Exploring Manitoulin Island
John and I celebrated a laid-back 13th anniversary yesterday (we went to the local fish and chips restaurant and then we went shopping). Friday, we take off on our vacation to Manitoulin Island.
I was really pleased yesterday to find a book at the library called "Exploring Manitoulin". It has history, geology and geography of the island, as well as several long and short car tours showcasing the highlights for tourists. The book is ten years old, but, hey, we plan to spend most of our time hiking and walking on the beach, so I'm sure those places haven't changed much. I've been studying the book to decide where we should go during our two days on Manitoulin.
Here's our current plan. We'll be leaving Richmond Hill on Friday morning and driving north to Tobermory on Georgian Bay. We have a reservation on the 8 p.m. ferry, so we need to be at the dock by 7 p.m.. The ferry takes about two hours from Tobermory to Manitoulin Island and should be gorgeous for twilight sky-watching from the deck. The ferry also has a store and a cafe to wend the time away. We'll reach the island around 10 p.m. and from there we'll drive to Stanley Park camping grounds on Mindemoya Lake, where we have a three night reservation. We'll set up our tent and campfire and call it a night.
The next two days are a little more loosely-planned at this point, though we already know several places that we want to go check out. Just north of our campground there are a set of hiking trails and a cave, so we're sure to go there. We're also keen to hike the Cup and Saucer Trails, a steep set of trails with a spectacular view of the north part of the island. The town of Kagawong seems a must, with more trails along the water edge, a lighthouse and the Bridal Veil Falls. Gore Bay is just west of Kagawong and seems another good place for hiking and touring. I'm sure we'll pick up more brochures once we get off the ferry and we'll find other things we want to do, as well.
We catch the ferry back to the Ontario mainland at 9 a.m. on Monday and then we'll start wending our way back to Richmond Hill, with perhaps a stop at the Singing Sands on Lake Huron along the way. The Singing Sands is a gorgeous beach with miles and miles of soft sand and knee-deep water. It was one of my favorite places during our last visit to Tobermory.
Fingers crossed the weather will be good. The weekend should be a fun adventure.
I was really pleased yesterday to find a book at the library called "Exploring Manitoulin". It has history, geology and geography of the island, as well as several long and short car tours showcasing the highlights for tourists. The book is ten years old, but, hey, we plan to spend most of our time hiking and walking on the beach, so I'm sure those places haven't changed much. I've been studying the book to decide where we should go during our two days on Manitoulin.
Here's our current plan. We'll be leaving Richmond Hill on Friday morning and driving north to Tobermory on Georgian Bay. We have a reservation on the 8 p.m. ferry, so we need to be at the dock by 7 p.m.. The ferry takes about two hours from Tobermory to Manitoulin Island and should be gorgeous for twilight sky-watching from the deck. The ferry also has a store and a cafe to wend the time away. We'll reach the island around 10 p.m. and from there we'll drive to Stanley Park camping grounds on Mindemoya Lake, where we have a three night reservation. We'll set up our tent and campfire and call it a night.
The next two days are a little more loosely-planned at this point, though we already know several places that we want to go check out. Just north of our campground there are a set of hiking trails and a cave, so we're sure to go there. We're also keen to hike the Cup and Saucer Trails, a steep set of trails with a spectacular view of the north part of the island. The town of Kagawong seems a must, with more trails along the water edge, a lighthouse and the Bridal Veil Falls. Gore Bay is just west of Kagawong and seems another good place for hiking and touring. I'm sure we'll pick up more brochures once we get off the ferry and we'll find other things we want to do, as well.
We catch the ferry back to the Ontario mainland at 9 a.m. on Monday and then we'll start wending our way back to Richmond Hill, with perhaps a stop at the Singing Sands on Lake Huron along the way. The Singing Sands is a gorgeous beach with miles and miles of soft sand and knee-deep water. It was one of my favorite places during our last visit to Tobermory.
Fingers crossed the weather will be good. The weekend should be a fun adventure.