Ahhh Georgian Bay Islands National Park. I have thoughts. Punchline – this park is not very accessible for overnight trips for those travelling solo. BUT it is a very beautiful area to visit and a half daytrip is a fun and easy to organize option!
Getting to the Park
The park is accessible by boat only. So here lies the main barrier for entry. Parks Canada operates a boat for those staying at the Parks Canada accommodations (cabins, oTentiks and yurts) and those visiting for half-day trips. But they do not offer transportation for campsites. If you want to camp on the island or visit for a full day you need to arrange your own transportation using a private water taxi company.
Currently there are 5 taxi companies that are licensed by the park to transport visitors. This works great if you have a group of people to go with, most of the boats hold up to 6 people, and so splitting the cost of the boat amongst your group works out to be fairly reasonable. Where this doesn’t work very well is if you are one lone solo traveller who is just trying to backpack on the island (aka me). To give you an idea the average cost for a boat is $145-170 + tax. Plus paying for your campsite and park pass (if you don’t have annual pass).
So here is what I learned while trying … and failing … to arrange a boat to the island.
I first called all five companies about three months before my trip. Only one was really willing to try and fit me on a boat with others but he told me that most people book a couple weeks out at best and so I was way too early.
This was my personal experience with each company.
- Georgian Bay Islands water taxi – I heard good things about this company from others who used their services and they seemed nice when I talked to them on the phone! Unfortunately as of two days before my reserved campsite dates they had no groups with room to fit one more.
- Georgian coastal water taxi – Communicated via email with them and was told they had no groups that I could fit with for my dates as of three days before my trip.
- Honey harbour boat club – I was told on the phone that they operate a PRIVATE boat and so there was absolutely NO possibility of joining a group.
- Harbour Water taxi – The person I spoke to didn’t think that people would be willing to share a boat these days (covid concerns still I guess?). He did take my info and said he would see what he could do but I never heard from him.
- Island Express – This was the one company that actually seemed willing to try and make it work. He operates a bigger boat that fits up to 12 people. He took my information and was patient with my frequent check-ins for updates. It seemed like things might work out. He had one group who was leaving the island on the day I was looking to go there (so i could get on a boat that would otherwise be empty to the island!), but then his group for my return day never confirmed. So it didn’t end up working out. I really appreciated his willingness to try and make something work, perhaps further into peak season it would have been easier to coordinate with more people looking for rides.
Ultimately I understand that transporting one extra person for little extra profit might not be worth the hassle but it was disappointing. All the companies did tell me they’d be happy to take me on my own but I wasn’t willing to pay the $150+ myself and was also nervous about getting on a boat by myself with someone I hadn’t met (although I’m sure it would have been fine).
It was also disappointing when I got on the DayTripper boat to just go for a half-day trip and I could have fit my backpacking backpack (x100, so much space!). I presume that there are safety concerns or something for parks Canada and not wanting gear on board with passengers but it seems like there could be a better solution at least for those looking to go solo with minimal gear.
I think perhaps a better approach would be trying to use facebook or something to find a group yourself to join. Because I’m sure from many passengers perspectives having an additional person to split the cost with would be welcome. Especially if you are willing to adjust to their schedule and drop-off/pickup locations. I personally am not one to use facebook and wasn’t willing to broadcast my solo travel schedule ahead of time but if you’re comfortable with that you may have more success with that approach.
The Day Trip Option!
I ended up visiting the park for a half day via the DayTripper. I wish I could have had a full day but made the most of the half day I did have. Here is what I did on the island … and what I would do different if I visited again.
Hike The Lookout Trail
- Not much of a lookout. Apparently it used to be an amazing view … but the trees grew up and now are very tall and theres basically no view. You just can look down at the forest floor.
- I would skip this trail unless you just want a walk through the woods.
The Huron Trial – Visitor Center to Beausoleil Point
- This trail had less bugs that on the other side of the island so that was nice. The trail is wide and flat through the forest. Picture wide and flat enough for parks staff to drive a gator down.
- The trail was a nice walk through the woods but there wasn’t much to look at, nothing that screamed “you’re on an island in Georgian Bay!”
The Georgian trail – Bresouli point to the Visitor Center
- This trail was more narrow in spots compared to The Huron Trail and as a result had more bugs.
- There were some views of Georgian Bay and some beaches that you could access from the trail which was nice.
- The trail also goes past the Cabins which look very nice from the outside and are all named after different National Parks which is fun!
The Giants Chair!
This was a fun stop that I rushed to before having to get back on the boat to leave. It is located just a bit past campsite 45. If you walk past the welcome center and through the campground and stay towards the water you will get to the chair in about 10 minutes. The chair is fun to visit and from what I’ve heard the chair’s history is a bit of a mystery!
If I went back…
- If I were to go back to the Island for a day trip I would walk North. From the little I saw when visiting the Giant’s Chair the North part of the island has more rocky outcrops that you would expect to see when visiting Georgian Bay. I spent so much time trying and stressing about getting a boat to overnight on the island that I did little research about what day hike I would do when getting off the Day Tripper.
- Everyone that I shared the DayTripper boat with that day also chose to hike South. It seems like the most logical because the loop created by the Huron and Georgian trails in that direction is do-able in the four hours you have. Heading in the opposite direction the loop would be longer and I’m not sure its possible in 4 hours. Still I think I would hike that direction and worst case just turn around and go back the way I came.
I still enjoyed my trip to the island. The boat ride was fun and the captains of the DayTripper were very nice and happy to tell you a bit about the island and surrounding area. I guess my biggest recommendation is to plan to travel there with friends.
