My family and friends decided that it was time for us to explore a very small portion of the beautiful country we live in! We packed up and took a road trip to Tobermory. We started very early in the morning and wanted to get a full and hearty breakfast to make sure we started the day with energy! About an hour into our road trip we visited the Country Cabin Restaurant in Shelburne, we ordered a lot of stuff to try, like French toast, pancakes, and special homefries! Everything was fresh and delicious, service was fast and it was a great way to start the day!
Next we drove a bit more than an hour towards the Owen Sound area, here we stopped off at the breathtaking Inglis Falls! There is a parking lot right next to the viewing platforms for the perfect view of the falls! There is no access to the bottom of the falls, however there are other surrounding hikes that allow you to get different views of the falls and the nearby sights!
Then we drove another half an hour north to Wiarton, Ontario and visited the Marina! We stopped for a while, took in the sights of the lake and walked along the boardwalk! When we visited it was a little gloomy but still very beautiful and was really calming to walk along!
Our next stop was one of the most anticipated, we drove about an hour to The Grotto! We had to reserve our time and pay for your day passes ahead of time, we reserved our time from 12pm-4pm, as they are allotted in 4 hour slots. We entered and were directed to park in the first parking lot, this was a pretty far drive in, approx. 20 mins. After parking the trail heads that lead to The Grotto were very clearly marked, there was an easy green trail and an intermediate level blue trail, both were around a 20-30 mins hike!
We took the green trail which was mostly flat terrain and was really easy to walk, it was shady and felt quick! When we reached the trail end it led out to the swimming area of The Grotto, it was extremely rocky and had large formations that created seating and resting spots. After resting for a few mins, we decided to venture down to the water for a quick swim. When we got closer to the water the moss on the rocks made it very hard to walk, even though we had on water shoes with grip, it was hard to move around. It was a little dangerous so definitely be extra careful! The water was also very deep with a sudden drop off, so if you aren’t a good swimmer reconsider going into the water!
Next, we hiked back and headed to the Visitor Centre Lookout Tower, which was only about 15 minutes away. It has 113 steps to get all the way up to the top, there are 2 platforms, one halfway up and the other at the very top. It can be tough if you have difficulty walking, but the view from on top is well worth it!
Then, it was time to check into our hotel and freshen up for dinner. We stayed at The Princess Hotel in Tobermory, and it was right in the middle of town, the prime location meant that everything was right around the corner! However, the majority of the restaurants had very long line ups! We decided to walk about 10 mins to Shipwrek Lee’s at the Ferry Docks, they took in our party of 12 very quickly, but our food did take a while to arrive, it was hot and tasty! Lastly, we ended the night with some ice cream! There were 36 different flavours to choose from, I got the Rainbow Sorbet which was dairy-free! It was light and refreshing!
The first day of our epic road trip was done and we couldn’t wait to rest up for day two! The full blog post on the adventures of day two of the road trip is coming soon!
Sincerely, Celine!
SincerelyCeline 