BRUCE TRAIL TURNS 50
Six days in the wild and not-so-wild
My son Ian lost seven pounds. I lost four.
He was hiking the southern Ontario portion of the Bruce Trail, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and I was, well, hovering.
And, as it turns out, discovering some excellent outdoor locales in Meaford, Owen Sound, Wiarton and Hope Bay during our six-day adventure in June.
Meaford, tucked into the lower west side of Georgian Bay, is home to a marvellous harbour with a marina of about 200 slips. It was wonderfully refreshing to walk the docks and seawall checking out the sailboats. A harbour pavilion houses a farmers market Fridays with an outdoor marine museum close by, as well as the Canadian Coast Guard search and rescue station at the ready.
I wandered to nearby Fred Raper’s Park flush with families enjoying a mid-week picnic and rockskipping fun. The bayside park is also home to one of the town’s 10 giant red Muskoka chairs available for photo ops, each posted with a local story.
Another Meaford highlight is the Georgian Trail, starting at the Meaford Harbour and stretching 32 kilometres to Thornbury and Collingwood. I met friendly bikers and hikers on this pretty path built on an abandoned railway line.
Owen Sound’s Harrison Park, at 40 hectares, could easily be a destination itself, featuring 104 campsites, plus several walking and biking trails, a playground plus canoe and paddleboat rentals.
Mid-week in early June the park was buzzing with children and adults. I took several trails including a beautiful boardwalk to Weaver’s Creek Falls. It’s only 2.5 km to Inglis Falls, the area’s best known falls with a cascade 18 metres high. It’s situated in the 200-hectare Inglis Falls conservation area flush with a range of hiking trails. I was particularly intrigued by glacial potholes and being surrounded by what I’m told were 20 species of ferns. It’s also an adventurous climb down the steep gorge. Visitors can check out the remains of a historical gristmill on the site, dating back to 1862, replacing one there since 1843.
The easy-walking Tom Thomson Trail winds north from the centre. Driving north on Grey County Road 15, I stopped to wander the quiet woods of the Hibou Conservation Area.
Farther along County Road 15, just past the community of Leith on Tom Thomson Lane, I visited the historic Leith Church, founded in 1865, and the gravesite of Thomson, the distinguished Canadian landscape painter who drowned in Canoe Lake 100 years ago.
Wiarton, home of Groundhog Day prognosticator Willie, features a beautiful park on Colpoy’s Bay with the favourite son’s monument. It’s next to the Bluewater Park Campground, a handy overnight spot for Bruce Trail hikers.
Hope Bay, dotted with charming cottages, a seasonal campground, beach and inviting bay view was an unplanned destination that more than lived up to its name.
I’d hoped to intercept my son hiking from Wiarton toward Lion’s Head along the Bruce Trail. Locals advised the trail overlapped Hope Bay’s only road but with no sign of him as the sun faded, so too did my hope.
Fortunately for us, Clinton couple Joan and Bill Crawford, staying in a bay cottage, provided moral support until Ian and I were eventually reunited.
Joan has hiked the entire 980km route from the Niagara Escarpment to Tobermory during a 10year period with 10 friends.
Hope Bay looked even brighter in the morning when Ian emerged from his tent, and I from the couple’s cottage.