Slightly sleep-deprived and hurried, due to the excitement of our impending trip, we race to the rental car place to pick up our vacation vehicle on time. Rob and I have made the executive decision to give his reliable, yet overworked car a rest and opted for a rental for our camping trip to the Bruce Peninsula. After an hour of last-minute packing, grocery shopping and carefully arranging our gear into the trunk and backseat of our economy car, we set off on a winding route through the city in search of Highway 10. Once at Highway 10, we know that the roughly 300 km or so drive to Tobermory is going to take us on two snake-like roads. (Hwy 10 and Hwy 6).
When driving on one farm-lined road for a long time, whether your precise directions say so or not, you begin to feel as though you might be headed along the wrong path. So, to stretch our legs and beat our paranoia, we decide on pulling into a little diner at one of the few intersections we encounter. As it turns out, we’re right on track and, after a pleasant yet slightly ego-bruising conversation with some local folk seated at a picnic table out front of the tiny green-shuttered stop, we’re on the road again.
Tobermory is our chosen destination because the Bruce Peninsula offers such an array of things to do. Aside from camping at either the Bruce National Park or one of many privately owned campgrounds, there is hiking along the Bruce trail or other networks of trails that wind through the area, swimming, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, and scuba diving. As a matter of fact, Tobermory is the scuba diving capital of Canada and home to the Fathom Five National Marine Park where 23 shipwrecks await on lake bottom for visits from eager explorers. The fact that this quaint, friendly, cottage-laced town is within a decent radius of Toronto, makes it an ideal destination to fulfill the need to really get away from the urban speed of life. Given that it’s more than a four-hour drive from the metropolis, it’s not exactly a daytrip drive and provides you with a good excuse to snuggle up in a tent or B&B for at least one night!
A few days prior to departure and with luck on our side, we made reservations to stay at a privately owned campground in Alvar Bay Nature Preserve. As the summer months and warm weather roll into the Peninsula, so do all of the nature-lovers, so making reservations well in advance is suggested if you want to stay in the area. The National Park was full-up when we tried to book online with them (which, by the way, is a wonderfully quick way to check up on site availabilities).
