Bruce Peninsula National Park

Bruce Peninsula National Park is located 10 kms from Tobermory, a harbour village and a very popular vacation destination in the province of Ontario and about about 290 kms or almost 4 hours from Toronto. The park is very popular for camping, hiking and swimming in its beautiful clear turquoise waters. It is also very popular for its famous attractions such as the Grotto, Indian Head Cove and the Natural Arch.

Duration: 3 nights

Bruce Peninsula National Park is extremely popular with campers and gets booked very quickly. Whether you are interested in camping or just a day out at the park, planning in advance is totally recommended.

How to get there?

Bruce Peninsula National Park is about 290 kms and will take you just under 4 hours to reach and is north of Toronto.

We encountered two check points on reaching the park. At the first, we got a form to fill with details of our campsite and the number of firewood/ice that we needed and also a rules and regulations form which we were to read and sign to acknowledge. At the second one, the Cyprus Lake office, we were to now submit the filled up, signed forms. In addition to the campsite reservation, we were also required to pay admission charges which are charged on a per day basis.

If you are a day tripper to the park, the admission into the park is on a first-come, first-served basis and the permit is valid for 4 hours if you are visiting the Grotto.

After getting our permits and picking up our firewood/ice, we proceeded to our campsite.

Staying at Bruce Peninsula National Park

Bruce Peninsula is a national park. It is governed by Parks Canada. There are 38 national parks, 10 national park reserves and one urban park in Canada. Rouge Urban National Park is the urban park which is located in the GTA.

Bruce Peninsula National Park has the Cyprus Lake campground and the Backcountry campsites.

The Cyprus Lake campground which is close to the Cyprus Lake, we have the Poplar, Birches, Tamarack, and the Yurts.

There are 281 campsites and 10 Yurts.

The closest campground to the Grotto is the Poplar. 

Our campsite was rather small and due to rain over the past few days, the mud around the campsite was wet and sticky. We picked a spot to put up our tent and also raised a tarp overhead as there was a forecast for some heavy rains that night and also 2 days later.

After a quick snack, we began exploring on our bikes.

Cyprus Lake was right behind our campsite and we were separated by a swamp and the Cyprus Lake trail.

There is a single bike trail in the park which covers all the campgrounds.

The comfort station at Bruce Peninsula National Park is called the Cyprus Lake Amenity Centre or the Campground Hub.

Cyprus Lake Amenity Centre or the Hub

The hub provides Wifi facility, sitting areas, washrooms, showers, a playground and an open auditorium. The range of the Wifi is not that great, it works only when close to the amenity center building but it is still a great facility since the cellular network at the park is not that great.

We also figured the location of the “Head of Trails” from where the trails start for going to the Grotto or the Indian Head Cove.

We returned to our site, relaxed for sometime around a bonfire mesmerized by the stars above.

Bruce Peninsula, incidentally, is a Dark Sky Preserve where you get very clear views of the sky with low light pollution. On moonless nights, you should be able to see our galaxy, the Milky Way.

Dark sky Preserves

Dark-Sky Preserves are protected areas that make a special commitment to protect and preserve the night, reducing or eliminating light pollution in all forms.

Ontario has a few dark sky preserves, the most popular near Toronto is the Torrance Barrens Dark Sky Preserve.

We wanted to get a view of the dark sky from the lake where we would have got an expansive view of the sky but decided against it due to the below sign. The rules and regulations also recommended that campers be back in their campsite by 10pm possibly because of the bears. But the view from our campsite was not too bad.

Overnight it rained cats and dogs. As per the Weather Network, we were to get just 1-3mm rain but it poured through late night till early morning and for sure was well above the forecast.

The next morning, we woke up to wet ground and puddles of water at many places. We had our breakfast and started our hike from the “Head of Trails” by following the signs along the trail.

There are maps such as the one below which gives you options of the trails according to difficulty levels and distance.

Trails in Bruce Peninsula National Park

• Georgian Bay Trail – Easiest and most direct path to the Grotto. This trail ends at the Indian Head Cove. Taking left, it is a rugged trail on the Bruce Trail to the Natural Arch and the Grotto. Turning right, again rugged on the Bruce Trail, takes you to Halfway Rock Point and the Horse Lake Trail.
  • Distance – 1.5kms
  • Time taken – 25 minutes
• Horse Lake Trail – This is a slightly difficult trail over boardwalk through cedar forest and ends at the Georgian Bay shoreline. Taking left, along the cobblestone Bruce trail, takes you to the Halfway Rock Point, Natural Arch, Indian Head Cove, the Grotto and the Marr Lake trail.
  • Distance – 2.1 kms
  • Time taken – 55 mins
• Marr Lake Trail – This is a very rugged trail and passes by Marr Lake and ends at the Boulder beach. Taking right, on the rugged Bruce Trail, takes you towards the Grotto, Indian Head Cove and taking left, on the rugged Bruce Trail, takes you to the Overhanging Cliffs.
  • Distance – 1.5 km
  • Time taken – 60 mins

We started our hike on the Georgian Bay Trail and then we turned towards the Marr Lake Trail which branches off of the Georgian Bay Trail. The Marr Lake trail is very rugged with some steep climbs and slippery stones. Be sure to wear hiking boots. We reached the end of the Marr Lake trail in about 50 mins.

On reaching the Boulder Beach, we turned right along the shoreline to re-enter the forest on the Bruce Trail.

Look out for the below signs to stay on the Bruce Trail.

These signs are called Blazes and all these blazes have a meaning to them described in the image below.

We continued our hike along the rugged Bruce Trail and reached the Grotto.

The Grotto is truly stunning and breathtaking. Currently, there is no access to go down to the Grotto but only to view it from the top. But we did see a few daring people going down for a closer look. If you are a good swimmer, the other way to access it is via the water.

From the Grotto, we continued right to reach the Natural Archway.

Near the Natural Archway is the Indian Head Cove which is an extremely popular spot for swimmers.

We continued further right on the Bruce Trail, following the blazes reaching the Halfway Rock Point. Continuing on the Bruce Trail from here on, you will likely find less people on the trails.

We continued again on the Bruce Trail to reach a point which is a short-cut to get back on the Georgian Bay trail. We noticed a sign for the Horse Lake trail and so we continued into the woods thinking it was the Horse Lake trail. We realized that we were no longer on any trail. The Bruce Trail continues on the cobblestones along the beach and you eventually see a sign for the Horse Lake trail. We finally found our way and went along the Horse Lake Trail to reach the “Head of Trails”. We then found a shortcut to get back to our campsite from here.

After giving ourselves some rest and refreshments, we started a hike on the Cyprus Lake trail. This trail takes about 2.5 hours to complete. We passed by the Yurts and shortly after realized it might get dark soon. So we headed back and enjoyed the gorgeous sunset on Cyprus Lake instead.

The next morning we were taking it easy. Rain was in the forecast to start around 4pm and was to be around 15-25mm as per Weather Network.

The plan for the day was to complete the whole Georgian Bay trail and also head towards the Overhanging cliffs before the rains. As we started late morning, it was already getting cloudy. And as soon as we reached the Indian Head Cove, it started to drizzle. You really cannot rely on Weather Network forecasts anymore. Still, we continued to head towards the left, passing the Natural Arch, the Grotto, Boulder beach, Marr Lake trail and continued on the Bruce Trail from the Boulder Beach near the shoreline.

The trail here is likely not very popular and we hardly met anyone along the trail. Only the really crazy ones go for it. We kept going and we continued to follow the blazes hoping to see a sign when we reach the cliffs. After almost 25-30 mins of hiking, we met a couple and enquired if they had found the cliffs. They did not find it and also told us that there was no point in going further as they did not find any sign for the cliffs and they were returning from Coon Lake. So the most likely possibility was we may have passed it already. They continued their return and we decided that we should go back too. So we turned back and found some people who were standing on the edge admiring the views. We enquired if they found the the overhanging cliffs and they told us they were already on it. We moved further towards them and found that they indeed were on some overhanging rock. We were relieved that we had finally found it and also thankful that we had not continued on the Bruce Trail for we would have reached Tobermory instead or even found some bears along the way.

There is also a way down to view the overhanging cliffs from the inside.

After taking some more pictures, we headed back in what was now a heavy drizzle. Instead of returning via Marr Lake and stumble on slippery rocks, we returned to the Indian Head Cove to return via Georgian Bay trail. It was already pouring when we reached the Georgian Bay trail. We were drenched to the bone when we reached the campsite. It rained heavily for the next hour or so. We wrapped up the day early.

We woke up early the next morning and headed to the Cyprus Lake to watch the sunrise. After returning, we packed up by 10.45am and were on our way home.

For additional information, visit the links below:

https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/on/bruce
https://www.thebrucepeninsula.com/bruce-peninsula-national-park
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Peninsula_National_Park

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