One of the things that’s great about Meaford Haven is its proximity to attractions everyone else needs to travel far to experience. Hop in your car, and within a half-hour drive on scenic country roads, you’re at Scenic Caves Nature Adventures.

The site, high on the Niagara Escarpment above Georgian Bay, has attracted people for centuries. A huge standing rock, carved by erosion from the cliff at the site, was seen by the Hurons as Ekarenniondi, the rock that marked the path to the Village of the Souls, or the Afterlife. “Today, no-one disputes that the sacred Rock marking the trail to the Village of the Dead, which is at the same time Ekarenniondi, The Watcher and Oscotarach, the Head-Piercer, is the rock long so identified at the Scenic Caves,” writes Collingwood archeologist and historian Charles Garrad. “It is the only rock which meets all the tests implied in the legends,” he writes.

Ekarenniondi - the sacred Rock marking the trail to the Village of the Dead at Scenic Caves Nature Adventure

But with the arrival of European settlers to the area in the 1800s, the area was more noted for its vistas and the narrow caves that wind through the area. Locals would climb up to the site to picnic, and back in 1850 someone carved their initials in one of the caves – leaving marks still readable today.

The property eventually became a farm, which operated until an enterprising businessman purchased the property in 1932. Aflred Staples built wooden ladders and bridges and offered guided tours of the caves. An irrepresible showman, he called himself the “Man of Nature”, and performed feats and stunts to attract visitors, including crossing the ice of Nottawasaga Bay to Christian Island and walking from Collingwood to Chicago.

His daughter, Sandra took over the operation in the sixties, and ran it for the next quarter century with her husband, adding amenities and building a gift shop.

Then, in 1993, Collingwood businessman Rob Thorburn bought the property. Convinced it could be more than a homespun tourist attraction, he invested heavily in the property, adding attractions and activities to make Scenic Caves Nature Adventures a true tourism destination.

In the last decade, improvements have included:

The Nordic Centre A groomed cross country ski trail network that retains the feel of a backwoods ski route, with trees bounding trails that haven’t been cut wide to accommodate large-scale groomers. The Centre also includes snow shoe trails. Ski and snow shoe rentals and winter warmups make for a full winter experience.

The Suspension Bridge at Scenic Caves Ontario’s longest suspension bridge offers views toward Collingwood, Georgian Bay, and beyond to the Penetanguishene Pensinsula – from a vantage 300 metres above the Bay.

The Eco Adventure Tour The three-hour guided tour takes you across the suspension bridge, along a suspended pathway through the canopy of the trees, then down to the ground via exhilarating zip lines. (The adventure also includes the cave tour.)