The Bruce Peninsula: Tobermory & Manitoulin Island
- Frau Hannah
- Aug 18
- 9 min read

We had planned to go to Tobermory last summer, but didn't manage to fit it in. We did this year however!
We spent 4 days, the long weekend in August, in Tobermory. It took about 3 1/2 hours for us to drive there after work on Friday, so our first day was spent setting up and getting settled in. We camped out at Happy Hearts Camping in Tobermory and it was quite cozy.
The whole camp ground was on the smaller side compared to the other camp grounds we've been to, but that's definitely not a negative. It was nice being close to the washrooms and showers, to the pool, to the store, and all the other amenities. I could've done with more space from our neighbhours, but that's the introvert in me. Overall, it was a nice camp ground and I slept great.
We had an early morning ahead of us the next day, since we were heading to Manitoulin Island on the first ferry ride over, so we watched one episode of the 3rd season of Gilded age (which I fell asleep during), then headed to bed.
Manitoulin Island
The next day, we took the Chi-Cheemaun ferry from Tobermory to Manitoulin Island, which was about a 2 hour ride. We set sail at 8:45am and started boarding at 8:15am. That might seem early, but this ferry not only takes passenger, but also has a double decker bottom section for car, trailers, boats, etc.
Either end of the ship - the bow and stern - opened up and attached to a ramp on the pier that let the cars on and off. The stern just opened like a garage door, but the bow opened up in such a cool way where the entire part was lifted up (see picture). For walk on passengers, we had a staircase, similar to planes, that attached to the side of the ship to let us on and off.
We walked on, so it only costed us about $80 for the two of us, my mom and I, for a round trip ferry ride. I'm sure it would be more expensive if we drove, but we had no troubles exploring the island on foot.

On our way to Manitoulin, they served a breakfast style menu of eggs, bacon, toast, home fries, and so much more on the ship. The line was crazy super long for the buffet and the ship was pretty busy first thing in the morning, but the food was good and the experience was nice. I also managed to find a gluten free and vegan brownie, which I had while we were exploring the island and it was quite yummy. On the way back, mom had a steak dinner with mashed potatoes and yorkshire pudding. It was a huge portion, but also just as yummy.

They had a small museum on the ship which displayed the history of the ship and all the captains she's had over the last 51 years. Other than that, and the cafeteria of course, there were a plethora of lounges, both indoors and outdoors on the decks, and a boutique called the 'boat'ique.
You know how some people get sea sickness when ships rock back and forth on the water? I thought that might be me, but turns out the rocking makes me sleepy. Both ways to and from the island, I could've napped the entire way there.
While on the island, we spent about 5 hours or so adventuring. We waddled around on the docks, explored every gift shop, went to see the museum, window shopped at a gallery, and walked down to the beach and back.

The gift shops had all the normal things that gift shops have, but there were definitely many more indigenous pieces, which given the history of Manitoulin, makes sense. There were however, a few cheeky Canadian bits that were keeping up with the current political climate.
We visited the free museum on the island, which was made up of 2 parts. One displayed pieces regarding the history of the island, and the other was an old school room where students back in the early 1900's used to learn.

The history section talked a lot about the ships that used to visit the island, such as the S.S. Royalton, the community that used to live on the island - varying indigenous tribes who referred to Manitoulin Island as Mnidoo Mnising, meaning Island of Spirts, all over the island you can see the words "Travel in Good Spirit"- and the fishing industry that the island used to have.
Manitoulin is an island that, big surprise, had a fishing industry, but the island also has a history of ice harvesting. Fish used to be salted to be traded, but once water transportation became possible in the early to mid 1900's, fresh fish could be shipped using ice that was harvested during the winter and kept frozen in ice houses. Nowadays, the island is much more of a tourist attraction than a fishing port.

As a teacher myself, it was such a fascinating experience seeing the old school building. I got to see what their school schedules used to be like, how attendance used to be taken, what old report cards looked like, how the desks used to be made, and the overall set up of the classroom.
The desks stood out to me in particular because of their structure. Instead of what we have today - a chair and a table, separate from each other, with a compartment underneath the table for storing school supplies - this old classroom had chairs with tables attached to the backs of them. Meaning the student behind was using the table attached to the chair of the student in front of them. I can only imagine the arguing that happened.

It was so interesting to see how much this classroom differed from the classroom I currently teach in. I got to sit where the students used to sit and see what would've been their perspective, as well as where the teacher used to sit and see their perspective. I'd love to know what it was like to be a teacher and a student back then. I think they also had mixed aged classroom, like where I teach now, but from what I saw on their schedule, it was such a packed day filled with various subjects and also religious elements.
On the way to the beach, we stopped at the South Bay gallery; a little gallery in part of the owners home that displays her husband's pottery works as well as a few pieces from his students and other local artists. They had everything from indigenous artworks, to jewelry, to pottery, and so much more. It was such a cute little spot displaying local art. My dad would've loved it there.

The beach, South Bay, was about a 40 minute walk total, to and from, from the side of the island the ferry drops off at. I don't think it's really worth a visit honestly. This isn't the type of beach people seem to swim at since the water was so low, there was a small playground for children, a little gazebo that we had a picnic lunch at, and a porta-john. Beyond that, there wasn't much else other than bird poop.
While we were exploring the island, we stumbled across a German-English family at the beach. Then later on, we found a lost phone on the upper deck that was in German. When moments like these happen to me, stumbling upon German in the most unlikeliest of places, it always feels like a sign that is either pointing me in a direction, or solidifying that the direction I've chosen is the right one. It's one of my favourite things when adventuring.
The overall vibe of the island is very tourist-y and laid back. I find coastal living in Canada tends to be quite quiet and slow, except in the tourist-y areas. There were lots of people from all over the world visiting not just Manitoulin, but also Tobermory this long weekend. Back at the campsite, on the one side we had English neighbhours, and on the other we had a group of Korean grandma's and grandpa's - such sweet people. I love being in spaces that feel so multi-cultural and multi-lingual.
I didn't realize it before we drove up, but we were so far up north in Canada that we could've taken a bridge from the island to the Sudbury. If you know Canadian geography, Sudbury is up there.

By the time we made it back to the camper back on Tobermory, we had managed to walk over 17,000 steps. I've just started to get into running, so my knees were already pretty sore, since they were still recovering. Can't say that all the walking helped; my calves were pretty crampy too.
Tobermory

We were recommended to go to the Grotto, but unfortunately we booked too late for the Bruce Peninsula National Park. It's free admission if you visit the park between June and September, but you have to book your parking reservation months in advance, especially if you're like us and want to visit on a long weekend in Canada. So, instead, we went on a drive and ended up at the Fathom Five National Marine Park to do some more hiking!
We didn't know we were going hiking when we got there, so we didn't pack any lunch or water bottles. But, since we got there around 9am, we managed to get parking, so we figured why not hike while we can.

Before starting the hike, we checked out the museum they had in the visitors center. It was really informative about all the different areas of the national park, even the areas we weren't able to see.
We learned about why flower pot island is called flower pot island, the local bear population, watched 2 short films about the shipwrecks in the area, and so much more. I definitely recommend checking it out before you go hiking as you will be too tired to explore it after.

From there, we grabbed a map and started the hike. Our goal was to visit all the lookout points, which we did, but it was a big goal to set given our unprepared-ness. We ended up hiking pretty much all of the available trails. We started, like everyone else, on the Little Dunks Trail - about 950 metres - which isn't bad.
The look out point here is a giant watch tower with many flights of stairs you can look right through. There are 2 platforms you can stop and take photos on. I was definitely game to not go all the way up, but my mom insisted we kept going. It's a pretty cool way to see the park, but it's a tall tower, so my knees were buckling the whole way up and down.

From there, we set off on the Burnt Point Loop - 3.2 km - before heading back on the Burnt Point Shortcut - 1.6 km. The trail itself is quite challenging if I'm honest. It's all forestry that has lots of rocky terrain and steep hills. The forest floor is quite mossy, making it spongey to step on. There are many holes from knocked over trees and giant rocky sections the closer you get to the lake views.
It's listed as difficult on the maps and I can definitely see why. This is definitely not a trail I would recommend to anyone with mobility issues.

By the time we were heading back to the parking lot, we were burned out. We did just about 11,000 steps in about 6.7 km from around 10am to 12:30, without water or food. If you plan to explore these trails, don't be like us, make it a plan and not a spontaneous adventure.
While we were hiking here, we found a trail that led to Cyrus Lake, where the Grotto is found, but from Fathom Five it was an 18km trek. Naturally, we saved this for another time.
I wanted to spend the first part of the day exploring the city centre, but it was so crazy busy and crowded by the time we finished hiking, that we decided it would be better to head back to camper for lunch. We did head back into the town around 5pm and that's when we discovered that parking, after 6pm, is free, so if you want to visit the town, the evening seems to be the better option.

Like on Manitoulin Island, we went into each gift shop, explored the local treats, and walked up and down the piers. We got a great view of the Chi-cheemaun setting off - did you know it can carry transport trucks?!?! - and my mom, friendly as ever, chatted with nearly every tourist we came across.
I picked up some freeze dried Skittles (so much better than the originals in my opinion) and air head taffy from the gift shop. Near the piers, they had a shop selling maps for people who were sailing in the nearby areas, and we found another boat tour that sails around the shipwrecks from the 18 and 1900's.
We ended our last night in Tobermory roasting some marshmallows over a fire while playing dominions out on the picnic table. For those of you who follow me on Instagram, I won.
Overall, it was a nice trip away. Tobermory is beautiful, Manitoulin island is awesome, the ferry is such a cool experience, the people are friendly, the sights are definitely worth seeing, and the history is fascinating. It was a bucket list place for me in Canada, and I'm so glad I got to see it.
I definitely recommend checking it out, in the summer so you can enjoy all the nature Tobermory has to offer, on your next visit to Canada. Here's to the next adventure!
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