At this time of year, I have been heading out on day trips on the weekends so that I can spend more time at home at the computer.  Yes, it sucks a bit, and YES I am dying to go camping… but sometimes you have to take what you can get.  With an upcoming presentation at the KW Canoe Symposium that I am thrilled about, gear reviews due for the brand I ambassador for, Ultimate Survival Technologies, and blog posts and videos, well, time is short, so day trips it is!

I love to hike and it’s awesome to get outside, even though it isn’t camping, lol.

I love Parry Sound and love paddling on Georgian Bay. This led me to do some research on places to hike in that area and discover a trail called the North Shore Rugged Hiking Trail!

Just from seeing the cool features in the parking lot, I was already sold on the beauty of the trail and I couldn’t wait to see more!

There is a big sign at the trailhead and from there I literally followed in someones footsteps, thankful for the recent snowfall.

The trail describes that it follows along the shoreline of the bay, but not knowing exactly where to step, was a bit tricky.

We recently had a lot of freezing rain in the area, followed by snow, but before that, it was also warm for a few days melting a lot of the previous packed snow and ice so the ground was questionable to say the least.

As a lot of the trail… where I think it was located… lol… was on rock, that made it a bit easier. But there were many areas where I honestly had no idea where to go, until I would locate some trail tape ahead tied to a tree and then I would head in that direction.

There were quite a few trees tied with bright pink trail tape so that was definitely helpful.

I was so happy to be here, although, sad to see the bay completely frozen still, the shoreline was quite a different story.

A lot of the rock was exposed with it’s beautiful colours, which shone magnificently, next to the fresh white snow.

I was, and always will be amazed at the colors of the rocks here and how incredible they are.  How many were formed by smashing into other rocks and fusing together somehow, making them have stripes and splotches of different colors and rock types throughout.

In several places there was some water (on the shore) and water running down from the rocks above, melting snow on it’s way over the pebbles, sticks, gravel and sand, making it’s way into the bay with the loveliest of sounds, making it almost feel like spring.

We have a little while to wait yet, until it’s time to paddle here. But before long, the time will come, and until then, this is certainly worth exploring by land.  I am truly happy I made my way to check out this trail.  I ran into a bit of an issue after hiking for a while where I could no longer see any trail tape, but according to the map on the sign, it shows the trail has a little loop at the end and then returns back the way I’d come.  According to the  map I’d seen online, it looked like the trail made a large loop, shaped like a big oval.  If anyone knows if I missed part of it, or maybe it’s closed for the winter months, let me know? I’m curious.  Thanks.

I hope you enjoyed hiking with me on this scenic trail! If you have any questions, comments or just want to say hi, please leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as I am able.

Happy Hiking!

Camper Christina