During our epic 2015 camping trip we spent a few days during a heat wave on Manitoulin Island. We didn’t get to see very many places that we were impressed by but Misery Bay Provincial Nature Reserve looked like a place we wished we could have spent more time at.

Misery Bay covers 1,100 hectares  of ecological significant land, including dolostone shores, wetlands and alvars. The park protects many fragile ecosystems where rare plants and animals live and allows visitors to experience some very unique habitats.

After paying the $2 per person walk-in fee (which we didn’t need to do since we have an annual park pass), we went into the Visitor’s Centre to learn a bit about the park and to decide whether to hike any of the shorter trails. We decided to hike part of the Inland Alvar Trail that leads to Misery Bay and the Coastal Alvar Trail. We had to minimize the total trail time due to the heat and we still ended up going further than we should have.

With hats on and water packed in a backpack we headed toward the bay. Like mentioned earlier, it was an extremely hot day and we knew when we read ‘alvar’ that meant a lot of open areas with no shade.

The trails were well marked either on trees, posts or marks on the alvar floor. A map of where you were located was also on some of the posts.

The trail did have some shaded areas, thanks to some pine trees and a few other trees throughout the trail.

The alvars were covered in a many different wildflowers, both native and non-native. Above is the Smaller Fringed Gentian which is found in boggy prairies and limestone sites, like this one.

We also spotted some Ladies’ Tresses, but I have no idea which species it is since they can be difficult to tell apart. When we reached the shoreline we got Maya cooled down in the water and Chitra and her found a shady spot while I went off to photograph some of the wildflowers along the shore (look for an upcoming post on Misery Bay’s Coastal Alvar Trail).

The trail is very flat and easy, which would have been great for Maya if it wasn’t so hot. We weren’t overly impressed with Manitoulin Island as a destination but I think I would love to come back to thouroughly explore this park. Next time we would camp closer to it since we were camping at a park almost an hour and a half away.

On the way back to the vehicle we watched a Monarch Butterfly fluttering between some Cylindric Blazing Star flowers on one of the many alvars.