When my friend Christy saw that I was on vacation in Ontario in August, she reached out and asked if I wanted to get together for a hike or a paddle while I was there (we used to work together at a kayak rental and outdoor adventure gear shop in Tobermory). I love when people make an effort like that, because you can tell they genuinely like you – and it’s also nice to have friends who live in different places, but stay close enough that it’s as if no time has passed at all when you finally see each other again.
We arranged to hike the portion of the Bruce Trail that runs from Crane Lake to High Dump (which is a backcountry camping site on Georgian Bay – although we didn’t camp there), with Christy picking me up from my cottage (I had been able to borrow my aunt and uncle’s car to get to and from the airport + the cottage, but that was about it) and driving us to the Crane Lake trailhead. The hike is about 16km (10 miles), and we decided to bring our bikes and ride the first / last half of it. I didn’t realize, or perhaps just didn’t think about it, but you’re actually not supposed to bike on the Bruce Trail. Oops. So please don’t follow my lead on this one! In my (weak) defence, the portion that we rode on (the first 4 kilometres in from the parking lot) was a very wide trail with tire grooves, as I think it’s a snowmobile trail in the winter, and we encountered very few people throughout the whole hike, so luckily we didn’t inconvenience anyone.
Christy picked me up early afternoon on the Friday of my trip and we took the 20 minute drive along Dyer’s Bay Road to Crane Lake Road – the latter being quite a lump, bumpy, windy backroad, so I’d recommend taking a vehicle that can handle this type of terrain.
We arrived to find the small parking lot at the trailhead absolutely packed. I’ve driven to the Crane Lake trailhead twice before – once just to check it out and once while driving our hiker shuttle when I worked for the aforementioned adventure outfitter shop – and both times there were 2 or 3 cars there (at most). This was crazy! I’m sure many hiking spots and outdoor activities throughout Canada were like that this summer due to COVID. So we turned back around and pulled off into the shoulder slightly down the rode, hauled our bikes out of the trunk and made our way back to the trailhead.
Christy and her fiancé have two dogs, Scout and Wilder. At the time of this hike, Wilder was a 70lb, 5-month-old puppy (he’s a St. Bernard/Bernese Mountain Dog mix). Christy had brought Scout along on our last hike, in October 2018, and she brought Wilder along on this one. He did incredibly well for his age, keeping up and sticking alongside us, and swimming in the lake when we came out at the beach. And I was overjoyed of course – dogs? Yes please.
We began the trail on our bikes, and the 4 kilometres flew by easily – it was a slight uphill climb, and fairly enclosed by trees, and we agreed that bikes had been the way to go – this would’ve been a pretty boring, slow part to hike. When we reached a part where the forest opened up a bit and the path grew too bumpy and rooted to continue on wheels, we stashed our bikes in the trees and carried on by foot. The remaining 4km to the shoreline went by quickly, with primarily flat terrain and just a slightly gain in elevation. We walked over some improvised boardwalks, past lakes, and near some of the unique rock formations the peninsula is known for.
When we veered off the Bruce Trail and onto the High Dump Side Trail, heading towards the backcountry campsites, a rope acted as a guide to help hikers travel down the extremely steep decline towards the beach. After descending this area, we had another very short trek through the forest before coming out of an opening in the trees and landing directly in front of the gorgeous blue water that this area is famous for.
Wilder ran in and out of the lake, while I walked in up to my knees. I found it quite warm compared to previous recent years, and wished I had come prepared for a swim!
After enjoying some time on the rocky beach, we headed back into the forest and retraced our steps, since we were doing this as an out-and-back hike. I’ve gotta say, after walking 8 kilometres, finding our bikes exactly where we’d left them was a welcome relief for completing the hike. Wilder was one tired puppy by the end, and we just barely escaped the rain storm the weather forecast had predicted – it started pouring just as we loaded the bikes back into Christy’s car!
I would say this hike was moderate – it was somewhat long (about 16km out-and-back) and certainly not one of the easiest hikes I’ve done on the Bruce Trail, but it wasn’t overly difficult and didn’t have much elevation gain, other than the spot leading down to the beach. This wouldn’t be an ideal hike for young children or those with wheeled paraphernalia or mobility issues – there were a lot of tree roots and rocky terrain. Medium-to-large sized dogs in good physical shape would likely do just fine on this trail – we did it with a five month old puppy!
It was great to reconnect with one of my all-time favourite coworkers, and to do a big hike on the Bruce Trail like I used to! I love hiking on the Bruce compared to back home in the Rocky Mountains – the terrain is equally as beautiful (although very different), but I find the smaller elevation gain on the peninsula much more enjoyable. I can’t wait to get back out there again soon!
If you’re not super familiar with the Bruce Trail you can find my guide here, or lots of other great resources online!