Staff Pick

Road Trip Toronto to Tobermory – Turquoise Waters of the Bruce

Toronto Tobermory
300
km
3h30
drive
Summer
season

The Itinerary

Tobermory sits at the northern tip of the Bruce Peninsula, where the Niagara Escarpment runs out into Lake Huron and reappears as the islands separating the lake from Georgian Bay. It calls itself the freshwater diving capital of the world, and the claim holds up: more than twenty shipwrecks lie in Fathom Five National Marine Park, several in water shallow and clear enough to see from the surface or from a glass-bottom tour boat. The clarity comes from cold, low-nutrient water over a limestone bed.

The drive from Toronto is about 300 km, north on Highway 400 and then the length of Highway 6 up the peninsula through Wiarton and Lion's Head. Bruce Peninsula National Park holds the peninsula's most photographed feature, the Grotto, a wave-cut cave on the Georgian Bay shore with startlingly turquoise water. Access is controlled by timed parking reservations booked in advance, and they sell out for summer dates; without one you will not get in. Flowerpot Island, reached by boat from Tobermory harbour, is named for the sea stacks eroded into columns along its shore.

The Bruce Trail begins at Tobermory and runs some 900 km south along the escarpment to Queenston, and the northern sections along the cliff edge are among the most spectacular and the most demanding. The MS Chi-Cheemaun ferry crosses to South Baymouth on Manitoulin Island in about two hours, which makes a northern loop possible. Reserve vehicle space ahead in summer.

Points of Interest

  • ✦
    The Grotto
    Landmark sea cave with turquoise water, in Bruce Peninsula National Park.
  • ✦
    Flowerpot Island
    Boat trip out to distinctive rock pillars, an hour from Tobermory.
  • ✦
    Shipwreck Diving
    More than 20 visible wrecks, in the clearest water in the Great Lakes.
  • ✦
    Bruce Trail
    A 900 km footpath along the Niagara Escarpment.

Fishing Spots Along the Route

🎣
A-frame Lake
Lake
🎣
Ada Lake
Lake
🎣
Adams Bay
Lake
🎣
Adams Lake
Lake
🎣
Agnes Lake
Lake
🎣
Ague Lake
Lake
🎣
Aikman Lake
Lake
🎣
Albemarle Brook
Stream

Protected areas along the route

🌿
LITTLE COVE PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURE RESERVE CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
CABOT HEAD PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURE RESERVE CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
JOHNSTON HARBOUR-PINE TREE POINT PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURE RESERVE CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
BAYVIEW ESCARPMENT PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURE RESERVE CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
Midhurst District Crown Lands
General Use Area
🌿
SAUBLE FALLS PROVINCIAL PARK (RECREATIONAL CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
IRA LAKE PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURE RESERVE CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
SMOKEY HEAD-WHITE BLUFF PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURE RESERVE CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
BLACK CREEK PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURAL ENVIRONMENT CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
Bronte Creek Provincial Park Deletion
Public lands
🌿
DUNCAN ESCARPMENT PROVINCIAL PARK (NATURE RESERVE CLASS)
Provincial Park
🌿
BRONTE CREEK PROVINCIAL PARK (RECREATIONAL CLASS)
Provincial Park

Take this route offline

Cell coverage thins out fast once you leave Toronto. Export the map as a geo-referenced PDF before you go and open it in BorealMaps — your GPS position shows on the map with no signal at all.

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Practical info
  • Departure Toronto
  • Destination Tobermory
  • Distance 300 km
  • Duration 3h30
  • Category Long (250–500 km)
  • Best season Summer
Themes
diving Nature park Summer Ocean beach epic Hiking

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