Hiking in Ontario - Little Cove to Tobermory

Trail map. The Little Cove-Tobermory hike is marked in green.

Tobermory is the place where the 885 km. Bruce trail starts (or ends depending on how you look at it). It is located on the tip of the beautiful Bruce Peninsula, home to two national parks and countless hiking trails. I'd like to tell you about one of them that connects Little Cove with Tobermory.

Little Cove is a small area along the peninsula with exceptionally beautiful ragged shoreline, clear water and a pebble beach. It is worth visiting even if you don't intend to hike the trail. The twists in the rock, called karst pavements, are extremely pretty inspite of their name. You can swim there on a nice day, although the rocks and the pebbles are not easy on the feet. The view, however, is worth every painful step.

Hector is resting after a swim at Little Cove

The Bruce trail unfolds along the shore from Little Cove in two directions, north-west towards Tobermory and south-east towards Driftwood Cove. The south-east part is marked as very hard since it requires some climbing on the cliffs. The trail to Tobermory, on the other hand, is easy since it goes mostly through fields and woods, with only slight ascents and descents.

Little Tub harbour at Tobermory.

The hike is about 6 and a bit kilometers long and takes about 2.5 - 3 hours to complete depending on
     
your pace. Along the way you can enjoy magnificent views from the top of the cliffs, and if you so desire, you can climb down the cliff (which is possible in several places) and take a swim in the clear water or just have a picnic on the rocks. The hike ends at the visitors center, where you can take a break, buy icecream or just use the washroom. But I advise you to continue another 0.5 kilometers to the tiny village of Tobermory. It is charming and has several places where you can relax and enjoy the views of the Little Tub harbour.
The hike is not a loop, so you will either have to come back the same way you came, or use two cars, one parked at Little Cove and another at Tobermory. Alternatively, you can always try to catch a ride back to Little Cove rd. (worked for my husband) or walk the five kilometers along the local highway.