Canada Guide
Ontario
Georgian Bay Islands National Park
A beautiful area to cruise, the Georgian Bay Islands National Park ( 
www.pc.gc.ca ) consists of a scattering of about sixty islands spread between Honey Harbour and Twelve Mile Bay, about 50km to the north. The park's two distinct landscapes – the glacier-scraped rock of the Canadian Shield and the hardwood forests and thicker soils of the south – meet at the northern end of the largest and most scenic island, Beausoleil, a forty-minute boat ride west of Honey Harbour. Beausoleil has twelve short hiking trails, including two that start at the Cedar Spring landing stage, on the southeastern shore. These are the Treasure Trail (3.8km), which heads north behind the marshes along the edge of the island, and the Christian Trail (1.5km), which cuts through beech and maple stands to the balsam and hemlock groves overlooking the rocky beaches of the western shoreline. At the northern end of Beausoleil, within comfortable walking distance of several other jetties, are the Cambrian (2km) and Fairy (2.5km) trails, two delightful routes through the harsher scenery of the Canadian Shield. Nearby, just to the west, is the Dossyonshing Trail (2.5km), which tracks through a mixed area of wetland, forest and bare granite in the transitional zone between the two main landscapes. The (very informal) national park office in Honey Harbour (late May to early Sept Mon– Fri 8am–4.30pm, Sat 8am–4pm & Sun 8am– noon; 
705/756-2415 or 705/526-9804) provides a full range of information on walking trails and flora and fauna. In winter, a visit to the park office is essential as the wardens will advise on where it's safe to ski across the ice to the islands – ring ahead to check their when they are around; weather permitting, the wardens maintain a marked ski trail out to Beausoleil.