Backpacking Bruce Peninsula National Park is a unique trek through a beautiful landscape more reminiscent of the Caribbean than Canada. The Bruce Trail features rugged limestone cliffs that plunge dramatically into the crystal-clear Georgian Bay, the famous Grotto, giant white pebbled beaches, lush forests, and plenty of wildlife. While the entire Bruce Trail is 900 km long, this particular section between The Grotto and High Dump Campground allows backpackers to experience all of the major highlights of Bruce Peninsula National Park and keep transportation logistics easy

Map of Backpacking Bruce Peninsula Section Hike

There’s many variations of this hike you can do in Bruce Penisula National Park.  I can definitely recommend the route that I did starting from Halfway Log dump (the direction doesn’t really matter, you could do the opposite of me, the trail is very up and down and you’ll do it all by the end). I camped one night at High Dump, and then the following night at Stormhaven before returning back to the Halfway Log Dump parking area. Alternatively, you could park at The Grotto and do a very similar route. The nice thing about parking and starting at Halfway Log Dump is it gives more flexibility with campsite reservations since the order/direction you do the hike doesn’t matter (so double the chances of getting permits for the dates you want!)

How to get to Bruce Peninsula National Park

 Toronto to Bruce Peninsula National Park is about a 4 hour drive. The park is located at the very top of Northern Bruce Penisula Municipality. There are several roads in the park but the main roads for hiking include one for the parking area for The Grotto, Indian Head, and Cyprus Lake, and one for the parking area for Halfway Log Dump and Emmet Lake.  The Visitor Centre is near the town of Tobermory, which is also worth a stop.  Also while in the area, I highly recommend visiting Fathom Five National Marine Park which has more than 20 historical shipwrecks, cool underwater geological formations, and has some of the best freshwater diving in the world. 

Does Bruce Peninsula Require Reservations for Backcountry Camping or Parking?

There are 2 backcountry campsites (Stormhaven and High Dump) in Bruce Peninsula National Park and both require reservations. Reservations can be made online on through Parks Canada’s online camping reservation portal.

The Grotto and Halfway Log Dump in Bruce Peninsula National Park require parking reservations for certain times of year. The Grotto requires reservations from April 30 to October 31 and Halway Log Dump has required reservations from June 17 to September 4.

Backcountry permit fees for Bruce Peninsula are $11.50 CAD just to make the online reservation and then an additional $12.75 CAD per person camping. Parking at The Grotto and Halfway Log Dump are $15 per Day.  Reserve ahead of time!

Bruce Peninsula also has an entrance fee of $8.50 per person per day for adults.  However I highly reccomend getting the Parks Canada Discovery Pass if you plan on going to any Canada National Parks for at least 4 days in a year.

Which Bruce Peninsula Campsite is best?

I think Stormhaven is the better of the two Bruce Peninsula campgrounds. The individual tent sites at Stormhaven are tucked away in the woods but with quick and easy access to the beach to enjoy the sunset, cook some meals, and do some stargazing. High Dump is also near a beach, has better solitude, and also includes a small beach with a steep rope descent to get to.  All of the reservable tent sites come with wooden platforms to set up tents, bear poles to hang food, and pretty nice pit toilets. 

Trip Report

My Friend Hannah and I headed to Ontario from the High Peaks Region of the Adirondacks.  This was my first time to visit Toronto, and Hannah hadn’t been since elementary school. We stopped by Niagara Falls along the way and then biked around town checking out popular spots, eating good food, and going to a few breweries.

We were curious if Ontario had any good hiking/backpacking opportunities, we had all our gear with us from the week before, and backpacking was the goal of our original two-week trip that got canceled due to wildfires in California. Every Google search kept recommending the same place: Bruce Peninsula National Park.

After seeing images of the park, we really wanted to do Backpacking in Bruce Peninsula and see it for ourselves. All of the backcountry campsites were full though and the other campsites nearby were quite expensive; around $45 for peak season. The park was also about a 3.5 hour drive from Toronto.

We went to a coffee shop to research more hiking options; there were some other promising locations near Ontario from our initial research.  Just in case, I checked the Canada backcountry reservation website for the 5th time that day, AND THE HIGH DUMP CAMPGROUND HAD OPENED UP!  To make things even better, the campsite reservation was for an itinerary reservation; In order to book High Dump, we also had to book a second night at Bruce Peninsula’s other backcountry campsite: Stormhaven.

We lucked out with Stormhaven, it was definitely the better of the two sites.

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Unpacking and hiking to our first camsite: High Dump.  Backpacking Bruce Peninsula was finally underway!

First epic view of Lake Huron at Overhanging Point in Bruce Peninsula

Amazing views of the Milky Way on our first night! We were actually surrounded by storm clouds and there was faint distant lightning creating a ring of occasional dim light.  Bruce Peninsula is a Dark Sky Preserve so the stargazing here is phenomenal. 

Can you spot the guy in the right image?  Some of the cliffs are pretty high. The highest cliff in the park is 120 feet.

We kept hearing about Indian Head Cove so we wanted to check it out for ourselves. Here’s what we found:

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Although there’s not much total elevation gain in Bruce, there’s plenty of net elevation gain on The Bruce Trail. We experienced constant inclines and declines; especially on the section from Halfway Log parking lot to the High Dump campground.   By the end of the trip, the difference between our highest and lowest point on the trail was about 200 feet but the overall elevation gain was over 2,000 feet!

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Camping at Seawall Campground

We went to Acadia for Memorial Day Weekend. Well, part of it. We camped at the Seawall campground on Thursday and Friday night. Thursday night, there were only three other campers with us on the B loop. The next day, when Memorial Day Weekend officially began, almost every site was full. People wake up early in Acadia, so we recieved an early wake up call. There were several other campgrounds we had higher on our list, but there were slim pickings with only two day’s notice. We’re lucky we could even reserve any campsites for more than one night. Blackwoods Campground and the Duck Harbor Campground at Isle au Haute were at top of our list but we didn’t plan it right to make these locations happen. Blackwoods is on the west side of Mount Desert Island and the closest campsite to a lot of Acadia’s most popular hikes, making it a very convenient place to set up base camp. We technically could have camped at Blackwoods, but we would have had to move campsites each night and we didn’t want to deal with that hassle which is why we chose Seawall. Duck Harbor definitely looks like the coolest spot to camp in Acadia but requires some serious advanced planning. There are 5 primitive lean-to’s with a six person capacity on the island, and people can start mailing in permit requests in April. Keep in mind, they were already reserved through August when we were looking in the middle of May. You have to take a boat to get there and from what I can tell it looks like the most primitive and closest to backcountry camping out of all the sites. There is no true backcountry camping in Acadia National Park.

Rainy Days

There was rain in the forecast for several days so we got to work setting up camp before it arrived.  We took about 20 mins climbing on tables to hang a massive tarp I found in my shed back home in the trees. It’s the only tarp I could find, and I don’t usually car camp, so I’ve now invested in the Kelty Noah Tarp for next time, and I’m curious to see how it holds up.  No matter what, definitely bring some type of tarp with you when you car camp!  They help to protect firewood, keep the sitting area dry, and add extra water protection for the tent set up. Weather can be unpredictable in the mountains, as well as by the sea!

Funny story about our little campsite here.  Not for me, but may before you.  The shelter was doing great and keeping us dry, but it was hard to sleep on the first night because the rain splashing on the tarp and the wind were loud.  At one point I had to exit the tent to go to relieve myself, and noticed one of the ropes had fallen. The rain soaked the firewood, both of our rain jackets, and the camping chairs… NOOOOO!  I decided to deal with it all in the morning because I didn’t feel like getting wet in the middle of the night. Big mistake.

When I woke up in the morning the roof of the tent looked blue.  The tarp fell even more and was hugging the roof and walls of our tent. I was ready to go outside and check the situation.  When I opened my door and went to grab my shoes, I found them filled with water. NOOOOO!  The tarp had formed a nice little chute for all the rain water to fall right into my hiking boots.  If I had moved them 2 inches closer to the tent, they would have been fine.  So, I didn’t use my hiking boots for the next 2 days,  I hiked in Sperry’s instead. Kinda slippery haha

Exploring Bar Harbor

Bar Harbor is a quaint little town definitely worth exploring.  The town is about a 40 minute drive from Seawall campground but is much closer to campsites on the west side. Bar Harbor has plenty of shops, cafes, and restaurants to choose from.

While in Acadia we ate at Sidestreet Cafe one night and also got a few beers at the Dog and Pony Tavern on night two. Dog and Pony had a great atmosphere with an equally great selection of beers.  I love bars with games and activities and Dog and Pony has the most games I’ve ever seen in a bar.  We played connect four, Wii Sports, and Mario Kart!

We went to Sidestreet Cafe for dinner the first night. The cafe was tasty but very expensive.  I had an $18 chicken sandwich… Naomi and I were joking because the sandwich was originally $13 and then our waitress asked if I wanted to add chicken for $5.  I didn’t want to spend $5 more dollars to add chicken. What kind of sandwich only has avocado, lettuce, and tomato without any meat?? That’s a salad on some bread! Even though Sidestreet was pricey, all restaurants are expensive in Bar Harbor. Be prepared to spend money if you want to eat in town.

Everyone claims to have the best lobster, or give you the most for the price. However, they’re all about the same amount and price so don’t debate too hard!

We actually didn’t get our lobster in Bar Harbor, we went to a place called Thurston’s near our campsite. This was a good move!  The restaurant is super cool with a nice atmosphere and sits right on the harbor. We had a great view of all the docked boats, and were literally sitting above the water. I could see waves under us through slits in the wood flooring. Naomi got a full Lobster for $23 and I got a small lobster roll for $18.  This was my first time ever having lobster so I got the cheapest item available. My thought on lobster?  It was pretty good and I might eat it again.  However, there are plenty of other food items I’d pick over lobster in a heartbeat.

Exploring Acadia

Day 1:

We only had 2 days which we packed with exploring nature, but there’s so much we missed, and I have a list of things I want to do when I come back.

My favorite hike we did was the Beehive Trail.  I wrote all about it in a separate blog post. Only two Iron Rung trails were open while we were there due to Peregrine Falcon nesting.  We practically hiked vertically the whole trail climbing up stairs and ladders bolted into the cliffs. I also really wanted to do the Precipice trail, but I’ll have to save that for next time.

After dinner we checked out the lighthouse at Bar Harbor.  I’m not sure if we were supposed to be there or not. The parking lot was technically closed, but the gate to the lighthouse was open, so we explored. The light house had a red light instead of white which I thought was interesting. We couldn’t see much so we decided to come back in the morning.

This night we were able to make a roaring fire and make s’mores.  Seawall Campground provides each campsite with their own stash of firewood, which was convenient and highly appreciated! Sadly, we only got to enjoy a fire the first night because of the rain.

Day 2:

After the morning debacle of finding a bunch of our gear soaked, we made some peanut butter sandwiches and headed back to the lighthouse.  (PB&J’s were our go-to meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner on our 5 day road trip!)

The USCG posted informative signs about the purpose and history of the Bass Harbor Headlight.  In the back of the parking lot, there’s also a short trail to view the lighthouse down from the pink granite.  I loved this view and I captured one of my favorite photos from the trip here!

Since we only had two days on the Island and did the Beehive Hike on Day 1, we wanted to do a hike on the east side of the island for day 2.  The map we received when we arrived had a fire tower marked on Beech Mountain and we wanted to check it out.  Beech Mountain also has some spectacular cliffs nearby overlooking Echo Lake.  You can read about our experience of this hike in another blog post!

After hiking it started to rain quite a bit, so we headed back to Bar Harbor to find some wifi and figure out where we were going to stay on our third night in New England. We went to sleep early after a tiring day at Beech Mountain and little sleep from the first night.  No rain on night two!

My Acadia To-Do List:

We didn’t have much time to explore the park with only 2 half days and one full day of time.  There were penty of activities we didn’t get tos here’s my bucket list for when I return: (Hopefully very soon!)

1. Sunrise hike on Cadillac Mountain
2. Stargaze at the summit of one of the mountains
3. Hike The Precipice Trail
4. Sea kayaking
5. Rock climb some coastal coasts
6. Ride the ferry to one of the islands
7. Bike ride on Carriage Roads
8. Find and explore one of the sea caves (No longer on the maps)
9. Lobster boat tour
10. Go swimming in the Atlantic!

Beech Cliffs

On our second day in Acadia National Park, my friend Naomi and I headed to the western side of the island to hike up the Beech Mountain Fire Tower. This trail was close to our campsite at the Seawall Campground.

When we arrived at the Beech Mountain Parking Area we followed the signs to the Beech Hill Cliffs where we figured the tower would be.  Spoiler Alert: This was the wrong trail.

I’m really glad we took it though.

We followed the trail for about 10 minutes of easy incline to some spectacular views of Echo Lake.  The trail then looped around and we continued the trail back down to the parking lot. We could see the fire tower a few miles in the distance on the backside of the Beech Cliffs Loop and we were excited to to hike there next.

Here are a few photos we captured along the way:

Routes

There are several different options on how to complete this hike, including a more strenuous route than what we took featuring steps and ladders.

Option 1:  ~0.8 miles. This is the route Naomi and I did, and the shortest and easiest route. Start from Beech Mountain parking lot at the green hiker icon.  Then travel to the yellow trail merge and you can go either way around the loop.  I recommend going straight at the merge because the views gradually reveal themselves. Trust me. 

Option 2: ~0.8 miles. Another option to make this trail longer is to park at the Echo Lake Parking area instead and start at the red hiker icon on the map going north. This section of Beech Cliffs Trail is strenuous and not for dogs, children, or people with bad balance.  You will be climbing up steep sections as well as some ladders.  Once you get to the yellow trail merge, follow the loop to the scenic overlook and head back down the way you came. Other classic iron rung routes like this in Acadia include The Beehive Trail and the Precipice Trail on the east side of the island.  

Option 3:  1.8-2.2 miles. This is known as the Canada Cliffs loop. Start at Echo Lake parking, at the red hiker icon, and follow the route north until you reach the first trail merge. From here head south. You can also add the 0.4-mile Beech Cliffs Loop before heading south. At one point, you will reach a trail junction and see a sign that says Canada Cliffs to Valley Trail,  don’t take this unless you plan on visiting the Fire Tower.

If taking Option 2 or 3, and you also wish to hike to the fire tower, press onto the Beech Mountain Parking Lot.

Sometimes these trails are closed starting in late Spring until the end of Summer due to Peregrine Falcon nesting. Check the Acadia National Park Website for warnings and temporary trail closures.

Beech Mountain Fire Tower

After we finished the Beech Cliffs Loop, which only took about 20 minutes, we did some quick Google searches to find out where to go next.  The trail we were originally searching for was the Valley Trail. The reason we were confused when we started was because this trail initially heads in the wrong direction, but then has a massive switchback.

Right of the bat, we were greeted with scenes out of Jurassic Park. The photo below is only a taste of what to expect. There are huge moss covered boulders, along with interesting plant life that was hard to capture with a camera. So, you’ll just have to check it out for yourself!

After about an hour of hiking we finally made it up to the fire tower. Unfortunately, when we got to the top, we found ourselves inside of a cloud. Therefore, the view at the summit is a surprise and you’ll have to tell me all about it if you ever make it on this fun moderate hike!

On the way back to our car we decided to set up hammocks and chill for a while. Great decision.

Routes

There are several options for this hike as well.  We did an out and back route on the Valley Trail. We could have done the loop, but we wanted to hang our hammocks and knew there were some spots on the Valley Trail.

Option 1: 3.2 miles. This is what we did. Take the Valley Trail starting at the red hiker icon.  At the next trail junction head north on the South Ridge Trail until you reach the summit. 

Option 2: 1.1 miles.  Go north on the Beech Mountain loop Trail. The shorter part of the loop (highlighted in blue) is more strenuous.  The trail then loops around the back side of the mountain and you head back to the parking lot on the opposite section of the loop.

You can combine Options 1 and 2 together to create a larger loop including both the Valley Trail and the Beech Mountain Loop Trail, which would be 2.1 miles and give you a change of scenery on the way down.  I highlighted this route in the map above. This is the most popular route.

The Beech Cliffs discussed at the begining of this post are to the northwest of the red hiker icon.  Combine both the fire tower and the cliffs for a fun few hours of hiking!

The Beehive Trail is one of Acadia National Park’s classic Iron Rung Routes. What is an iron Rung Route?  It means you’ll practically be hiking vertically! 

This was Naomi and my first hike when we arrived at Acadia, and my personal favorite! The Beehive Trail is one of the most popular trails in Acadia National Park offering some serious  “bang for your buck” views.  This hike doesnt require too much effort and we were rewarded with non stop views, an unforgettable climb, and great views from the summit.

The National Park Service has drilled iron rungs into the side of the cliffs of Beehive Mountain for our climbing pleasure! You WILL be climbing, or taking switchbacks for 0.8 miles up the entire front side of the mountain.

Extra Information

Parking: The best place to park is at the Newport Cove parking lot. Then walk up a ways to the trailhead which will be on the opposite side of the road and clearly marked. There’s a map in the parking lot if you need help finding the trail head.

Time Required: 1.5-3 hours (We did it in about 1.5, including hanging out at the summit for about 30 minutes)

Distance: The Beehive Trail itself is 0.8 miles with about 450 feet of elevation gain. The loop is 1.3 miles. Map

Additional Iron Rung Trails in Acadia:  Precipice Trail, Jordan Cliffs Trail, and the Beech Cliffs Loop

Nearby Attractions:  Sand Beach is right next to the parking lot and definitelly worth checking out!  A few miles down the road is Thunder Hole which is a big gap in the granite of the Mount Desert Island coast where water comes rushing in creating thunderous noise.  Also, simply enjoy the rest of the scenic drive loop!

     Last week, my friend Naomi and I took a trip to the northern states of New England.  I got to scratch 3 states off my list: Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire.  Our main destination was Acadia National Park in Maine, which was a 12 hour drive from our hometown in Washington D.C. Rather than drive all the way to Acadia, our plan was to take a pit stop in Portland, Maine to meet up with Naomi’s friends Heather and Isabelle.

      On our way up to Portland we stopped in Newbury, CT for lunch. After consulting Yelp, we decided to stop at a small burger joint named GoldBurger that had excellent ratings. 4.5 stars from over 300 reviewers; as a burger connoisseur I had to check it out! The burgers were average, definitely didn’t make my top 10 Burgers list, but that’s a blog post for another day. HOWEVER, the fries were amazing!  If you’re driving up north in CT, take the 10 minute detour off I-91 and treat yo’ self. There’s also a Caravel ice-cream store next door if you require more treating of yo’ self. Next stop: Portland!

     Our destination was an AirBnb in South Portland. This trip was both Naomi and my first experience with AirBnb.  I was curious how it would work out but I ended up having a very pleasant experience at each of the AirBnb houses we stayed at througout the road trip. A man named Joseph was the owner of the first house and was also a USCG certified captain who offered boat rides with the stay! He was very accommodating, and we barely saw him; him and his wife were either not around or hanging out in their own section of the house in the basement.  It felt like we were staying at an old friend’s house and it was overall a great experience.

     After we got situated at Joe’s, we met up with Heather and Isabelle to hang out around the town for the night.  While waiting for our dinner reservations we walked around the city for a bit.  Portland is a great city; I’d say it was probably my favorite out of the three towns we saw in Maine on our trip.  There is great street art, views of the harbor, and an overall great atmosphere with the happy people of Maine walking around the city. Fun Fact: Portland, ME is the largest city in Maine and it is also the eastern most city of more than 50,000 people in the United States. Another fun fact: Maine isn’t actually the eastern most state in the US; technically Alaska is due to the Aleutian Island crossing the 180-degree-meridean separating the Eastern and Western hemispheres.

     One of the best parts of stopping in Portland was the food/drinks.  For dinner we went to a delicious Chinese restaurant called Empire.  Empire was tiny and packed, and for a good reason.  They bring the food out as it’s ready, so we bought a lot of small dishes to share.  You can’t go wrong with anything on the menu, but I recommend the sweet brioche buns and the mouth-watering garlic green beans. Damn, I’m getting pretty nostalgic about Portland as I’m typing this. But wait, this place get’s even better!  They even have live music and late night karaoke. And by late night, I mean 9pm.  Portland shuts down early; the people of Portland have chillin’ to do, so make sure you get your shopping in before 6ish.

     After dinner we went out for drinks at a bar called Bonfire.  Going to this bar was basically like taking a step into the dirty south.  We ordered Portland’s signature brewed beer, The Allagash, and sat on tire swings hanging from the ceiling.  Yes, there were swings in the bar… the coolest seats ever! The Allagash was a good light beer, not too memorable, but definitely tasty.

     Overall Portland was a great first stop on our epic New England road trip.  It was great to meet Heather and Isabelle and I’ll definitely be seeing them again soon.  We only walked a few streets of Portland and never saw the harbor so I can’t wait to visit again for longer than one evening, and explore the rest of the town.  Also, Shoutout to Heather! Heather is also a great fellow photographer; so if you want to see more sweet pics of Maine give her a follow on Instagram.