several extremely small islands in Ice Lake near Gore Bay (again my map doesn't include the names of these islands). There may be a few other examples.
Feedback: In response to the above, Monica Less wrote to me saying:
I live in Kingston, Ontario and I was viewing with interest your page on Manitoulin Island. I was born and raised there and can attest to the fact that the lack of chains in terms of restaurants and motels is a definite plus, and I can also attest that your expectation of their being more expensive is definitely incorrect. The motels are priced reasonably in line with any other motel chain, in fact they might be less expensive in some cases. Restaurants have good menus and serve good and reasonably priced food. Of course, there are good and bad spots to eat and less expensive and more expensive places to eat.
Canals, Islands, Lakes, Rivers and Waterfalls
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Most recently modified 30-Apr-00