Camping Around Georgian Bay

Jeepymom wrote:
My husband and I want to plan a trip to the Georgian Bay area in late May/early June in our travel trailer, staying there about two weeks. We would like to make it a fairly restful trip, staying at one or two RV parks for multiple nights and unhooking for some easy day trips.We prefer nature,quiet, quaint places, maybe some small local museums or attractions rather than big city pursuits. My husband especially likes trains, local history, and classic cars.We will be coming from North Carolina. I'd appreciate any advice on where to make our base of operations in the Georgian Bay area and what to see. We are thinking about taking US15-15N up and maybe returning by a different route through West Virginia.I hear Toronto is to be avoided both for traffic and an expensive toll road. We'd also like a short visit to Niagara Falls either going or returning (we've been before to both US and Canadian Falls). For multiple nights, we'd want full hookups.For one night, we wouldn't mind trying free boon-docking at a Walmart or Crackerbarrel or the like.Thank you.

Georgian Bay is about the same size as Connecticut and New Jersey.

https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/tobermory/South+Baymouth,+Ontario+P0P+1Z0/@45.4275016,-81.9497275,8z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x4d2d0ba9fb4f9461:0x3b2e70b0e46a3526!2m2!1d-81.6645411!2d45.2533625!1m5!1m1!1s0x4d3275c774cb293d:0xb86006aa36c247f!2m2!1d-82.009988!2d45.560137?hl=en

That is the highways that ring the Bay. 667km or about 415 miles. That is like going from Raleigh to Philadelphia.

Generally speaking, to get to anywhere on there, you will go through Toronto. Accept it, or you will be driving on back roads and adding hours to your trip. The 407 is the only highway that is toll, except for the boarder crossings. It is completely avoidable. However, driving on it would shave time off, especially in heavy traffic as it usually doesn't slow down much.

https://www.407etr.com/en/tolls/tolls/toll-calculator.html

Along the route above are many great Provincial Parks.
https://www.ontarioparks.com/en
You can book sites there. They usually have electricity and water hook ups but usually no sewer hook up. Some only have electric sites. They usually have a dumping station.

There are not many railroad museums near Georgian Bay, but here are a few that I would suggest:

http://m0h.b5d.mwp.accessdomain.com/
This is a train museum up near Sudbury in Capreol.

http://ecrm5700.org/
Elgin County Railway Museum in St Thomas.

https://www.haldimandcounty.ca/grand-trunk-railway-station/
caledonia station museum

https://hcry.org/
Halton County Radial Railway

http://www.palmerstonrailwaymuseum.ca/
Palmerston Railway Heritage Museum

And of course, if you do decide to enter Toronto:
https://www.trha.ca/johnstreet.html
John Street Roundhouse

Hope this helps you plan things better.