testThe Meldrum Bay Inn

Just past the last turn in the long highway that skirts the northern shores of the Manitoulin Island, and just before the sign that announces the end of Highway 540, sits the Meldrum Bay Inn. In many ways the heart of the small village, the Inn has welcomed visitors for most of its hundred years.

Meldrum Bay is one of those rare Ontario destinations that is largely unchanged by the passage of time, reminding us of a simpler time when fishing and logging drove the economy and steamships plied the waters of the North Channel

Once a busy logging, mill, and fishing town, today Meldrum Bay welcomes cottage owners during the tourist season, visitors to the Mississagi Lighthouse, the Net Shed Museum, and other attractions, and is a haven for naturalists, fishermen, and hunters alike.

Meldrum Bay is also home to the Lafarge limestone quarry, one of North America’s largest; occasionally ocean-going freighters will be seen plying their way to their loading dock.

We like our guests to consider the Inn their home away from home, a place to slow down, relax, and reconnect with family and friends. The Inn is cosy, the rooms clean and beautifully decorated, and the cuisine is among the best on the Island.

A comfortable living room, on the main floor adjacent to the restaurant area, is a wonderful place to relax, chat, watch television or a movie, check your email, or get to know your new-found friends. We’ve even been known to serve dinner here when we’re especially busy!

Great hospitality, wonderful food and fabulous setting. Glad we came to the end of the world? Manitoulin is one of the great jewels and your spot adds to the sparkle...

Fred & Mary Clinton

We share a special relationship with our boater friends; the Inn is within shouting distance of the docks and boat launch, and mariners have learned over the years that the Inn is a great place for a lunch, dinner, a hot cup of coffee, a place to check marine weather forecasts, connect to the Internet, or for enjoying a peaceful night ashore.

An absolutely beautiful stop- gracious hosts that made us feel very welcome in your home- a special sweet touch above and beyond the usual B and B experience- thanks for all the extras...

In many ways, the Inn has changed little over the years, and we welcome all our guests who make the trip to the 'west end'.

A great way to get away from it all, the Inn is the perfect place to stay on the Manitoulin Island; your home away from home.

Meldrum Bay is the last settlement as you travel west on the Manitoulin Island, located about an hour and a half beyond the two main Island access points for vehicle traffic: South Baymouth (the terminal for the famous Chi-Cheeman passenger ferry), and the Little Current swing bridge.

From northern Ontario, travel south by car on Highway 6 from Espanola until you cross the swing bridge at the entrance to the town of Little Current. At the centre of town is the start of Highway 540, your route to the central and west end of the Island.

From southern Ontario, travel north on Highway 6 to the tip of the Bruce Penninsula and the town of Tobermory. Board the Chi-Cheeman ferry, and after an hour and three-quarter sail you’ll depart at South Baymouth.

From South Baymouth, pick from one of the several routes to connect you with Highway 540 to continue west.

We've had the best holiday ever! What a nice place.

As you arrive at the village by road you’ll round the last curve in Highway 540 and catch your first glimpse of the waters of the Bay and the sailboats, yachts and fishing boats moored at the docks. The Inn is the unmistakable building with the full veranda directly ahead in the centre of the village.

Boaters recognize Meldrum Bay as the first Canada Customs port for those traveling east from Michigan and American ports beyond.

If you are coming by air, the Island is serviced by two small airports (in Gore Bay and south of Little Current), and float planes are known to land right in the waters of Meldrum Bay.

Meldrum Bay was once a bustling logging and mill town, named after a small town in Scotland. In times past, ships ferried freight and passengers the eighteen miles across the North Channel from Blind River and from Southern Ontario and Michigan, steamships loaded the locally-milled lumber on the Meldrum Bay docks, and commercial fishermen and yachtsman kept the wharfingers busy.

The Inn is located at the corner of McDonald Street, named after one of the original families that settled in Meldrum Bay once the Island was opened for settlement in the 1870’s. Alex Purvis was born at the Inn when it was first built as a private home, and the Purvis family still live in the area; in fact, the Purvis family have an island business that provides the Inn and the rest of the world with some of the best fish you may ever eat.

The historic Meldrum Bay Inn is a central figure in much of the history of the west end of the Manitoulin; the Inn has been a meeting place in the village almost as long as there have been visitors travelling to Meldrum Bay.

The Downer family ran the Inn in the early part of the last century; family still regularly visit the area. The attractions are strong; many families (like the Cadden brothers, here) have been coming here for decades and have made the area a second home.

The Meldrum Bay Inn. Your home away from home and a great choice for Manitoulin Island accommodation.

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