Toronto Photography Meetup Group

Hi Group. I will be going to Tobermory for a 3 day weekend, hoping for some tips for good sunset, sunrise locations, and general tips on what's worth doing and what's not.

Will be doing some hiking, cycling, maybe canoeing.

Thank you.

Peter,

When are you going? I am also planning a 3 day weekend.

Location tips and "what to do"'s will be helpful friends

Haven't been to Tobermory in some time but love it. Some places to shoot sunrise/sunsets would be Big Tub Harbour, Little Dunks Bay (end of Johns Lane off Dunks Road) and Little Cove (faces north east so sunrise perhaps) at the end of Little Cove Road. We used to take divers out there to get certified so in the daytime, it's usually crawling with divers so keep that in mind.

You can do a day trip to Flowerpot Island with Blue Heron charter and they do the loop from Little Tub Harbour pass the wreck of the Sweepstakes and onto Flowerpot. Unfortunately they don't have late return times so I don't think you'll get sunset shots of Flowerpot Island.

Watch out for speed traps on Hwy 6.

Thanks a lot.

Thank you Carlton, much appreciated.

I am going this weekend, Friday to Sunday

Good timing. According to the Photographer's Ephemeris, you should get a full view of the sunrise at Little Cove and Dunks Bay and sunset from Little Tub Harbour and Big Tub. If I'm not mistaken, there a rocky beach area along Bay Street where you can catch the sunset as well. There are a couple sunken tug boats there that divers used to use for a night dive (or at least there used to be when last I was there).

Best to scout it out in advance and choose the best location. Hopefully you get great sunsets. Don't forget to stop by The Sweet Shop in Tobermory! Mmmmmmmmm....

Depending on how much time you have at your disposal, Port Elgin, Kinkardind, McGregor Point Provincial Park are worth seeing.

Watch for speed traps not only on HY6 but also on all the side roads. I mean watch your speed because if you spot the police car it is already too late. I know. Don't ask how.

The grotto is a really interesting cliff formation. It's accessible by a short hike from the cypress lake provincial camp ground about 10 min drive south of Tobemory.

Sweet , this typo of info is appreciated as well!!

Hi Peter

I did 3 lighthouse tours here over the last 3 years up this way. Here are a few of the spots we checked out.

Make sure you have bug spray as at night and in the morning they are biting.

Sunset was seen down Cape Hurd Road. -- follow the road all the way till it meets a cross road and imediately across the road is a path/road you can drive your car into with a few parking spots (it looks like it is almost overgrown with trees, I drove a mini van down -- some branches may rub on the side of your car as you pass through). You walk all the way straight out watch out for the wet ground in some areas or just to the left facing the lake you can go over some. Be mindful there is someone's cottage to the left not to far over. I useually went to the left and used the land past the open water as foreground.

Sunrise was seen from Little Cove Rd. Follow to end there is a small area to park and you can see the beach there. It is very rocky there and there are many larger rocks there for foreground. Found this was the best area. You are in the park boundry but no one bothers you. There may also be a few campers there too.

Big Tub Lighthouse is a great spot to see as well. We usually went there after sunset and took night shots of the lighthouse and star trails. If you hange around till around 11:00pm or so you will get to see the ferry with the lights return back to the docks for morning departure.

I have been to Singing Sands off Dorcas Rd -- short distance down the road there is a parking area. The area is completely flat with the rippled sand going out for along ways. We did Sunset here as well, but liked Cape Hurd better. Watch for the tide coming in on the sand if you go all the way out as it comes in slowly and before you know it you are standing in water.

Second sunrise location was more in town off of Head St then on to Water Street whcih changed name at the curve and all the way to the end. There is a spot to park at and you are beside homes and cottages. This is a short 5 - 10 minute walk down a path/road to the lake to the beach. Be mindful to your left is someone's cottage so you will need to go to the right on the beach area. The rocks here have nice pitted areas on the far right once the sun comes up and you can get some refelections shots in the pools of water. This place has less larger rocks as the rocky areas all slope into the water. In my opinion you have a better foreground at Little Cove Rd.

The boat tour over to Flowerpot Island was very nice. There are a few different boats. The glass bottom tour takes you in past Big Tub Lighthouse and over the sunken ship and then to the Island and there is a trail to the Lighthouse and the Flowerpots and the cave along the shore side. You can come back the same way or there is also an inner trail to follow back if you wish. Other boats go directly there or there is another boat that goes to near a few other islands. There is a link to this in the 2009 lighthouse tour for the different tours available.

In 2009 lighthouse tour Ramesh (on page 2) has a photo of sunrise at Little Cove Rd (It has Chris/Hotwire in it and shows some of the rocky area) looking to the left side of the bay. Higher up he had another one which had some of the rocks in the water looking more to the right side of the bay. Others also have some shots posted of some of the highlights we say.

There is a link in one of the 2009 lighthouse tours for a sunset cruise if that interests you as well.

I have not explored any of the other roads to know if there are any other good spots to catch sunrise or sunset from.

If you find any good spots to see besides what is list post it for further adventures up that way. Tobermory has a lot to see there too.

Not sure where you are staying, but I have stayed at the Couch House Inn on serveral occasions. They have a breakfast in the morning included in your price -- room are reasonably priced. In the back yard there is an old car parked there if you are into that type of thing. Just go through the arch near the office and you can't miss it back beside a garage.

The tower has a nice view of all the surrounding area from the visitor's centre. The stairs are all metal grates and you can see all the way to the bottom. You can get a nice panoramic view from the top and there are pointers and info of what you are viewing from up there. The top is a solid platform of wood. Something to be aware of, if you are shooting from there is: as you move the tower sways and moves. You can see the ferrry, the Big Tub Lighthouse, Manitoulin Island, Flower Pot Island, It shows you where Cove Island Lighthouse is and you can see the white light flashing. Also shows you Cabot Head Lighthouse area, etc. We usually went there early after the sunsire pictures as I'm not sure if you have to pay to go up the tower if you go during office hours. There is an interpertrative building you can go in. I have not been in. In the parking lot there are also some buoys and a man made waterfall. There are a few trails from the parking lot that you can venture on. One trail is fairly flat and is wheel chair accessible while others have different terrain and lengths. There is a map at the base of the tower showing the trails.

I have included the links to the 3 lightouse tours I did each year as there are links of maps and info to check out for you:

http://tpmg.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15971 -- 2010 tour which has some info on Tobermory -- near bottom lists all the locations we saw. This was more of a stop over as we were heading to Manitoulin Island. We did do sunset and sunrise in Tobermory.

http://tpmg.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12432 -- 2009 tour with info of locations, and boat tours and pictures of some places we saw including Little Cove.

http://tpmg.ca/forum/archives/12%20-%20 ... 07:00%20AM)%20-%20Lighthouse%20Tour%20of%20the%20Bruce%20Area.xml -- 2008 tour this was an all day tour. We left early in the am and made it to Tobermory and headed home arriving eary the next day. Hence the next tour had a 2 day stay.

http://www.brucecoastlighthouses.com/ -- lightouse tour of Bruce Peninsula info of all the lighthouses in the area on you way up or down. Big Tub is in Tobermory and Cabot Head is not to far down the road it is nice and there are a few trails to venture on from atop the cliffs. (This way also work well for a sunrise location with the Lighthouse as your foreground.) Click on maps and there are many routes to take -- lighouse tour maps, motor cycle tour maps, art tours, canoe/kayak tours, Grey Bruce Peninsula map, etc.

Maureen

Whoa!!

Thanks a lot Maureen. This is great for planning my trip.

Hope it is helpful. It is always nice if someone else has some info about a place.

Post anything else you discover so others can also benefit from it for later trips.

You are welcome!

I second the appreciation

Thank you very much Maureen.

FYI: Bugs are not nearly as bad as they were in July.... they have really tapered off in the Northland.... the last couple of trips up north for me were great - I could walk around most days in shorts without hardly being bothered by Mosquitto's -- and this is in the thick of Haliburton Forest. Its still a good idea to bring bug spray, just in case.

Your welcome!

are there much activities for kids in tobermory? i have been thinking about taking the trip but not sure if taking a 7 and 3 year old all the way up is a great idea.

I guess i need to do some more planning and reading.

sal

there's plenty of family fun at the Singing Sands beach - if they like beaches