Brochure - Niagara Escarpment Commission

Ontario’s Niagara Escarpment
Niagara Escarpment
Explorer
...a World Biosphere Reserve
A World Biosphere Reserve
Bruce
County
What You’ll Find
Discover
Ontario’s Niagara Escarpment
What You’ll Find
in Bruce County
Conservation Areas & Parks
Fathom Five National Marine Park
Bruce Peninsula National Park
Cabot Head Provincial Nature Reserve
Cape Chin
Smokey Head - White Bluff Provincial Nature Reserve
Lion’s Head Provincial Nature Reserve
Hope Bay Forest Provincial Nature Reserve
Colpoy’s Bluff
Bruce’s Caves Conservation Area
Colpoy Lookout
Skinner’s Bluff Conservation Area
Slough of Despond
Ontario’s Niagara Escarpment
The Niagara Escarpment cliffs rise bold and dramatic
above the deep blue waters of Georgian Bay. Endless
waves have carved the rock into spectacular features caves and grottos, overhanging cliffs and stacks. Westward, the land slopes down to the Lake Huron shoreline
and gentler beaches, fens and forests. This is the Bruce
Peninsula, a rocky finger of the Niagara Escarpment within easy driving distance of crowded urban centres but a
world apart.
The Peninsula is home to over 40 varieties of wild orchid
and many types of delicate ferns. Trout streams and quiet
inland lakes beckon the canoeist and the fisherman, and
for the more adventurous, there is the allure of “deep water.”
From Tobermory, where the Escarpment dips into Georgian Bay, to Colpoy’s Bay, 13 distinctive Escarpment parks
help capture the beauty and diversity of the Bruce Peninsula. Come along as we explore part of a system of
131 parks strung like jewels along the rocky ridge of the
Escarpment.
1. Fathom Five National Marine Park
Fathom Five is Canada’s first National Marine Park. It is
composed of a huge volume of water with a surface area
of 13,028 hectares, plus all the life found int eh water, the
lake bed belo and on 19 offshore islands.
Beneath its cold, clear waters, Fathom Five preserves rich
historical treasures - 22 shipwrecks that make the park a
scuba diver’s dream. This fascinating underwater museum can also be viewed from the glass-bottom boats that
regularly leave Tobermory harbour.
Flowerpot Island, the best-known of the Georgian Bay islands, is just three miles from shore. Standing guard along
the shore are the natural geological formations or stacks
that give the island its name.
For information about Fathom Five and Tobermory, visit
the Park Visitor Centre, a 5-minute walk from Tobermory’s
centre with exhibits, information and a fantastic lookout
over beautiful Georgian Bay.
Photo by Ethan Meleg
Flowerpot Island can be reached by tour boat from Tobermory, or from the deck of the Chi-Cheemaun (“Big
Canoe”) ferry. The ferry carries 100 vehicles for the 1.25
hr. crossing, or you can leave your car at the terminal in
Tobermory and enjoy the 4 hour round trip.
Fathom Five National Marine Park
P.O. Box 189
Tobermory, Ontario
N0H 2R0
Phone: (519) 596-2233
Fax: (519) 596-2298
Email: bruce-fathomfive @pc.gc.ca
Photo by Neil Hester
...a World Biosphere Reserve
2. Bruce Peninsula National Park
4. Cape Chin
In 1987 this National Park was officially established to
bring much of the complex and unique Bruce Peninsula
into the federal system that protects Canada’s significant
landscapes.
This small park, with its shingle beach and undisturbed
forest, is used for hiking. North of here, along the Bruce
Trail., is the Devil’s Monument and lookout. A plaque describes how this large inland flowerpot or stack was formed
by wave action from a post-glacial lake 5,500 years ago.
(Ministry of Natural Resources)
Cyprus Lake is the main visitor area in the National Park.
It’s easy to see why this area is such a popular family vacation spot. here you can camp, fish, swim, sail, canoe,
participate in the interpretive programs and explore an extensive trail system. These trails link up with the Bruce Trail.
Amble alongside Cyprus Lake or try the more rugged paths
that skirt the Georgian Bay shoreline with its wide vistas of
rocky cliffs set against turquoise water.
The long sandy beach of Singing Sands on Dorcas Bay is
alongside te Dorcas Bay Nature Reserve, a property overseen by Ontario Nature. This is one of a system of Ontario
Nature reserves which protect and preserve natural areas.
About Nature Reserves
Provincial Nature Reserves are provincial parks protecting
Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSIs). Nature
Reserves are areas of land and/or water which contain
natural landscape/Escarpment features. These areas have
been selected to protect distinctive natural habitats and
landforms of the province. The parks’ resources (i.e. historical and life science features) are very sensitive to damage so park activities are limited to low-impact uses such
as hiking and nature studies.
5. Smokey Head-White Bluff Provincial Nature
Reserve
This forest park is a good example of the type of upland
forests typical to this particular portion of the Escarpment.
There are still faint traces of old log slides where cut timber
was pushed over the Escarpment edge and down to the
beaches. This area is accessible by the Bruce Trail. (Ministry of Natural Resources)
6. Lion’s Head Provincial Nature Reserve
Located high on the rocky headland that gives the Village
of Lion’s Head its name, this park is available for hiking
and for enjoying the stunning views over Whippoorwill and
Isthmus Bays. (Ministry of Natural Resources)
7. Hope Bay Forest Provincial Nature Reserve
Huge potholes are among the features here. Relics of the
ice-age, these intriguing formations were created by hard
granite rock, carried by the glacial meltwater, grinding into
the softer Escarpment limestone. This park is ideal for hiking and nature walks. (Ministry of Natural Resources)
3. Cabot Head Provincial Nature Reserve
The best way to see the Cabot Head reserve is to follow
the shoreline road from Dyer’s Bay. To the north are the
cliffs of the Escarpment. Beyond the boulder beaches and
blue waters of the Bay, the headlands of Cape Chin, Lion’s
Head and Cape Dundas rise majestically to the south.
North of Dyer’s Bay there are traces of a flume that carried logs down the Escarpment from Gillie’s Lake during
the timber boom of the late 1800s. At the end of the road,
Cabot Head lighthouse guides boaters past rocky shoals
into safe harbour at Wingfield Basin. (Ministry of Natural
Resources)
Photo by Linda Laflamme
Ontario’s Niagara Escarpment
8. Colpoy’s Bluff
Colpoy’s Bluff includes four parcels of land located on the
north shore of the Bay. The park is an ideal hiking location. (Ministry of Natural Resources)
9. Spirit Rock Conservation Area
Take the path along the shore and climb the spiral staircase up the sheer Escarpment cliff. Legend has it that further south along the shore, an Indian maiden threw herself
to her death. It is said that when the light is right, her
image can be seen on the rock. A sign now marks the
spot. On top of the Escarpment wander along the old
carriage path and through the ruins of “the Corran,” an
estate in the grand style, built over a century ago. Little is
left of Alexander McNeill’s once impressive home; the rose
gardens have been reclaimed by the wild and only a fireblackened stone shell remains of the 17-room mansion.
(Grey Sauble Conservation Authority)
10. Bruce’s Caves Conservation Area
Surrounded by woodlands of maple, beech and hemlock,
these wave-cut caves are dramatic evidence of one of the
natural forces creating the face of the Escarpment we see
today. hiking, cross-country skiing and picnicking are the
most popular attractions for ths conservation area. Be
sure to look for the ferns that grow on the rocky slopes below the cliffs, including the provincially rare and nationally
endangered Hart’s Tongue fern. (Grey Sauble Conservation Authority)
11. Colpoy Lookout
From this small roadside park on the south shore of Colpoy’s
Bay a wonderful panorama unfolds. Across the water are
the starkly beautiful cliffs of Colpoy’s Bluff. To the west is
the Town of Wiarton, “Gateway to the Bruce.” Once home
to a fleet of fishing boats, Wiarton’s deep harbour today
provides safe anchorage to pleasure craft. The mouth of
the Bay, to the east, is protected by White Cloud, Griffith
and Hay Islands. (Grey Sauble Conservation Authority)
Photo by Neil Hester
12. Skinner’s Bluff Conservation Area
The bluff is on the edge of the headland that separates
Colpoy’s Bay from Owen Sound and the views from hereof the Bay, the islands and the far-off cliffs of Cape Croker
are extraordinary. The Conservation Area is ideal for hiking, cross-country skiing and forest management. (Grey
Sauble Conservation Authority)
13. Slough of Despond
Owened by the Grey Sauble Conservation Authority, this
area contains a wide and wonderful variety of plants, including many rare and endangered species. Described by
biologists as a glacial lagoon, this botanicaly significant
wetland is accessible by the Bruce Trail.
Cape Croker Indian Park
Just south of Hope Bay is Cape Croker and some of the
Peninsula’s most striking and dramatic scenery. Cape Croker is known as Neyaashiinigmiing in the Anishnabemowin
language. Cape Croker Indian Park is owned and managed by the Chippewas of the Nawash First Nation. Visitors are invited to camp, picnic, hike, swim, canoe, fish
and experience this rugged landscape of hills, cliff-lined
harbours and mile upon mile of rocky shoreline. For more
information about the park, phone (519) 534-1689.
Photo by Linda Laflamme
...a World Biosphere Reserve
Grey Sauble Conservation Authority
The GSCA owns and manages over 11,000 hectares of
some of the most scenic and environmentally sensitive
lands in Grey and Bruce Counties. The GSCA’s msision,
in partnership with the stakeholders of the watershed, is
to promote and undertake sustainable management of
renewable natural resources and to provide responsible
leadership to enhance biodiversity and environmental
awareness.
Bruce Regional Links
County of Bruce
Bruce County Museum
Bruce County Tourism
Photo by Neil Hester
Phone: (519) 376-3076
Web: www.greysauble.on.ca
The Bruce Trail
The Bruce Trail, Canada’s oldest and longest continuous
footpath, extends 850 km along the length of the Escarpment from Queenston to Tobermory. The Bruce Trail Conservancy works to preserve public access to the Niagara
Escarpment while restoring its natural habitat.
Phone: 1-800-665-HIKE
Web: www.brucetrail.org
The Niagara Escarpment Commission
Since 1973, the Niagara Escarpment Commission has
worked with government, business, non-profit organizations, land managers, land owners and others to conserve
Ontario’s Niagara Escarpment as a continuous natural
environment and scenic, working countryside.
The Commission administers the Niagara Escarpment
Plan, Canada’s first large-scale environmental plan. In
recognition of the Escarpment’s special environment and
people’s efforts to protect it through the Niagara Escarpment Plan and other means, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
named Ontario’s Niagara Escarpment a World Biosphere
Reserve in 1990.
Biosphere Reserves demonstrate that ecology, economy
and a good life can exist together, each a part of the other.
Phone: (905) 877-5191
Web: www.escarpment.org
Ontario’s Niagara Escarpment
Conservation Areas and Parks of Bruce County
. Fathom Five National Marine Park
2. Bruce Peninsula National Park
3. Cabot Head Provincial Nature Reserve
4. Cape Chin
5. Smokey Head - White Bluff Provincial Nature Reserve
6. Lion’s Head Provincial Nature Reserve
7. Hope Bay Forest Provincial Nature Reserve
8. Colpoy’s Bluff
9. Bruce’s Caves Conservation Area
0. Colpoy Lookout
. Skinner’s Bluff Conservation Area
2. Slough of Despond
Photo by Linda Laflamme
...a World Biosphere Reserve