Life At The Inn
Meldrum Bay is one of those rare and beautiful Ontario villages that is largely untouched by modern development. Settled in the 1870s and named after a town in Scotland, Meldrum Bay quickly grew into a successful commercial fishing and lumbering centre.
During this period, the village was home to a busy fishing fleet and Great Lakes steamers tied up at the docks. Over the years, no fewer than three sawmills cut and planed the lumber that was drawn from the Island's west end hardwood bush.
Today during the summer months, the docks are busy, lined with pleasure craft from around the Great Lakes. Our marina is the first Canadian Customs port for boats traveling east from Lake Superior and Michigan.
These waters possibly hold the best chinook salmon fishing in all of Canada, and fishermen travel hundreds and thousands of miles to try their luck in these waters. Local charters are readily available.
The North Channel, the wide body of water flowing from Lakes Superior and Michigan along the north shore of the Manitoulin is a storied and favorite destination for all sorts of pleasure craft.
Meldrum Bay has long been a destination for sightseers, fishermen, and hunters alike.
The Net Shed Museum sits right between the village's main street and the water’s edge, in a building formerly used by commercial fishermen to repair their nets. The museum highlights the area's rich marine heritage, and is open during the summer months.
The Meldrum Bay's Dinghy Tour gives boaters a whole new view of this historic village and the ships sunk in these waters. There is a printed "floating tour guide" available at the Museum.
A ‘must-see’ attraction for anyone visiting the west end of the Manitoulin is the Mississagi Lighthouse and Museum. Located on the southwest shore some 12 kilometers from the village, the lighthouse guards the treacherous Mississagi Straits.
Now serving as a museum and restaurant and furnished as it was for the lighthouse keeper and his family years ago, this working lighthouse provides glimpses into the marine history of the Great Lakes.
The Exhibit Centre and Marina office in Meldrum Bay.
On a warm summer evening, the front porch at the Inn is the place to be. Sometimes it's quiet, often it's busy, but it's always relaxing and friendly- just the place to watch the moon rise over the Bay.
If you think that the fun in Meldrum Bay ends after Labour Day, think again! This winter is shaping up to be a particularly good one for bundling up and embracing the great Northern outdoors. Skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, ice fishing- there's something for everyone on Manitoulin.
The Ice Surfer
"Bob Grover hailed from the sunny south
In Californ-i-ay
Where the waves are high 'neath a clear blue sky
And he'd surf most every day.
Now when he moved to the ice and snow
He longed for the sea and spray
So he surfed with a sail in a wintry gale
On the ice in Meldrum Bay.
Meldrum Bay has seen strange sights
Midst the snow and ice and rock
But the strangest sight since the rum runner days
Was Bob's sail at the ice-bound dock."
Jan McQuay
(with a tip of the hat to Robert Service)