The hidden gems of Tobermory, Ontario

Further to my previous post on the Sauble Beach that we visited on a Friday evening a few weeks back, we had a lot of attractions lined up until Monday evening. They form a part of the Bruce Peninsula and the adjoining Fathom Five National Marine Park. On Saturday morning, we had to first get the permit for the famous Grotto (natural intricate cove) since the parking for it is through timed slots and is distributed on a first-come first-serve basis. The slots are from 7-11am, 12-4pm, 5-9pm. It is suggested to reach as early as possible if you even want to be safe for a slot (you can only get a permit for that day, not for future). On weekends (especially long ones), all the slots could get filled up in the morning itself…you can follow their twitter handle @BrucePNP or even use #grottoparking to see the current availability.

We reached the entrance (on the Cyprus Lake Rd) to the Bruce Peninsula National Park about 8.30am and were given the option to choose from any of the 2nd or 3rd slots. We went with the 12-4 one since photography is better during the day time and one could enjoy the reflections in crystal-clear waters too! In the meantime, we backed-up our car and headed further up about 10 kilometers to the Tobermory Visitor Center (map here: BP-FF_Map_en). As I’ve mentioned earlier also, the benefit of starting with the Visitor Center can’t be undermined…the folks there give you valuable information even though you might think you know it all!

We were advised to head to the tower right next to it and then go to the Dunks Bay just a short walk away. We did exactly that and were treated to spectacular views of the entire Georgian Bay from the summit of the tower. It was quite windy and cloudy that morning, but the views from up there are still fresh in my memory.After that, we headed to the Dunks Bay and were in awe looking at the clarity of the water. I could even count stones deep into the turquoise waters…I felt the clarity to be even better than that of Lake Tahoe in California that we saw in April last year!We got so excited about the prospect of what is coming up next that the 3 hours at those 2 small sites seemed to pass by in a jiffy!

There are other attractions in Tobermory too, especially a cruise to explore the Flowerpot Island of Fathom Five NP (we covered that on Monday). Our priority was The Grotto for most of Saturday and The Blue Mountains on Sunday. More on these coming up next…