BIrd Watching
Ontario Snowmobiling-Snowmobiling Ontario
Snowmobile Ontario
Ontario Snowmobiling is a growing winter sport. Whether you are young or old this is a Great way to see the interior of some of the finest forests in Ontario. Drive by a deer drinking from a running stream, barrel through a 4 ft. snow drift, catch a wolf racing through the woods or just enjoy the beauty of the snow dressing the tree branches. SNOWMOBILING IN GREY BRUCE-DISTRICT 9 IS SLED HEAVEN. Grey Bruce Ontario has become one of the most popular regions in Ontario to snowmobile. There are 2250 miles of groomed trails in District 9. Wind your way from Lake Huron, Georgian Bay through to the Niagara Escarpment and Beaver Valley. Snowmobile In Ontario, Grey Bruce this season. Check us out in the OSM-Ontario Snowmobile Magazine. We are located 10 min. South of Wiarton, 10 min. West of Owen Sound off Grey Rd. 17 on Francis Lake . Direct access to all trails. Your hosts THE MAURICE FAMILY.
Bruce Peninsula Trail
Ferns-The Bruce Trail
Over the past 8 years many of our guests at Lakefranciscottages have enjoyed hiking The Bruce Peninsula Trail. It is very easy to tell when these guests are joining us because they will take 2 cars. They will be up at daybreak having a coffee & breakfast outside on the dock. They will be dressed in hiking cloth including a good pair of shoes and backpack. Many have purchased a Day Guide Book -(Bruce Trail Map) to follow and will give them lots of information throughout the day. Leaving in both cars they will drop off 1 at the end of the path they will travel. The Bruce Trail is Canada’s oldests and longest footpaths. We believe more changes have happened to The Niagara Escarpment during the past 100 years than in the previous 9,000 years. The Niagara Escarpment is protected by legislation to ensure that it will be enjoyed by future generations. More than 1000 volunteers donate their time and knowledge to the Bruce Trail. There are many opportunities for you and your family by joining. Help secure The Trail. Volunteer and be part of The Bruce Trail call 1-800-665-HIKE
Getaway Weekend Ontario
Star Gazing
Lake Francis Cottages is a Great place for a Getaway Weekend In Ontario. The location is one of the reasons that makes this place a perfect spot along with its Waterfront Cottages, Bass fishing , star gazing, bird watching and the many hiking trails along the Beautiful Bruce Peninsula at its door step. Owen Sound offers lots of boutiques and shops. The sunsets at Sauble Beach are some of the best in the world. Lake Francis Cottages has a very good web site with many ideas of things to do for a Great Getaway Weekend in Ontario Canada. Check it out today.
Hiking The Bruce Trail On The Bruce Peninsula-Day Hike Guide
Lady Slippers On The Bruce Trail
The escarpment winds its way down the Bruce Peninsula, the famous Bruce Trail offers hikers incredible views and nature that the Biosphere provides. Tobermory is the beginning of the Bruce Trail and travels 773 km following the Niagara Escarpment. The North Bruce Peninsula has the most spectacular Hiking on the Bruce Trail. The Bruce Peninsula Hiking Trail opened in 1967, and is Canada’s longest hiking trail. The 150 km ’s of trail in the Bruce Peninsula are considered the best in Southern Ontario, and offer hiking for the beginners and veterans. The hiking trails on the Bruce Peninsula are clearly marked, many lead to incredible lookouts. The smell of the wildflowers fill the air and the towering trees allow many bird species great nesting grounds. The Bruce Trail Club publishes an annual Day Hike Guide (Hiking The Bruce Peninsula) which is great to have when navigating around the Bruce Peninsula Trail system. Lake Francis Cottages is located at the base of the beautiful Bruce Peninsula. Many hikers, hiking the Bruce Trail stay at one of the waterfront cottages at Lake Francis Cottages. Each day they make their way hiking as far as they can get by chosing a particular trail. By dinner time after putting in a full day of breathtaking views and taking an abundance of pictures they are ready to sit by a camp fire and go over the next days agenda. Tobermory, Sauble Beach, Georgian Bay, Lake Huron and the surrounding area is definately a piece of Heaven. This year make it an Ontario Vacation or a Long Weekend away but what ever you do. Life is to short, not to witness the beauty that lies here in Grey Bruce Ontario.
May 22-31 Is Bird Festival Time At MacGregor Point Provincial Park
Many species of birds are arriving everyday in Ontario. May 22-31 is the 12th season this is celebrated at MacGregor Point Provincial Park. An average of 150 bird species have been recorded along the Lake Huron shoreline and up to the Bruce Peninsula (Lake Francis) in the past. The MacGregor Point Provincial Park Bird Festival offers many different activities, including morning, day and evening bird hikes. There will also be presentations on photography, butterflies, wildflowers, reptiles and many other wonders of nature. It is a very popular event and books up quite fast so pre-register as soon as possible. At the end of the day relax at your own Waterfront Cottage at Lake Francis Cottages and see many of the birds that you encountered while sitting at the lake. The feeders are out, the trees are leafing, the nests are being made and the warm weather is here, this is what they Love. So come and enjoy nature at its finest and get away from the hustle of the city for a weekend getaway or a week away with friends or family. MacGregor Point Provincial Park is approx. 45 min. from Lake Francis, a nice drive along the shores of Lake Huron. Take a look at the list of species you will most likely see here at Lake Francis and MacGregor Point Provincial Park on our Things To See And Do List. Come out and get some fresh air and see for yourself One Of God’s Wonders. For more info 519-389-6232
The Docks Go Out Today on Lake Francis Cottages Rentals, South Bruce Peninsula
Bass Fishing-Lake Francis Cottages
Today and tomorrow will be busy days. With some help, we will be putting the docks in at our Waterfront Cottages. This consists of a 30 ft. extended dock and an attached floating dock for your relaxing and tanning pleasures. It allows you to have sun all day long and is also a great way to dock a boat. Many Sauble Beach Rentals, cottages for rent in and around The South Bruce Peninsula, Georgian Bay and Lake Huron area may not be able to have this type of dock because of the waves off shore. We will use an ATV as well as man power to put these in. When it is done it looks so inviting and ready for the summer months that are right around the corner. The lake is very clean and the Bass are in sight. This weekend I am sure my kids will be out fishing trying to catch the first Bass of the season. Of course they will catch and release. This lake is absolutely a Great Bass fishing spot. The weather is getting better everyday which also means I am going to put my Baltimore Oriole and Humming bird feeders out so they can nest on the properties here on Lake Francis in South Bruce Peninsula. Well, better get going or I will never get this all done!
Sauble Beach Rentals, Georgian Bay Rentals and Lake Francis Waterfront Cottage Rentals, South Bruce Peninsula
- Serenity at the lake
Whether you have cottages for rent in the South Bruce Peninsula area; Sauble Beach Cottages, Georgian Bay Cottages, Lake Francis Cottages, Wiarton Oliphant, Port Elgin or Southhampton spring is a very busy time of the year. With this winters snowfall it seemed to bring a substantial amount of tree branches to the ground. Thursday we had a fire going down by the lake to burn the larger ones after they had been cut into smaller pieces. The sky was so blue and it seamed to fall into the chrystal blue waters of Lake Francis (South Bruce Peninsula). You could smell wood in the air as the robins were in search of materials for their nests. The calmness of a waterfront cottage is very serene. At night as the sun goes down you can see the fish jumping and the loons begin to say good night. When you look across the lake as it gets dark all you will be able to see is the stars , moon and a glimpse of flames along the shore line. Everyone is out sitting by a camp fire so in the distance you can here the sounds of laughter. The quietness is something you long for after a hard days work or when your on a Ontario family vacation.
Piping Plovers Nesting South Bruce Peninsula; Sauble Beach
Piping Plovers bird watching
Sauble Beach became even more a very Special place in May of 2007 with the discovery of a pair of Piping Plovers nesting. Thirteen year old Brendon from Metcalfe Ontario spotted the adult pair at the north end of Sauble Beach. A keen birder Brendon identified the birds immediately as being Piping Plovers. They have a black collar and a black band above the white forehead. The bird is highly endangered, the last time it was found nesting anywhere in Southern Ontario was in Oliphant 35 years ago. The nesting site had an exclusion fence to keep gulls and other predators from eating the 4 eggs. The first chick hatched July 3 but disappeared but the remaining chicks hatched on July 5 and were banded 12 days later. Let’s hope the chicks survive adulthood and that the Piping Plover will continue to make the Sauble area its home once again!
Harrison Park Bird Sanctuary Owen sound
Harrison Park Bird Sanctuary Owen sound
Beautiful day in Grey Bruce the sun is bright and warm. We went for a drive to Harrison Park in Owen Sound to look at the swans and ducks, we also had a very nice lunch at Harrison Park Inn. This park has great hiking trails where you can see deer, rabbit and a wonderful place for bird watching. On our way home we drove along Georgian Bay, there were still a few huts out with fisherman trying for there last kick at ice fishing for the season. Lake Francis is so very close to many places and has so many things to do.
Weekend getaways are great with family and friends.
Every year in Febuary or March we spend 3 days camping in Macgregor Point with our kids and friends. Such quality time talking, playing, eating and just relaxing. The nights are crisp and the stars are amazing. There is nothing like a camp fire going with snow all around, roasting hot dogs and having lots of laughs. In the morning we were awaken by the sound of geese returning to Grey Bruce. During the day the kids find a spot in the bush to sit and they feed the birds by hand. Ontario has some of the most beautiful landscapes around. The great out doors has so much to offer at such a reasonable cost. Hotels and motels can be quite expensive and you still have to eat out. Cabins, cottages and camping is the way to go with kids, they absolutely Love it. It was a good break to be away from the house for a couple of days.