Bruce Peninsula National Park Overview

Bruce Peninsula juts into the Great Lakes, separating Georgian Bay from Lake Huron. Bruce Peninsula National Park covers a 12-mile-long stretch of sea caves, car-size boulders, and 131-foot-high cliffs, all overlooking the cold, clear waters of the Great Lakes. The Bruce Trail runs along a stretch of Niagara Escarpment on the Georgian Bay side, providing dramatic hikes through this UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. On this side of the peninsula, crags pitted with sea caves offer plenty of opportunity for exploration. The Grotto, a cave on the coast, is one of the most popular. The rocky shore gives sea kayakers karst caves, coves, and overhangs in addition to flatwater.

By contrast, the Lake Huron side has sand dunes and wetlands. The pancake-flat expanse of beach at Singing Sands is an excellent spot for wading and for watching sunsets. This side of the park holds one of the largest remaining forest tracts in southern Ontario. It comprises an array of habitats, from dry rock plains, called alvars, to lakes hidden in dense forests. In turn, there's an amazing array of plants, including 40 species of orchids, 20 species of ferns, and thousand-year-old cedars that cling to cliff walls.

The Parks Canada Visitor Centre is the best place to start. A high-definition video gives a quick overview of the best spots to visit in the park, and the 65-foot-high viewing tower gives a bird's-eye view of the surrounding forest. The nearest community with lodging and dining options is Tobermory, just outside the park at the tip of the peninsula, where scuba divers brave the cold waters to explore sunken ships.