One night I was looking at travel pictures when my mom saw this picture and said she wanted to go there.
When I said it was only 8 hours away and we should go there this summer she was shocked. The water looks Caribbean but it’s in Ontario. We decided to go in July right after the holiday. We stayed in Bruce Peninsula National Park which took some planning. The park is very popular so you need to get a reservation as soon as they open in January. I was on the website as soon as it opened and still got my 3rd choice. Our spot was still amazing big and close to the Bruce trail but it was right off the road to the grotto.
Our first day was all travel. We did stop in the cute town of Goderick for lunch. They had some kind of festival going on at the courthouse park. It is a circle park in the middle of town. We picked up some butter tarts because I wanted to try them. We got to our campsite in the early evening and set up. Tensions were high because of the long day so My mom and I went into town for dinner and supplies while my dad stayed at the campsite.
We were too late to get groceries so we went to dinner. We went to Coconut Joe’s Harbor Bar & Grill. It’s beautiful, right at the very end of the harbor. We sat on the patio so we could see the sunset.
We were finally here and the relaxing atmosphere was just what we needed.
I had mussels in curry sauce and it was amazing. We had a great time but it was dark by the time we were done and they had limited lighting. Tobermory is a tiny town and closes fairly early.
The next day we had breakfast at camp before heading into town to buy supplies. I fell in love with butter tarts. I had one every day.
After shopping we went to Fathom five Marine Park. We took the only hike that was open because it was flooded.
After a quick lunch at the campsite, we headed to Indian Head Cove and the Grotto. A few things to note is that the water on Georgian Bay is freezing. Also, it is ill-advised to swim in the Grotto because of the rough waters and rocky cliffs that surround you it is easy to get crashed into the side and the way to rescue you is by divers that may take hours to arrive. The locals say that at least one person dies there a summer. We barely dipped our toes in because of how cold the water was. The hiking was beautiful and so fun because of the climbing.
The Grotto
The Next day we went to the only bar that had the Women’s World Cup playing. Tobermory Brewing was really nice. The staff was really great and accommodating for our game day. The fish and cider I has was amazing.
After lunch we went to Cyprus Lake to kayak, Thorncrest Outfitters have kayaks there but you do have to pick up the rest of the gear at their store.
Our Last day we took the Blue Anchor Cruise to Flower Pot Island. All the boats to Flower Pot Island have glass bottoms to see the sunken ships in the harbor.
Flower Pot Island gets its name from these rock formations.
There are two parts to the trail loop, the coast and forest part. The forest can get steep but it is not that bad. A lot of people skipped it but it was great, very beautiful and uncrowded. We took the forest part first which I recommend.
After we worked up a sweat on the forest trail we had lunch by the museum and lighthouse.
It was closed but I thought it was cute.
The coast trail has small caves and areas you can take a dip in the water.
Once back in Tobermory, we went souvenir shopping before having an early dinner at Crow’s Nest Pub.
We were on the rooftop which was nice but the fence was a little high for a good view. The fish was great but I wish they had fries instead of chips. The pear cider was so good, I wish I could find it in the US. I’m not sure why it was in so many restaurants because it’s from Denmark.
When we got back to the national park Mom and I went hiking. I really enjoyed climbing on the rocks so we hiked between Indian Head Cove and Stormhaven Backcountry Campground.
We left the next day. I would love to go to the Bruce Peninsula again. Next time I would explore more of Bruce Trail. The Bruce Trail is from Tobermory to Niagara River. It is over 500 miles and the part of the trail on the coast continues for another 6 more miles than what we hiked.
