Bruce Peninsula? (camping, living, beach)

[Giesela]

I am wondering if their are any people living on the Bruce Peninsula on here?
Can you describe what it is like to live there?
Do you go to Windsor for health care? Does living on a Pensinsula make the summers hotter or more humid? Winters colder? Is there much tourism? I get the impression its very flat? I'm a bird watcher and wildlife enthusiast, how does that compare to other areas?

Thank you, G

[Magnatomicflux]

I don't know about anything else, but if you were going to somewhere else for healthcare, it most certainly be London, and not Windsor.

[BMI]

Originally Posted by Giesela

I am wondering if their are any people living on the Bruce Peninsula on here?
Can you describe what it is like to live there?
Do you go to Windsor for health care? Does living on a Pensinsula make the summers hotter or more humid? Winters colder? Is there much tourism? I get the impression its very flat? I'm a bird watcher and wildlife enthusiast, how does that compare to other areas?

Thank you, G

I've been there a couple of times, no expert, I don't live there.
Healthcare...definitely Owen Sound for sure.

Flat....yes and no.
I was surprised how flat and boring the the main road up the peninsula is.

As for heathcare...would be Owen Sound, just south of the Bruce Peninsula.
However the east edge of the Bruce features the northern reach of the same
escarpment that runs from Niagara to Tobermory.
I've hiked a few sections of the Bruce Trail on the peninsula,
including spectacular "Lion's Head" section with it's rugged cliffs
over looking Georgian Bay.

Tobermory at the very northern tip is touristy.
Features glass bottom tour boats that go out to various nearby islands,
the water is so clear you can see old ship wrecks.

Also, along the cliff edges near the shoreline are rows of 1000 year old cedars,
I remember, while hiking, I kept watching out for snakes as the area
is one of the few areas of Ontario with rattlesnakes.

[Jesse44]

It's a nice area, but I have no idea how services are there. Very similar is the Southern part of Manitoulin Island, just over Georgian Bay. You would have to head to Sudbury or Timmins (2 hours +) for healthcare from the island. Manitoulin seems to shut down during the winter and I'd assume it's the same in Bruce.

There's beautiful water and stone landscapes in either of those areas, though.

[oaklei1983]

I grew up in the Wiarton area, although I live much farther afield nowadays.

The Bruce Peninsula is a rural area without many services. There is a regional hospital in nearby Owen Sound, a smaller one in Wiarton, and clinics in Lion's Head and maybe Tobermory. For any kind of major surgery people go to Victoria Hospital in London, and for emergencies they are air-lifted down by helicopter. Specialist doctors are usually seen in London, Barrie or the Toronto area.

Temperatures are usually 3-5 C colder than the rest of southwest ON year round, but the major difference is lake effect snow. The Peninsula gets hammered by snowsqualls in winter. White-out conditions and snow-covered roads are common. People are expected to have 4-wheel drive and snow tires in the area, so full road closures are less common than you'd expected, but highway 6 does get closed a few times every winter.

Tourism is much bigger now than when I lived there (80s/90s). Sauble Beach is very popular in summer. Tobermory and the nearby parks have become big tourist destinations, I was actually surprised last time I was up there! You have to book camping months in advance at places like Cypress and Flowerpot Is. There are definitely some million $ cottages around there now too. I think people are branching into the area more and more as an alternative to the Muskokas. Winter tourism is basically restricted to snowmobiling, it otherwise gets quiet.

It is flat, except for the Niagara escarpment, a low, limestone cliff system that lines the Georgian Bay side of the peninsula. I've lived in BC and now New Zealand, so it's hard for me to say the Bruce is really all that scenic, but it's decent by S. Ontario standards. I think bird watching is quite popular, I even remember meeting an ornithologist doing a study up there.

What is it like to live there? Rustic, rural, quiet, a little insular and conservative if you're a local, outdoorsy and peaceful if you're a cottager. Great for retirement, awful for a restless 15 yr old like I was.