Georgian Bay South Coast Cycling Adventure Tour
September 2025
In September of 2025 the Georgian Bay Geopark hosted 10 bicyclists on the type ecologically and culturally sensitive geotourism excursions it will promote.
Throughout the tour the cyclists were taken through parts of DEEP TIME Zones 5,6 and 7 to discover the unique history of the area – how geology has influenced every aspect of life to this day – through talks provided by local experts and through their own explorations.
With minimal environmental impact but a large impact on the local small business economies, the Tour demonstrates how intelligent and sensitive tourism can benefit the entire region by welcoming and educating visitors and promoting respect for this incredible region.
Arrival Day: Saugeen Shores Beaches, Port Elgin
The first evening welcomed guests with a Canadian ‘cottage deck barbecue’ featuring local farm produce from Hi Berry Farms with ripe off the vine tomatoes, unBEETable yellow beets, fresh strawberries, and delicious sweet corn picked fresh that day.
Day 2: Niagara Escarpment
Guests rode along the west side of the Niagara Escarpment ridge of the Saugeen/Bruce Peninsula, discovering the terrain where glacial ice sheets scraped the floor of the ancient sea 350 million years ago to create the layers of limestone that make up the unique DEEP TIME Zone 7 landscape.
We stopped at Singing Sands Interpretive kiosk at Dorcas Bay before cocktails, dinner and an overnight stay at Sweetwater Bay Inn with its stunning views across the clear blue waters of Georgian Bay.
Day 3: Rich Nature Experiences – Hiking & Kayaking
Calm waters allowed a guided kayaking excursion in Big Tub Harbour to view the submerged schooner, Sweepstakes, that ran aground off of Cove Island in 1885. In the afternoon the group hit the Bruce Trail for a two hour hike with an Anishinaabe naturalist from the Cape Croker Indigenous Cultural Park, who shared the teaching of the creation of the land, the people and the culture. This section of the Bruce Trail has the most spectacular vistas of the Great Spirit Lake Mindo Gami – Georgian Bay.
Day 4: In the Shadow of the Escarpment
The east side of the escarpment consists of rolling hills paralleling the cedar covered limestone face of the escarpment in a landscape sculpted by past sea levels leaving caves and rocky cliffs perched high above the road. A lunch was enjoyed at Wiarton’s public beach and a short ride took us through Grey Highlands with dramatic views at Big Bay and Kemble Women’s Institute Lookout. Accommodation that night was Cobble Beach Golf Resort with stunning views across the Sound.
Day 5: Harvest Time in Rural Ontario
Fertile soils were left behind as the glacial ice retreated some 13,000 years ago. Paleo-Indians and First Nation communities began farming 4000 years ago Paleo-Indians and First Nation communities began farming, with European explorers and settlers attracted by the rich resources in the 17th century. Today the micro-climate makes ideal growing conditions for all varieties of apples, grapes and hops which we sampled during a Fall Harvest Lunch. The rest of the day took the group past the many ski clubs, winding up at Blue Mountain Village Resort where riders chose between dining at a local restaurant or craft brewery.
Day 6: A Meeting Place for 10,000+ years
The Great Lakes Waterfront Trail took the group along both quieter rural roads and the busy excitement of Wasaga Beach, Penetanguishene and Midland before a trail across Copeland Creek and the Wye River with 16 small bridges. Once in the town we visited the Rotary Champlain Wendat Park to learn more about the Wendat and Anishinaabe people and their first encounter with the French explorer Champlain in 1615.
Some guests took a short side trip to Discovery Harbour where the British Navy built a Naval Establishment after the War of 1812 to patrol and protect the Upper Great Lakes against future attacks. Others explored the deeply rooted Indigenous and Francophone cultures visiting Beausoleil First Nations, Huronia Museum and Sainte Marie among the Hurons before pedalling to one of two lovely heritage home bed and breakfasts: Dragonfly Dreams and Captain’s House.
Day 7: The Tay Shore, Oro Moraine and Glen Oro Eco-Resort
The Tay Shore is a multi-purpose pathway follows along the southern shore of Georgian Bay to the community of Waubaushene where it picks up the Uhthoff Rail Trail, part of the Trans Canada Trail, and winds its way to the Village of Coldwater. Guests learned about the 17,000 hectares of the surrounding Oro Moraine that serve important ecological functions such as groundwater recharge and were able to explore some regional history in the Heritage Mill and Coldwater Canadiana Heritage Museum.
The final 11 km stretch of the day wound up at the Glen Oro Eco-Resort. The Resort focuses on sustainability and guests nestled in an explorer’s tent or star-gazing dome tucked in the woods. Dinners were created by Chef Paul who prepared farm-to-table breakfasts and dinners all on an open fire.
Final Day: Canadian Shield and Big Chute Marine Railway
The final day exposed the riders to the majesty of the 1.3 billion years of the Canadian shield and its compression, folding and faulting of metamorphic and igneous rocks.
A 15-minute water taxi ride from Honey Harbour took guests to Beausoleil Island to be welcomed by a Parks Canada guide highlighting how the site holds the distinction of being home to the greatest diversity of reptiles and amphibians of all Canadian national parks. On the mainland the riders discovered the innovative engineering solution of the Big Chute Marine Railway on the Trent Severn Waterway. Built in 1917, it is the oldest operating marine railway of its kind in North America and still transports individual boats in a cradle over a height difference of 18 meters from one lake to another.
The Georgian Bay South Coast Cycling Adventure Tour
wound up with a last evening together being treated to another farm-to-table barbecue under the trees and stars and recounting the Georgian Bay memories of the week.
Discover the DEEP TIME geology of the Georgian Bay Geopark
DEEP TIME’ is the themed expression of how exploring and understanding the past helps create a better future. The unique DEEP TIME story and its eight geological chapters encourages both visitors and residents to know the past, celebrate the present and help create a more resilient future for the Bay and its many communities.
DEEP TIME Zone 1
The Huronian
Ocean
2.7 billion years
Sault Ste Marie to Serpent River
The ancient mineral-rich rocks of the North Channel record the breakup of the planet’s oldest supercontinent – and the birth of the Huronian Ocean.
DEEP TIME Zone 2
Continents
Collide
1.8 billion years
Serpent River to Killarney
The Group of Seven’s white rolling quartzite hills are the stumps of mountains formed when landmasses collided to form supercontinent Nuna
DEEP TIME Zone 3
The Ancient
Himalayas
1.3 billion years
Killarney to Honey Harbour
The waterscape of the 30,000 Islands exposes the deep crustal roots of the immense Grenville Mountains formed when North and South America collided.
DEEP TIME Zone 4
Tropical
Seas
500 million years
Manitoulin Island
Much of North America was covered by warm shallow seas, teeming with early marine life that left fossil-rich limestones on Manitoulin Island.
DEEP TIME Zone 5
The Limestone
Coast
350 million years
Tobermory to Wiarton
Within the last 2 million years, the Bruce/Saugeen peninsula was scoured by Ice Age ice sheets that cut deep valleys into the face of the Niagara Escarpment such as at Owen Sound.
DEEP TIME Zone 6
Ice Ages &
Early
Cultures
13,000 years
Collingwood to Wiarton
The raised beaches of glacial Lake Algonquin surround the coast of southern Georgian Bay like staircases and hosted the camps of caribou-hunting Paleo-Indians 11,000 years ago.
DEEP TIME Zone 7
The Meeting
Place
Last 10,000 years
Collingwood to Honey Harbour
The ancient hard rocks of the Canadian Shield meet the softer limestones of the ancient seas creating a stark contrast in landscapes, ecosystems, and a diverse cultural history unique in North America.
DEEP TIME Zone 8
Mindo Gami Great
Spirit Lake
4,000 years to today
Waters of Georgian Bay
In 1615 Samuel de Champlain called Georgian Bay ‘La Mer Douce’ (the sweet water sea). An early map also portrays it as Karegnondi, derived from ‘lake’ in the language of the Petun First Nation.