Challenges of Hiking Barrow Bay (Lions Head)

We did this hike November 26, 2025.  Technically, we already did parts of this hike two years earlier.  However, we didn’t go the full length so in order to complete the entire Bruce Trail I had to go back to cover the parts we missed.  If only I had known two years ago that this would be my goal, I definitely would’ve done the full amount.  I chose this trail because I know it is challenging and with there not being any snow yet, I figured I would take full advantage of that. Barrow Bay and Lions Head Lookout are both within the Peninsula Section of the Bruce Trail.

We got to the trailhead at 10 AM.  It was difficult right off the hop because of the weather.  At 10 AM it felt like 6° outside but by the time I would finish the hike, it was expected to feel like -5.  That’s a 10 swing difference so that made it hard to know what to wear.  I had brought both my rain gear and my light winter gear and didn't make the final decision until we reached the trailhead. In the end, I decided to wear my rain gear because at the time it was pouring rain and while my light winter gear is water resistant, it would have eventually soaked through.  The first two hours of the hike it was raining and within the first half hour, my rain gear was completely soaked. I’m glad I made that choice because I wasn’t ever cold throughout the hike and I more importantly I stayed dry.  

The hike started off pretty rough from the get-go. Lots of ups and downs and climbing on rocks .  The first 6 km took us two hours which compared to most hikes is pretty slow for us.  That made me extremely nervous that we wouldn’t finish before it got dark out.  Especially since we were doing 20 km.  There were so many beautiful lookouts spots, rock formations and a beautiful secluded beach area to explore.  I kind of wish I gave myself more time to do this hike so I could’ve enjoyed some of the spots more.  I didn’t even eat lunch because I was so concerned about finishing before it got dark.

Challenge One

The hike was pretty tough for the dogs.  There were lots of moments where they were scrambling up rocks. At one point, there was a jump from a rock down to the ground, which was pretty high.  Mia led the way and did it no problem. I went down next and it was definitely above my waist. So Oliver was last to go. Oliver was crying with anxiety, nervousness and fear because he didn’t think he could do it.  With a ton of convincing, he eventually gave in and jumped down.  I think he visually sees depth differently than myself or Mia. He only has issues when he has to go down or across a deep crevice. I definitely sympathize with him because I'm asking a lot of him to do these things that are really scary in his mind. When moments like this happen, he lets it build up in his head, and then he overcompensates for what he has to do.  In this instance, when he jumped, his jump was so unnecessarily far. Because of this, he got me all tangled up in their leashes.  

Challenge Two

Not too far later in the hike we reached another challenging moment were there was a jump up onto a rock.  Oliver was first and struggled slightly but he was able to scramble/claw his way up. Mia was right behind him and was trying, but she just wasn’t tall enough.  This is actually quite shocking because Mia’s vertical jump is insanely good. Anyway, so she had her front paws up on the rock and I just had to lift her hind legs to get her up.

As we kept moving along, we worked our way down off the cliffs edge and down to a remote beach. It was so private and secluded, it was such a great spot. The only way to access this rock beach would be from the water or to make the big trek in. I love little spots like these because it feels that much more special to find a place like this, especially because I wasn't expecting it. Georgian Bay's beauty never gets old. With crystal clear blue waters, it is always stunning.

After the rocky beach we started heading into the Lion's Head Lookout Trail, which we have previously done. Please check out my blog post about it Lion's Head Lookout and Halfway Dump

I didn't stop to take any photos of Lion's Head Lookout because I previously had done it. So definitely check out that blog post to see the stunning beauty of that area. Since I had done this section of the hike before I knew what to expect. Usually this is a good thing however I was apprehensive about this rock crevice that I knew Oliver wouldn't cross two years ago. This brings us to our third challenge.

Challenge Three

The third obstacle was a rock crevice that we encountered two years ago.  I was nervous about this part before we even started the hike. I was hoping that over the years I've given Oliver enough opportunities to improve his confidence that he wouldn't even see this as an obstacle. I was hoping he wouldn't struggle to make the jump.  Technically he doesn’t even have to jump, he could’ve just walked across this one stone. 

Imagine coming up to a gap in the ground and it probably has a 30 ft drop on either side. But there is one rock that is wedged in the middle of it that you could walk across. Are you walking across this wedged rock or are you making the jump? This jump isn't excessive, maybe two feet wide.

Brave little Mia jumped across first with zero hesitation. I then made my jump across. Anyone who walks across that rock is likely psychotic. haha Well that leaves Mr Oliver. At first he looked willing to just walk across the rock, which is shown in this photo. He placed one foot on that rock, then quickly changed his mind and turned back. We were at a standstill.

I needed him to cross this crevice. At that point in the hike, we could not turn back because we would not have had enough daylight to get back to the truck. So I had to do everything in my power to get him to cross. As I'm trying to convince him to cross, Mia has now gone back and forth across the crevice multiple times wondering why we aren't moving. She is literally showing him so many different ways to do it. He refused to move forward. I had to basically drag him close enough to the edge that his options were to fall in or make the jump. Obviously his instincts kicked in and he jumped. These moments test my patience so much. I had a difficult time with this one because we had to keep moving forward and like I said earlier I was concerned about time.

After this last obstacle, I knew the trail would get easier. We no longer were walking on the cliffs edge but through the forest. This was a nice relief and much easier to accomplish and it was exactly what we needed to finish this hike off.   With daylight still a slight concern, I knew we would be able to pick up speed walking through the forest, so I was able to relax a little.

One Last Challenge

We were at the very end of the hike with less than 5 km to go, just to keep things interesting I swear I saw a black bear.  We were walking along in more of a grass field with some taller shrubs/trees, the forest was on either side of us about 30 ft away. As we were walking along, I felt the instinct to look to my left and all I see is this black figure with a tan snout watching us. This happened within three seconds, then my view was blocked. By the time I passed these taller shrubs, I looked back to that area but the angle was off, so even if it was still there I wouldn't have been able to see it. Since I couldn't confirm it actually existed, I chalked it up to being my mind playing tricks on me. I had just hiked almost 20kms, I hadn't eaten since 9am and the dogs didn't react at all. I'm not sure which way the wind was blowing, so the dogs may not have known it was there through scent. Regardless, I kept telling myself that I made it up. However, I was still pretty paranoid for the rest of the hike. I was so close to the end that I just needed to get out of there.

The last 3.5 kms was on the road. OK just get to the road and you’ll be fine.  I make it to the road. thank god. There are some houses on the road so that means safety. As I'm walking down the road a school bus let two kids off just a little further up.  As I’m walking along, I hear the little girl scream.  Omg its the bear! That's why she's screaming. I'm glancing all around, I don't see anything. Ok, little girls scream for all types of reasons, it's fine, it's not a bear. I continue walking along this road, yes of course I'm still glancing all around. I am approaching a house and I hear a dog going nuts from inside, barking and attacking the window. Omg it has to be the bear. It somehow got ahead of us and is going to cut us off. We get past that house and eventually the dog stops. Obviously, the dog heard us approaching the house on the road and got worked up before we were in sight. And again, my two haven't reacted in the slightest way to indicate danger. Ok this is totally in my head, just relax and get back to the truck. I make it back to the truck, unscathed and without seeing the bear (again?).

So those could all be coincidences and my mind could’ve definitely just been playing tricks on me .  Or I could’ve seen one.  🤷🏻‍♀️  Lions head does have black bears so the possibility that I did see one isn't ludicrous.   Part of me thinks that my brain made it up because like I said the dogs didn’t react at all.  I can’t remember which way the wind was blowing (which could hide its scent from the dogs). But they had zero reaction of sniffing the air or anything like that so that’s what makes me think that it wasn’t a black bear and just my mind.

Black Bear Interactions

I have only ever had (dare I say) peaceful interactions with black bears. When camping at Grundy Lake Provincial Park, we saw black bears daily. Twice we had black bears just walk by our site. There were four of us camping together (this was before Oliver and Mia) and we all just froze and watched. In both cases the black bear just went along his way and we did our thing. Peaceful. We drove by one site where a black bear was enjoying a meal at someone else's campsite. Everyone was at the road, yelling, honking their horns but the bear didn't care about any of this noise. One night while we were sleeping in the tent, I remember awaking to a bear passing through outside our tent. That was slightly terrifying since we can't see anything. But again, it passed through and did its own thing and we eventually fell back asleep. I know this isn't always the case and oftentimes the outcome is much worse. But it is possible that I saw one and that it simply just watched us go by.

We got back to the truck around 4 PM so overall it was a six hour hike and we completed our 20 kms. Of this 20 kms, 13.5 kms is on the main Bruce Trail however because I had already hiked a portion of it I can't recount those kms. So 11 km can be accounted for the main Bruce Trail.

I definitely know I'm not alone in my mind playing tricks on me. Do you remember a time where you thought you saw something but it was in fact not there? Have you encountered a bear before? Share your comments on this post, I'd love to hear them!

Thanks so much for reading,

Kendal

Get out there and start exploring!