Tobermory (Ontario)

Tobermory is a small community in Southwestern Ontario at the northern tip of the Bruce Peninsula on Georgian Bay. It is the northern terminus of the Bruce Trail and a popular diving destination - regarded by many as the freshwater diving capital of the world. Less than 1,000 people live here permanently, but about 750,000 people visit Tobermory's two national parks each year, while many others make a stop in the town on their way to Manitoulin Island aboard the Chi-Cheemaun ferry.

History
The rough, rocky tip of the Bruce Peninsula was a pebble in the shoes of European sailors, explorers, farmers and loggers trying to settle the area in the 1800s. Land routes toward Tobermory from the rest of Ontario were not yet developed, and lake conditions in the narrow gap between Lake Huron and Georgian Bay were far from ideal for the ships and boats of the time. After determining the land was unsuitable for farming, resembling the pine-covered Canadian shield of northern Ontario instead of the flat and fertile farmland of southern Ontario, the government sold plots of land to adventurous farmers hoping they'd be able to kick-start agriculture. Farmers found themselves working against the odds; soils were not fit for farming, and their work tended to conflict with the logging industry, which had emerged as a more viable industry.

Loggers took over as farmers abandoned their efforts. Sawmills opened, railways extended their networks, and town sites were settled, including Tobermory in 1884. However, logging peaked in the 1890s as demand diminished, and sawmills on the peninsula turned to serving mostly local needs. While serving as a harbour linking the peninsula to industrious American cities such as Detroit, Tobermory developed a connection to American entrepreneurs - in business, but also tourism. Wealthy American travellers would often arrive by yacht from Michigan to tour the scenic Georgian Bay, and many set up cottages along the coast.

Talk of creating a provincial park on the peninsula began in the roaring 1920's, as locals took note of the many American investors looking to buy up entire islands. In 1930, the federal government's National Park Branch took over Flowerpot Island. Soon after, Highway 6 was extended from Wiarton to Tobermory, and ferry service to Manitoulan Island began. In 1972, Fathom Five Provincial Park became Canada's first national marine conservation park, and in 1987 the federal and provincial governments agreed to create both the Fathom Five National Marine Park and Bruce Peninsula National Park, recognizing the need to protect the unique and important ecology of the area. In 1990, the Niagara Escarpment, which includes the Bruce Peninsula National Park, was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

Tobermory is still a beautiful small harbour town, but the landscape and lake (home to 24 shipwrecks) that posed obstacles to farmers and sailors many years ago now provide some of the best hiking and freshwater diving spots in Ontario.

Name
The community was named after Tobermory, the capital of the Isle of Mull in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. Scotland's Tobermory gets its name from the Scottish Gaelic Tobar Mhoire ("Mary's well"), but it's the similar harbour that inspired the name in Ontario.

Fathom Five National Marine Park is inspired by a passage from Shakespeare's The Tempest, referring to how a person drowned in a shipwreck is transformed by the sea.

Visitor Information
Tobermory is a summer destination; shops are generally open from May until the mid-October, similar to the Chi-Cheemaun's sailing season, and are closed for the rest of the year.


 * Tobermory Chamber of Commerce Visitor Information
 * Destination Ontario: Tobermory
 * Tobermory is part of the Municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula
 * A visitor information centre is also located on board the Chi-Cheemaun.
 * A visitor information centre is also located on board the Chi-Cheemaun.

By car
From the south, Tobermory can be reached using Highway 6, which goes all the way up Bruce Peninsula from Owen Sound. From the North, you can reach Tobermory by going on the Chi-Cheemaun ferry from South Baymouth on Manitoulin Island.

By air
There are two airports nearby, neither with scheduled flights:
 * Tobermory Airport, +1 519 596-2430.
 * Wiarton/Keppel District Airport, #501262 Grey Rd. 1, +1 519-534-0140.

Get around
The nearest taxi is 1hr 20min away in Owen Sound, so you'd better have your own transportation.

Do



 * Start (or finish) hiking the Bruce Trail. Tobermory is the northernmost point on the Bruce Trail, a hiking trail that follows the Niagara Escarpment south to Queenston (near Niagara Falls). Since it was unveiled in 1967, all hikers who have earned their "End-to-End" badge have found their way to the, where the trail meets Georgian Bay at the Little Tub Harbour. From the town, the trail takes hikers onto some of the mainland portions of the Fathom Five National Marine Park, before continuing through the Bruce Peninsula National Park.


 * Explore . The park preserves a large portion of the Niagara Escarpment on the peninsula, including a variety of natural features accessible to visitors, from sand dunes and rocky coves, a cavern, and interior lakes. Canoeing, Kayaking, bouldering, swimming, and camping are possible in the park.


 * Dive, boat, and island hop through . The shores, coves and islands surrounding Tobermory are a protected freshwater landscape, providing opportunities to explore preserved shipwrecks and rocky islands where the Niagara Escarpment rises above lake level. Diving is one of the unique activities in this park; all divers must register with the Park Visitor Centre prior to diving.

Go next

 * Manitoulin Island — From spring to fall, take the Chi-Cheemaun ferry across the Georgian Bay to explore the Near North.
 * Owen Sound — The largest city in Grey County, south on Highway 6.
 * Village at Blue Mountain — A resort village, popular for skiing in winter, but with outdoor activities in every season, via Highway 6 and Highway 26.