The first time I went to
Killbear Provincial Park in Parry Sound was around 14 years ago when we were invited by Rachel's Maid of Honour Annie Buxton (now Roe) and her family. I can not believe it has taken me this long to go back.
I left at 9 am this morning and surprisingly ran into a ton of cars on the 400 up to Barrie. From Barrie to Midland it seemed like every other car I passed had a bike on it and from Midland to Parry Sound every other car had a kayak or canoe on it. Somehow I missed the turn, surprise, surprise, it may have had something to do with the divided highway ending and big cement walls on the highway, so I just scooted right past. I kept glancing at my phone gps and the arrow just kept pointing straight so I just kept going. Somehow I missed the part where it said to turn around, it took 20 kms but I finally decided to check my map. lol. The drive was so lovely I didn't mind my wrong turn.
Here it is September 26 and the trees are barely changing until Parry Sound, even there it is a slow process as we enjoy this beautiful Indian Summer.
$14.25 for a day pass but well worth it. My first hike was along Lighthouse Point which included a dip of my feet into Georgian Bay. The water was surprisingly warm, luckily I didn't bring my swimsuit or I might have been tempted to jump in.
When you think of Killbear you tend to think of Georgian Bay and the water, it is actually a marvellous forest full of hiking trails. I am not sure what happened to this tree, it looks like it wanted to be a moose.
Yes Lighthouse Point has a lighthouse on it. And there were lots of the beautiful rock formations that Georgian Bay's Group of Seven made so famous.
One thing I discovered about provincial parks is that they have an abundance of washrooms at the campsites but none that I could find on the trails. Yes I did have to pop into the woods for a quick pee. Really hoping no one had a zoom lens on me :)
Trying to find out where we stayed with the Buxton's I took a little turn down Granite Ridge. Not really being a camper I have to tell you camping roads are a little scary, I felt much better when I realized that they were one way and I wasn't going to have to share the road with anyone. As I have gotten older I also seem to have lost my girl guide directional skills. I was very excited when I found the campsite I had left my car in. Thankfully I used the water as my compass. LOL
My next stop was Lookout Point, a 3.5 km walk to a great view of Georgian Bay. They have done a wonderful job of their pathways but I did find I was looking at my feet a ton, other than when one of the super squirrels and chipmunks who might be the nosiest critters in the forest (next to me) scampered across the leaves.
Thank goodness this little guy didn't rattle.
This will make a lovely winter home for one of the active bears in the area.
Just over 2 hours from Aurora and well worth the trip. Let's hope this beautiful weather continues and we have a spectacular fall canopy before the snow comes.
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