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This week I’m taking you north of Toronto for a little winter adventure to the Bruce Caves Conservation Area. Another nearby spot worth visiting is the Grotto and Lion’s Head Lookout.
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I decided to share some details about a few winter adventures I went on while staying in Toronto this season, because I know for a lot of people getting outside in the cold can really feel like a chore. If you’re looking for another great hike from Toronto check out this blog (this is much closer than the one I’ll be sharing today).
This week I am taking you to the South Bruce Peninsula, which is about a 3 hour drive from Toronto (map below). From here I’ll be going into detail on how to get to the Bruce Caves Conservation Area
A three hour drive is quite long for just the day, so my mom, my dog and I decided to make this a long weekend trip! We stayed at a small apartment in Wiarton, and from there checked out some places in the Bruce Peninsula (check out this blog for another hike option in the area).
Generally, this area is busy in the summertime, but there are still lots of trails to check out and enjoy during the winter months.
The first trail we decided to check out was the Bruce Caves Conservation Area, which is only about a 10 minute drive from where we stayed in Wiarton (map below). Driving along Grey Rd 1 also gave us great views of the water and the cliffs on the other side of the bay.
Getting to the Bruce Caves Conservation Area
During the winter time the road to the main parking lot closer to the cave is closed, so you will have to park where Grey Rd and Bruce Caves Rd meet. The walk to the main parking lot is about 10 minutes.
If you are looking for the shortest walk to the caves, make sure to turn left (to the parking lot) when you meet the fork in the road.
We ended up going right, which took us along the Bruce Trail. You can still get to the caves if you go this way. But look out for the blue trail blazers (Bruce Caves Access Trail) off the main Bruce Trail which will let you loop back to the parking lot and then to the caves. The map below from Alltrails shows the access trail that you can join to loop back.
We weren’t in a rush to see the caves, so we didn’t mind spending some more time on the Bruce Trail and then looping back on the access trail. I actually quite enjoyed the access trail as it filled with many mossy green rocks and is a more narrow and winding trail.
From the main parking lot of the Bruce Caves Conservation Area the walk to the caves is very short! It only takes a few minutes, so again if you are looking for a longer walk, you could add in part of the Bruce Trail here like we did.
With snow and ice around maneuvering around some of the rocks around the cave can be a little slippery, so be cautious of this. I’d also like to add a caution of icicles dangling up above while inside the cave.
When we were there the temperature was seasonally warm, which means the ice was melting. I noticed many chunks of fallen ice from the ceiling of the cave so double check and look up before you head in!
There’s a few little nooks to climb into for views into the caves, so take your time exploring the spot! The bonus of going in the winter time is having the space to yourself too. We only bumped into one couple while we were there, so we were free to spend as long as we wished there.
The only part about the caves I didn’t like was the fact there was graffiti in several areas, but no place can be perfect!
Quick note about Wiarton:
If you’ve looked into exploring the Bruce Peninsula, or the furthest northern end at Tobermory, you’ll know that accommodation is generally a little pricier the further north you go.
What we decided to do (partly because we needed dog friendly accommodation) was stay in Wiarton, which helped us save a bit of money!
The town has a few restaurants, and a great path along the water to relax by. If you are from Ontario, you may already know of this small town because of Willie the ground hog.
Unfortunately the original Willie has since left us (he died in 1999 at the age of 22), however his statue is in the park by the marina for people to visit.
For those that don’t know, each year on Ground Hog Day, Willie was summoned out (since the 1980’s) to predict either a long winter or an early spring. Willie (and his successors) have given the town a bit of fame, and each year there is a festival. To learn more about this you can check out this site.
We went to Wiarton in March, but if you planning on exploring the Bruce Peninsula in the winter, maybe you can time it with the Ground Hog Day festivities as well!
That’s it for today’s blog! I hope you found the information helpful for planning your own adventure to the Bruce Caves Conservation Area. If you did, let me know in the comments!
Next week I will be sharing some more information on trails we explored while in the Bruce area, so stay tuned for more winter adventure ideas.
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Thanks for reading, I wish you happy and safe hiking!
Much love,
Danika
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