This is my trip report from a somewhat exploratory trip. One of my original sea kayaking goals was to paddle the Niagara Escarpment along the Bruce Peninsula National Park. I became interested in the area in my younger adult years and did some very limited, sheltered kayaking on the interior lakes of Bruce Peninsula National Park. I waited to do this trip until I was confident enough to keep out of trouble.

A hallmark of the Bruce Peninsula coastline is rugged terrain. Care is needed to ensure that you don’t get caught in a bad situation. When researching the area, you can find some really nasty stories of kayaker’s getting rescued. I did my online research with http://myccr.com and using Google Maps. Planning trips is never easy, this trip was no exception.

My family decided to camp at Lands End Park in the trailer while the group made the 2 night, 3 day trip from the east side of Tobermory to Lion’s Head.

Original itenary sent to the group:

Day 1 Sunday:

Leave from Land’s End, paddle on the outside of Russell island
Lunch in Dunks Bay on the beach (~15km)
Continue to Stormhaven site for camp (~10KM)
Set camp

Day 2: Monday

Leave Stormhaven (need to book)
Lunch in Wingfield Basin (~15km) explore the shipwreck and lighthouse
Continue to Dyer’s Bay (~10km) 
Set Camp

Day 3: Tuesday

Leave Dyer’s Bay
Lunch in Smokey Head – White Bluff Provincial Park (~15km)
Continue to Lion’s head provincial Park (~10km)
Continue to Lion’s Head town (~3km) 
Shuttle back.

We decided to not go around Russell and we booked at High Dump.

We packed up the kayaks at Lands End and launched into Lake Huron. The forecast was a manageable 8-10 knot head wind until we rounded the point. The waves were somewhat noticeable but they weren’t breaking. It was a fun paddle to the first rest spot, which is on part of the hiking trail near the National Park’s information centre. The area has been flooded due to high water. After a short break, we were off to Dunk’s Bay.

One of the most fun parts of the trips are the crazy discussions you get into on the water. I can’t remember exactly what we were talking about but we paddled right by Dunk’s Bay….Oops. We checked our charts and decided on stopping at Driftwood Cove. In a way, I am quite happy we made that mistake, Driftwood Cove is beautiful. The view from the beach was the spectacular. Overhang Point is across the bay and as it turns out, Dunks is a somewhat busy beach, which is mostly private land.

Of note, and some foreshadowing, what appears to be a white sand beach on Google Maps satellite view turned out to be tennis ball sized rocks. The beach was still beautiful but it made landing heavily loaded kayaks more challenging. It took a team effort but after a few extra minutes, we made it.

Onwards to what I had mistakenly written down as Halfway Log Dump, I meant to write High Dump and when we made it to the site, it was clear there was a mistake. The sites are close on the map, and it wasn’t a big deal but we still needed to paddle a few kilometers. It was a good lesson for me, I need to make sure I get someone to proofread the itinerary in the future, lesson learned.

The beach at High Dump is very similar to Driftwood Cove, large tennis ball sized rocks piled up steeply on the shoreline. It took a bit of effort to get all of the kayaks up the banks and safely stowed for the night. Campsites are set behind the treeline. There is a very nice outhouse and a bear hang. It is pretty luxurious for backcountry camping, to be honest. We met other groups of backpackers. They were quite interested in the kayaks and where we’d launched from. When we set camp, we were rewarded with the most spectacular sunset I have ever seen, followed by mind blowing views of the Milky Way.

In the morning, we packed up and headed towards Wingfield Basin. I was very much looking forward to exploring the coastline and finding the shipwrecks along the way. It didn’t disappoint, the beauty of the area is stunning.

Once we rounded the point at the end of Cabot’s Head Provincial Park, this is where the views of the sandy beaches on Google Maps came back to bite us. I figured in the paddle between the lighthouse on the point and Dyers Bay, we would be able to find a place to set camp. We tried, but we failed to find any reasonable spots.

After the trip realization: We should have headed towards Reed’s Dump, not so directly to Dyer’s Bay. This was a lesson learned and it ended our trip short. We did have a contingency plan, that we decided to use. We called my wife for a ride home (hahah)

The group arrived at to Dyer’s bay by 4PM and decided that heading out without a solid read on a campsite could be a dangerous situation. So, we landed and called our shuttle to come get us. This trip was very rewarding, it wasn’t perfect, but I really pushed my comfort zone. I explored totally new waters and felt very comfortable about it. Most important, we didn’t forge on and get in trouble. To me this trip was a big success. However, I feel like I could do it again and make some major improvements.

To see all of the pictures from this adventure, click here.

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This trip would require a minimum of level 2 or higher skills depending on the conditions.