The North Shore Rugged Hiking Trail offers a chance to experience 2.5 kilometres of natural Georgian Bay scenery. While there are lots of hiking spots in the district, this one is unique in skirting the shoreline of Parry Sound, right at the water’s edge. Lots of shoreline flora and fauna are present to enjoy and the forested private land backing the trail has no modern development and looks very natural. It starts on the north side of the town’s Salt Dock Wharf on Marion Avenue.
The rugged trail traverses a mix of large rock surfaces and coarse gravel shoreline strewn with rocks and boulders. There are rocky points jutting out from the shore and some small marshy spots where little streams enter the Sound. The path is not clearly marked and hikers are left to select their own route up and over rock outcrops and along the rocky shoreline close to the water. Hiking shoes with good soles should be worn, as the rock slopes can be slippery. When biting insects swarm on inland sheltered trails, there is often an onshore breeze on the North Shore Trail, which helps to keep them at bay. From the trail, the eye is always drawn to the water and the distant shores across the Sound.
This is one of the best locations around Parry Sound to look for Northern Banded Water Snake. Older snakes can be quite large, close to four feet in length, and very thick in girth, so they are hard to miss if you come upon one. Younger snakes are deep reddish brown with light buffy bands across the body but the colour darkens with age and eventually the whole snake can be almost black. Even though the bands may be very dark, at least part of the outline can usually be seen. Most of the time these snakes swim along the shoreline, but occasionally they will bask on a flat rock near the water’s edge. If you approach to get a closer look, be careful. Often they will let you get quite close, and if they feel threatened they will usually disappear under a nearby rock shelf. However, if there is no easy escape for the snake or it feels harassed, it may become aggressive and rear up and strike repeatedly trying to bite. The bite is non-venomous but if inflicted its saliva will cause the wound to bleed profusely. It’s safest to admire these interesting animals from a distance.
The female Northern Banded Water Snake gives birth to between five and 60 live young in the summer. These tiny snakes, six to 10 inches long, are immediately left by the mother snake to fend for themselves. If found, they are best left alone because the little ones can be pugnacious like the adults.
They hunt for food by patrolling the water next to the shore looking for minnows, leeches, crayfish and other prey, which they swallow whole. I have observed a water snake on the shore of the Moon River as it slowly swallowed a mudpuppy, a fairly large prey, which it had caught in the depths and brought up to the shoreline to eat.
Northern Banded Water Snakes have been known to winter in rock crevices so the best place to look for them on cool fall days would be on large warmer rock surfaces which have large crevices or layered rock shelves nearby.
In one spot along the trail there are some small ponds in depressions in the rock surface. Water is present except in the driest times, being maintained by large wave splash and rain. These sometimes have Green Frogs and aquatic insects which are easily observed in the shallow clear water.
The shoreline trail is home to two shrubs, Ninebark and Kalm’s St. Johnswort, that are typically found along exposed shorelines of lakes and rivers rather than sheltered inland areas.
Ninebark is a native species growing throughout much of Ontario. The flowers are in semispherical clusters which bloom in June and July and then mature into showy reddish brown pods that persist into the fall.
Kalm’s St. Johnswort has a much smaller range occurring mainly on the open shores of Georgian Bay and Lake Huron. It is a small shrub with bright yellow flowers and conspicuously peeling bark.
On warmer days in the fall, a few Orange Sulphur, Common Sulphur, and Cabbage White butterflies will still be on the wing coming to the goldenrods and asters scattered along the trail.
The uncommon Widow Skimmer dragonfly can sometimes be seen at the start of the trail. It is a large dragonfly with a showy black and white wing pattern.
While there are interesting plants and animals along this shoreline trail the scenic beauty of the rugged Georgian Bay shoreline itself is more than enough to justify a visit to this jewel of Parry Sound.
Rugged hiking close to town
Rugged trail.
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