2025-07-30 – Neys Provincial Park, ON
The vast majority of Neys Provincial Park is wilderness. The easily accessible portion is limited to the northwest corner where about 150 campsites are arrayed in wooded areas. Most of them are along a very long, fine sandy beach. However, our campsite was some distance from that beach. Not to worry. We got to walk it anyway but the smoke was thick enough to eliminate almost any distant view. It was difficult to even discern the horizon.
The forecast was for sunny skies all day. But we had to endure a short but intense shower during the afternoon and another later in the evening. The rain did little to limit our activities, however.
After setting up the camper we drove to Aguasabon Falls near the town of Terrace Bay. These falls are notable because they fall 110 feet and take a sharp turn into a deep gorge. The gorge into which they fall is quite impressive. There is a short boardwalk that leads to the viewing platform.
Terrace Bay is also notable for it’s lovely beach. There is a boardwalk dotted with groups of benches and Adirondack chairs that follows the long crescent of the soft sand beach. And there is a crisp, new visitor center/bath house to boot!
Neys Provincial Park was the site of one of many WWII prisoner-of-war camps in Canada. Although time has erased most traces of POW Camp 100, there is a model of it in the park’s Visitor Center.
Folks at the Terrace Bay Visitor Center recommended an easy, short hike for us to take to a rocky point at the end of the beach area. To boot, there are a pair of Canada Parks’ iconic red chairs on the point. The red chairs, if you’re not familiar with them, are placed in more-or-less remote locations to encourage people to get off their chairs, connect with nature and seek them out as a little reward.
We drove to the trailhead and set off on the trail. Well, for an “easy” trail, it had its roots-and-rocks challenges. But, when we got to the point we were delighted. The view was nice; it would have been awesome except for the smoke and we had fun taking pictures of each other sitting in the red chairs.
We needed some groceries and stopped at a store in Terrace Bay to shop. In front of the small shopping center there was a lighthouse! Why? No one seemed to know and there were no explanatory signs. We climbed it, of course, and took a couple of pictures.
Seems like we should have had something special for dinner but neither of us can remember. Sign of the times in our lives?
2025-07-31 – Neys Provincial Park, ON
Hurray! The smoke has almost completely cleared over night and the views are back!
We use the parks and other campgrounds where we stay as more of a base from which we tour rather than for the amenities offered by the park, itself. To start this day, however, we took a short hike within the park.
The park’s long sandy beach ends in a rocky point known as Neys Scenic Point . The beach is cut by a number of streams so walking the beach to it is a bit of a challenge. But there is a lovely trail through the woods and along a short section of the beach along Prisoner’s Cove to Prisoner’s Point. The view from the point is great and looks out over a number of islands to the west. There are also several abandoned and decaying wooden fishing boats on top of the rocks.
The rock that makes up the point was heavily grooved and polished by the passage of glaciers long ago. The grooves cut by rocks pushed by the glacial ice are strikingly obvious. Cool to see!
Next stop was the town of Marathon. It’s a pretty prosperous place and actually has a small, indoor mall. One of the attractions for us was a grocery store and bought a few more items to replenish of our stocks.
Marathon was said to have a unique beach named Pebble Beach. We drove to is to discover that the smooth, round “pebbles” average maybe six or so inches across and are of amazingly uniform size. They are so big and rounded that they are difficult to walk on. You risk turning an ankle with each step you take. And they are varied in the type of rock. So the effect is both interesting from a distance as well as up close.
Nearby there is another completely different kind of beach. Carden Cove Beach is in a sheltered cove and is of fine sand.
Returning to our campsite we made dinner of corn on the cob and a salad. We are amazed at how tasty the corn is. No idea where it was grown, but we doubt it was local.