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Beausoliel
Island
Kayaking Georgian Bay Islands National Park
©
Outdoor Adventure Canada
 The
journey to Beausoleil Island by kayak begins at Honey Harbour.
Due to the substantial boat traffic and unpredictable storms,
only experienced kayakers should make the trip. Beausoleil Island
is the largest of fifty nine islands that make up Georgian Bay
Islands National Park. The National Park was created in 1929 to
protect this unique maritime environment.
When you approach the
island you are first met by desolate outer islands that have little
or no vegetation. The sparse plant populations range from sedges
and grasses to dwarf white pine. Bleak as the existence of these
islands are; they provide a location for huge seagull and tern
colonies and stopovers for migratory birds. Beausoleil Island
has a dual personality because of its geology. The north end is
barren Canadian Shield. The flora here consist of lichens, grasses;
hardy flowering plants such as red nodding columbine that are
then interspersed with scrub red oak and red juniper and finally
punctuated with wind-swept white pine. These same weathered sentinels
inspired the Group of Seven. The north end has a stark but delicate
beauty.
The southern end of
Beausoleil is opposite with its lush vegetation. This area would
have had the shared the same environment as the north if it had
not been for the layers of till deposited here by the Glaciers.
These deposits provided a rich soil necessary for the mixed hardwood
forest of sugar maple, beech and oak that support wildlife in
the southern portion of the island. In addition to depositing
till, the glaciers gouged out depressions that over time have
become the variety of wetlands that dot the island. The perimeter
of the island is predominantly rocky coastline with the exception
of a few sandy beaches on the eastern shore and a beach of round
stones on the western side.
The contrasting environments
provide habitat for a diversity of wildlife species. There are
33 amphibian and reptile species, more than any other place in
the country. The most noteworthy of these is the protected Eastern
Massassaga rattlesnake, the only venomous in eastern Canada. This
heavy bodied snake has a triangular head and is tan and brown
color. You can read more about this snake at http://www.outdooradventurecanada.com/wildthings-v1-4.htm.
 Beausoleil
Island offers you varied camping experiences from primitive to
semi-serviced sites. Cedar Spring campground has the most amenities
and has excellent swimming. There are 87 sites and the campground
has showers, flush toilets, fire pits, stone stoves and boat docking
facilities. Tonch Point campground is next in line in the way
of comforts with vault toilets and, like the Cedar Spring campground,
has stone stoves, fire pits, and docking facilities. The point
leads from the centre of the island and then protrudes toward
the east side of the Bay. Honeymoon Bay is located on the North
of the Island and is the final campground, consisting of only
two sites at either side of the Bay. This location allows campers
to view the awe inspiring big storms of the bay as they blow in.
This campground is also in close proximity to the Fairy Trail.
Each campground has its own unique view and the three are linked
together by the Huron Trail.
With plentiful coves
and inlets to explore, kayaking to and around Beausoleil Island
provides a memorable paddling experience in a Canadian paradise.
For additional information
please contact:
Georgian Bay Islands National Park
P.O. Box 28
Honey Harbour, Ontario
P0E 1E0
705-756-2415
info-gbi@pc.gc.ca
http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/on/georg
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