Big Bay, Ontario is a pretty little inlet at the base of the Bruce Peninsula, known for being the stone skipping Capital of Canada. Here’s everything you need to know about visiting Big Bay!
... but the photo showed a gorgeous rocky bay, looking out over turquoise waters.
Sure, it was the dead of winter at the time we saw this... but we decided to check it out during our next trip to MacGregor Point Provincial Park, which was about an hour away.
That first time, it was completely covered in snow and ice, but we could still see the beauty of it.
Beyond the ice, we could see the gorgeous water and rocky floor, and it reminded us a bit of Halfway Log Dump in Bruce Peninsula National Park.
It was super cold that day - so we didn’t stay long - but we decided we would definitely have to come back after everything had thawed.
It’s been a very quiet beach each time we’ve been there - kind of off the beaten path, not really loaded with amenities or anything - just a really gorgeous view.
If you’re passing through the area, it’s definitely a great place to pull over for some quiet reflection, a picnic, or - obviously - rock skipping.
We’ll definitely be coming back in the summer - we’ll be at Meaford Memorial Park again at some point - so it’ll be interesting to see how different it is during tourism season.
In the meantime, here’s what we know about Big Bay!
The Basics:
Location Name: Big Bay, Ontario
Address: 105 Dewar St, Wiarton, ON N0H 2T0
Website: N/A
Price: Variable, see below
According to a sign at the dock, boat launch users need to display a permit at all times, and those permits are available at Big Bay General Store, up the road.
A few points of confusion here...
1. I have no idea if you need a permit to park there, if you’re not using the boat launch.
2. Big Bay General Store seems to have some weird seasonality, in terms of the hours.
Information isn’t really clear, but it seems that they’re closed for the winter, then open weekends for some amount of time, then go to 7 days a week at some point.
This is just going on information put together from their social media, I don’t see any specific dates for any of this.
3. Do you NOT need a permit if the General Store isn’t open, or... ? I was unable to find any information on this.
Daily: $9.00
Weekly: $32.00
Monthly: $78.00
Season: $104.00
On the Grey County Tourism site, though, the prices were as follows:
Daily: $8.00
Weekly $30.00
Monthly $75.00
Seasonal $100.00
... NO idea which one is accurate.
Park Amenities & Info
We did not see any washroom facilities on the beach or in the general area of the parking/boat launch.
That said, there was some heavy equipment there, doing some work - and we were there on the off season. Maybe they set up an outhouse for the summer?
Parking
Very limited parking at the dock area. As mentioned above, we can’t tell if you need a permit to park if you’re not using the boat launch.
Connectivity
We’re on Rogers, and we had basically no connection on any of our visits to Big Bay.
As you drive away from Big Bay, connection gets quite a bit better as you get closer to Owen Sound or Wiarton proper.
Pets
We didn’t see any signage that was either in favour of - or banning - dogs from the area.
Miscellaneous
There is very little in the way of light pollution in the area, and it’s an excellent spot for viewing the night sky.
It’s a north-facing beach, so it’s a fantastic spot for viewing Aurora Borealis (northern lights).
Accessibility
While we didn’t see any parking labeled as being accessible parking, it’s a small enough lot that there’s not a whole lot of distance from one end to the other.
Walking out onto the dock is fairly accessible, and the dock is solid, flat, paved, and smooth.
There’s a fairly steep walk down over loose rocks to get down to the beach. I don’t know that I would have been able to do it in a boot or with a cane.
I was definitely having a difficult go of it just on my own on this last visit, as I was having a bad go with my foot tendons at the time.
That said, it’s a really short walk to get from the parking down to the flatter part of the beach.
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Entertainment and Activity
Stone Skipping
We’d actually first heard of Big Bay on account of it being the “Stone Skipping Capital of Canada”.
I still have no idea who or what bestowed that title - or how such a thing is quantified! - but it was a fun little random trivia fact.
We Googled Big Bay after seeing the post, and the photos of the bay made us want to see it!
Personally, I’ve never been able to skip a stone in my life - and that hasn’t changed with any of our stops at Big Bay!
Porter, on the other hand, definitely had success at skipping stones on our most recent trip. (It was too frozen on previous trips!).
According to him, the fact that all the stones are really flat - “Like a disk” - is what makes it a fantastic place for skipping stones.
Fishing
Georgian Bay is known for having fantastic fishing opportunities.
While we didn’t see anyone fishing during any of our visits, people have recorded having caught Walleye, Largemouth Bass, Yellow Perch, and Northern Pike on Big Bay.
Boating
We have seen some pretty terrifying boat launches in our travels, and Big Bay’s... is not among them.
This boat launch was in really good condition - concrete, solid, and nice incline - looks like it would be pretty low stress to launch there!
The bay itself is amazing. It seems to be fairly well sheltered from the bulk of Georgian Bay - still wide open, but there are some large-ish islands between Big Bay, and Georgian Bay proper.
Because we’ve only been there in the winter and early spring (to date!), we haven’t seen any boating... but I have to think it would be a spectacular place to spend a day out on the water!
Swimming
We’ve yet to visit Big Bay in the summer, but I bet the swimming is fantastic later in the year.
It’s such a gorgeous beach, with the turquoise water that we loved up at Bruce Peninsula National Park. It also looks to be fairly shallow, a decent way out.
There is a rocky base to the water - rather than a really sandy beach - but they’re all super smooth rocks. Still, I’d recommend wearing water shoes if you’re going in!
Fossil Hunting
Every time we’ve visited, we’ve found at least one cool rock of fossils, with barely any effort looking.
I mean even in the dead of winter, when only spending a quick minute on the beach, and most of the rocks being covered in ice and snow.
It’s just really cool to be able to look down, see something on a rock, pick it up... and realize you’re looking at the remnants of something that was alive millions of years ago.
Anyway, apparently there are several pockets of rocky beach along Lake Huron and Georgian Bay that are known for having a large number of fossils washing up on shore.
Niantic Games
The one time we were able to get Pokemon Go to load in the area, there was at least one stop - maybe it was a gym? Neither of us can remember.
We really don’t have enough connectivity in the area to bother, though.
Nearby Attractions
The area's general store, and the place to get frozen treats, groceries, homemade preserves, and gifts... as well as permits for the boat launch.
As I mentioned earlier, there is some weirdness with the hours. It's recommended that you call ahead, if you know you're going to want to visit them!
Colpoy's Lookout Conservation Area
502727 Grey Rd 1, Wiarton, ON N0H 2T0
A nice scenic lookout over Colpoy's Bay, with a picnic area (no potable water sources though!), and outhouses.
503103 Grey Rd 1, Wiarton, ON N0H 2T0
Located right next to Colpoy's, this park runs along Grey Road 1. It's a pretty picnic area with a beach and a great view of the islands.
Apparently it's a really popular spot for scuba divers and snorkelers, though we haven't seen any as we've passed through.
This has been closed during our trips to date, but we plan to check it out in the summer.
It has 4 acres of different gardens, as well as a nature trail and "Keppel Henge" - a large, circular display of rocks.
More Places to See
Looking for some nice sights to see while you're out on your camping adventures? Here are a few of our favourite day use parks, attractions, etc.
Batchawana Bay
Bruce Peninsula National Park
Keith McLean Conservation Lands
Cheltenham Badlands
Devil's Monument, Bruce Peninsula
Point Pelee National Park
Spirit Rock Conservation Area
Temagami Fire Tower
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