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| The Visitor Centre at Bruce Peninsula National Park |
After a quick visit to the Little Tub Harbour in Tobermory, as described in my previous post, we headed to the new Visitor Centre at Bruce Peninsula National Park, right by Fathom Five National Marine Park. We got lucky as July 17 was Canada Parks Day - never heard of this before - and the entrance fees into the Centre were waived for the day.
Inside the Centre are a number of displays focusing on the local geology, flora and fauna, topography, and history of the region. For kids it's a good spot to stop and learn a bit about the natural environment around them. For marine history buffs, there are some cool displays featuring historical items relating to the boating industry of the region.
Replica of a local lighthouse
The hiking trails outside of the Visitor Centre offer some great views and shouldn't be missed. Put on comfortable walking or hiking shoes and head around the Centre to the start. The first thing you see is the huge tower which you can climb up to the top for some spectacular views (out comes the camera again!).
For anybody who is afraid of heights, I don't recommend the walk up the tower for several reasons: 1) you are walking on a metal mesh frame that, although sturdy, allows you to see through the cracks right to the bottom; 2) the higher you go the windier it gets if it's a windy day; 3) once you are at the top if you look down you can easily get vertigo. Let your friend/partner do the walk up to snap some great photos.
The view from the top
If you do decide to brave the height, once you reach the top, the view of the Tobermory area is truly spectacular. You see the islands, the blue, blue waters and green forest all around you.
Next is the trail that leads you to Little Dunks Bay - approximately a half hour walk to a quiet lookout point. On the way you see pristine forests, untouched by campers... the occasional milk snake that slithers past on the path ahead of you. It's fairly quiet in the woods with little noise coming in from Highway 6, so if you need to take a break from city life, this is the mini-hike for you. The lookout is your destination and it leads you to a view of extremely clear and blue water with aquamarine hues.
The view of Dunks Bay from the lookout
For the more adventurous types, you can do a 3.7 km hike along Burnt Point Loop which lets you explore more of Fathom Five National Marine Park including Dunks Point (seen in the far distance in the photo above).
The next post of this three part series will be about our experience at Cyprus Lake and its trails.
The next post of this three part series will be about our experience at Cyprus Lake and its trails.
