gandb7

anyone have any suggestions as to where to stay on the Bruce. Plan to drive around a bit and explore. Thanks gandb7

JMM

Do you mean towns or motels ?

gandb7

I mean motels, in towns such as Tobermory, Owen Sound, Wiarton, etc.

JMM

Sorry I cannot be of much help with motels, we stayed at our cottage. Some of the websites I listed in reply to your previous post should have accomodation information. If you intend to be in Tobermory on a weekend (especially a long weekend) it is ESSENTIAL to book in advance. It is a very small town with only a limited number of motels. Years ago (before we got our cottage) we enjoyed staying at the Grandview (which really has a great view from the restaurant (which is very good)). The Tobermory area is a must do and the town itself is actually quite attractive. Wiarton has even fewer motels but is not as popular as Tobermory. Another potential place to stop is Lion's Head.
Re: exploring - be sure to get off the main highway. It is not especially scenic but the sideroads can take you to some gorgeous lake views and hiking trails. (Lion's Head is off the main highway and so is Dyer's Bay (gorgeous drive to lighthouse and a neat little restaurant "Rocky Racoon".)

julies

I really have to second what JMM said about the necessity of reservations. We learned the really, really hard way. We took the late ferry over on a Thursday night and figured it would be no problem. We would just stop at the first motel we saw. What we didn't know was that it was a long holiday week-end. Everything was full. By this time it was one in the morning. We had a van and 2 sleeping bags so we saw the sign to the provincial park and figured we'd just sleep in the back of the van. guess what? The 400 space campground was also full. Finally we pulled over in a day use area and figured we'd just park there and try to get 4 or 5 hours sleep. That didn't work out either because the park ranger knocked on the window at 3 in the morning and told us we couldn't stop there even thought there was no place to stay in either the town or the park. He told us to go park in the parking lot of the local grocery store. In years and years of vacationing that is the one and only time we have ever had to sleep in the car.