This trip took our little DIY teardrop international! We headed off to Bruce Peninsula National Park in Ontario Canada. Typically we like to find our own free camping, outside of campgrounds. The Bruce Peninsula is mostly National Park or private land so that wasn’t going to work this time.
We decided to stay at Cyprus Lake Campground in the National Park it’s self. There are a few other campgrounds in the area around Tobermory however camping at Cyprus lake gets you access to the Grotto and other hiking trails. If you are not staying here you will have to reserve your spot to park and hike to the Grotto. You will have a specific time slot that you’re allowed to park.
What we didn’t know ahead of time was that you will need to pay for parking and/or reserve your parking spot ahead of time in order to access all of the popular spots/hikes in the area. This is true May through October in the popular months for tourism in the area. The Bruce Peninsula and Tobermory are small areas, not set up for the boom of popularity/visitors they receive. Parking is often limited so that is why you will need to reserve. It is a relatively new issue for the area. This article gives more context. Even staying at Cyprus Lake only gives you access to that part of the park. If you want to explore around the visitors center for the park you will need to pay for parking and we believe an additional occupancy fee.
It is very understandable that they are adding fees and limiting access. Over-tourism is clearly a big issue for this area. We know we are part of the problem as we try to travel as cheap as possible and we are now promoting this area as a destination. When you visit, do so responsibly , respect the locals and their land.
We always try to travel for cheap and were pretty shocked that hikes were going to cost us additional fees. We had plans to visit most of the big name sites you’ll read about ahead of time (Lion’s Head Lookout, Devil’s Monument, Big Tub lighthouse are a few examples) but once we realized the extra costs we quickly changed our plans. Parking at Lion’s Head was going to cost $20-30 for a 4 hour time slot and that had to be reserved ahead of time. Most parking is not quite that expensive. Most places have a $3 per hour pricing. We honestly can say, we found travel to Hawaii via camper van was cheaper than travel to the Bruce Peninsula via our trailer.
All this being said, we loved the Bruce Peninsula! It is so beautiful and well worth a visit. We will share with you how to experience it without spending lots of extra money on fees!
Staying at Cyprus lake we had access to alot of trails and popular spots. Book your spot ahead of time for the campground, they are reservation only during the popular months (May-October) and will fill up. We found Cyprus lake to be one of the nicest campgrounds we have ever stayed at. We stayed in the Poplars section of the campground. We chose a corner spot for more privacy but honestly all the sites are pretty well sized. There are plenty of trees to offer privacy and there is space between the sites so you won’t be on top of other campers.
From your campsite you can walk towards the trailheads and hike to the Grotto, Natural Arch, Indian Head Cove and Overhanding Point. We set off hiking early in the morning to see these popular spots with less of a crowd. You can easily see these sites in a short morning hike. We were back at our campsite by noon. After a quick lunch and changing into our swim suits we headed back to Indian Head Cove for a swim. This was really the highlight of our trip! The water was cold but we got in and swam to the Natural Arch and the Grotto. Unfortunately we didn’t bring the GoPro so we don’t have any photos or video from under the arch or in the Grotto.
We had brought our inflatable stand up paddle board on this trip. We didn’t end up bringing it to Indian Head Cove because it is still a pretty big backpack to carry and it was a bit of a walk from our campsite. If you are willing to carry your gear this would be a great spot to paddle board. The water is so clear! Definitely bring your mask, snorkel and fins. From inside the Grotto there is a hole that you can swim down and trough, leading to outside the cave.
The following day, instead of paying for Lion’s Head or the other trails we had read about we chose to stay in the area around the campground. We had already paid for our campsite and access to this area and there were more trails to explore! We headed towards Stormhaven and High Dump which are two backcountry camping areas. You can hike in this direction along the Bruce Trail which follows the coast fairly closely in this section and offers many view points/lookouts along the cliffs. We really enjoyed our hike in this section of the park. It is also alot less crowded but the views are just as good as anywhere else we hiked!
After our morning hike along the Bruce Trail our second day we decided to head to Tobermory and wander the harbor and get some food. It will cost you the $3 an hour pricing for parking in the town or on the streets around the town. Getting there mid-afternoon it was very busy! We parked a short walk from town and took our time walking along the harbor, looking at the boats.
We really wanted to find access to see the water and Big Tub Harbor. There is a lot of private property so it isn’t as easy as we hoping. We did finally find that at the end of Highway 6 there is access! You’ll need to walk by the Glass Bottom Flowerpot Island Boat tours office/dock. From there, there is a small path down to the water where you will get views of the Big Tub lighthouse and Big Tub Harbor. The path is actually on the Church’s property but they allow you to access it during the day.
You can also park at the Lighthouse (paying again for this) and walk out to the lighthouse for closer views. We also read this is a nice spot to swim. It was very windy and wavy the second day of our trip so we opted to just take in the views of the lighthouse from the free path.
Tobermory its self is a very small town. There are a few shops and restaurants around the harbor. We ate at a couple places during our trip.
Shipwrek Lee’s- The fried fish here was very good! Other than the fish it wasn’t anything special. They gave us little packets of Kraft tartar sauce to accompany our fish and chips. It isn’t fancy but worth a visit for the fish.
Coconut Joe’s- We enjoyed the fish and chicken tacos here. Why we really chose this place was so we could sit outside right along the water and watch the kayaker’s and boaters come in and out of the harbor. We were also hoping to see the Ferry come in. The Ferry goes from Tobermory to/from South Baymouth. We did watch it come in and out while we had dinner. You can see them unload and load the cars from the restaurant.
The Sweet Shop- The fudge here was so good! We enjoyed an ice cream sunday while we wandered the harbor. Well worth a visit!
Our final stop on our last morning was to the visitors center. You can access more trails from the visitors center as well as a 65 ft tall viewing tower that gives great views of the surrounding islands. The visitors center is a short walk from downtown Tobermory. You are supposed to pay for parking here as well and it appears you are also supposed to pay a park entrance/occupancy fee. There we signs at the start of the trail indicating you needed to have your park access pass. We showed up before 9am to find the actual visitors center building not open yet and the parking meter had a sign on it saying “out of order- enjoy the trails”. We were so excited! Free parking and entrance! We walked up the viewing tower and then hiked the Burnt Point loop trail. The views from the end of Burnt Point are well worth the short hike. It was a perfect way to end our trip!
We can’t wait to come back to this area and explore more. We have been daydreaming of seeing Resande on anchor in these gorgeous bays ever since we arrived to the Bruce Peninsula! We will be back in this area as cruisers soon!
Tell us what we missed? What do we need to see and do when we make it back to this area? Leave us a comment below!