Dates: Sept. 8 – 9, 2025
Locations: Tobermory > Dyer’s Bay > Barrow Bay
Distance hiked: 96 km
The Bruce Trail is a 900-km hiking trail through southern Ontario, spanning from Tobermory to Queenston, and is claimed to be Canada’s oldest and longest marked footpath.
The trail definitively meanders along the Niagara escarpment which is a cliff-type feature that cuts through southern Ontario largely composed of dolostone (a sedimentary rock with all kinds of cool fossils). It was developed 450 million years ago when this area used to be part of the seafloor. The trail also passes through various different habitats and ecologically significant regions.
I’ve had my sights set on hiking the Bruce Trail since I was in my late teens/early 20’s and finally decided to carve out the time to do it. My goal was to do it in 18 days, starting in Tobermory and hiking southbound.
The first two days of the trail were tough with rocky and rooted terrain, but the views were immaculate – truly the best of what southern Ontario has to offer. The sparkling turquoise waters of Lake Huron’s Georgian Bay glimmered as I hiked along the stretch of trail that meanders from bluff to bluff. I cowboy camped that first night since there was nowhere to set up my tent. The dampness of the night soaked into my bones.
