Keyhole Island – A Little Peek Into the Northwest Side of Georgian Bay

Keyhole Island on the Northwest Side of Georgian Bay.

Georgian Bay is on our cruising bucket list, a trip like this deserves a dedicated stretch of time to explore properly. With that said, we decided to get our toes just a little wet. After we left Covered Portage Cove, we passed through the channel in Killarney for a short, one-day, cruise and anchor in the northwest side of Georgian Bay.

Four miles or so east of Killarney is the western entrance to Collins Inlet and a 10-mile run to Mill Lake. It was Collins Inlet, a narrow channel, where we spent time cruising, enjoying the sights of the small summer cottages dotting the rocky wind-swept, tree-lined shores.

Collins Inlet runs between Philip Edward Island, to the south, and mainland Ontario, Canada to the north, making the narrow channel a favorite of boaters because of the well-protected, safe passage from possible rough waters of Georgian Bay and all the good anchorage sites available.

We went as far as Mill Lake, cruising around the lake, scoping it out for future, potential anchorages. On our way there we made note of an anchorage called Keyhole Island, we eventually made our way back to that spot to settle in for a serenely quiet night on the hook.

After pulling anchor the next morning we poked around some more on our way back to the North Channel. Just a short distance west of the westerly entrance to Collins Inlet is where we found Thomas Bay. To enter you need to have good charts, an accurate GPS, and/or good local knowledge because if you make the wrong turn you could end up running aground on some rocks. Once inside we found a paradise of a cove, large enough for up to maybe a dozen boats.

Based on our short visit to Georgian Bay on this day, we are excited to return for a more thorough cruising experience in the near future.