Torrance Barrens Dark-Sky Preserve Transfers: Muskoka Stargazing by Chauffeured Car

Torrance Barrens Dark-Sky Preserve: how do you get there and back after dark?

Torrance Barrens Conservation Reserve covers 1,906 hectares of Crown land in the Township of Muskoka Lakes and the Town of Gravenhurst. It was made a conservation reserve in 1997 and designated a Dark-Sky Preserve by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in 1999; the RASC's own listing calls it the first ever RASC Dark-Sky Preserve. The reserve is open bedrock, shallow ponds and wetland, with the sky showing from horizon to horizon in nearly every direction. There are no buildings, no power and no staff.

Those same facts are why people hire a driver. The trip is a night trip. Visitors arrive after dark, stand in the cold or the mosquitoes for hours looking up, and then have to drive 27 km of unlit, curving road to the next town. A designated driver who does not need to stay awake, and who does not use headlights where you are trying to see, is a practical answer. We are not a street taxi, and a metered cab is unlikely to wait for you in a parking lot; a pre-booked car can.

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Where is Torrance Barrens and how far is it?

The reserve is on Southwood Road (District Road 13), south of the village of Torrance and Highway 169, in the Muskoka Lakes area. The RASC describes it as about 11 km west of Gravenhurst in a straight line and warns that the curving roads make the drive longer. By road the distance from Gravenhurst is about 27 km, roughly 30 to 35 minutes.

Two official routes lead to the lot. The Torrance Barrens site says that from Highway 11 northbound, between Gravenhurst and Washago, you turn west onto District Road 13, Southwood Road, and drive about 20 minutes; the sign is on your right. From Highway 169 you enter Southwood Road in Torrance, look for the restaurant "Pie" or the Clear Lake Brewing Company, drive 10 to 15 minutes, turn left at the second train-track crossing, and the sign is on your left about five minutes later. The RASC gives a third description: Highway 169 northwest from Gravenhurst to Torrance (about 20 km), then south on Southwood about 7 km, with the site on the northeast side of the road, marked by signs at a small parking area. Your chauffeur knows both approaches. Give us the lot, not a street number, in the booking.

The Torrance Barrens directions page is the place to confirm the current routes, and its rules page lists the conduct rules.

Torrance Barrens: car, coach, or your own wheels?

Public transit stops at Gravenhurst, which is the nearest town with a coach stop, so a taxi would have to cover the last 27 km. The honest problem is not getting out; it is getting back. A metered cab is unlikely to wait three hours in a gravel lot where phone signal is weak. The private car can, which is why it is the sensible choice for a night visit, especially with children, older relatives or camera equipment.

When should you go, and how long should the car wait?

The reserve is open to visitors after dark and has no scheduled observing programs. The RASC's page says no observing programs or outreach activities run there, so you are on your own with the sky. The site links to a night sky visibility forecast through Clear Dark Sky, and a clear, moonless night gives the best results. Cloud decides more evenings than the calendar does, so check the forecast the same afternoon.

Choose one of these structures when you book:

1. Drop and timed return. The car leaves you at the lot and comes back at a time agreed in advance. The reserve's site says the campsites have no cell service, so assume weak coverage and agree a firm time and a fallback.
2. Wait. The chauffeur waits with the car at the lot or at a nearby pull-out. Use the hourly mode for this; waiting time is part of the booking.
3. Round trip from a hotel or cottage. Pickup at 9 p.m. in Gravenhurst or Bala, return by midnight or later. This is the most common pattern.
4. Full evening. Dinner in Gravenhurst, an early start to the barrens, and a late return, on a single booking with extra stops.

Our hourly chauffeur page explains how the hours and waiting work, and the Gravenhurst and Bala pages list the towns where most visitors begin the evening.

What is at the site, and what is not

According to the RASC listing, the site is a provincial conservation area with no amenities. You can observe from the parking lot, though passing vehicles can be disruptive. The alternate site is a large flat rock area on the south shore of a small lake, about 100 m north along a path; there is no power, and an outhouse is about halfway along the path. Destination Ontario describes two main hiking trails: the Main Trail, about 3 km, loops around the shallow Highland Pond, and the Pine Ridge Trail, about 5 km, is more difficult. There is no entry fee, according to Destination Ontario.

Rules from the reserve's own site are short and clear: leave no trace, carry out all garbage, stay on designated trails as much as possible, do not cut trees, do not feed or harass wildlife, and no fires or camping except at the six designated campsites. The six campsites are free, first-come and marked with orange signs showing a tent; each has a fire cairn and a backcountry toilet, but there is no running water, no shelter, no cell service and no Wi-Fi. The site warns of bugs and mud, and says Ontario Parks may introduce a reservation or permit system later. Firewood is sold at the Torrance General Store at Highway 169 and Southwood Road. The RASC page also says that Ontario Parks plans a permit system for vehicle access to the dark-sky viewing area and tells visitors to check current rules with Ontario Parks and the reserve's site before they go.

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Light, sound and manners: how to behave at a dark-sky site

The reserve's site asks visitors to minimize use of flashlights and phone lights, to turn off lights and wait for their eyes to adjust, and not to light fires while stargazing. The RASC listing says motorized vehicles are not permitted on the dark-sky viewing area. Here is how the car fits in:

• Keep headlights and interior lights off around other stargazers, and say in a note with the booking that the stop is for stargazing so they park at the lot, not on the road.
• Winter nights are cold. Say at booking if the car should wait, and dress as if it will not.
• Photographers should say so at booking. A tripod, a case and a camera bag need space; a Business SUV takes up to six passengers and six bags, and an Executive Sprinter up to 12 passengers and 12 bags.
• Keep noise low. The reserve's rules are about leaving it as you found it, and stargazers nearby will thank you.

Wildlife and conditions

The reserve's management statement (prepared in 2006, so some details may be dated) documents rare and at-risk species including Blanding's Turtle and the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake, both listed as threatened, and describes the bedrock barrens as sensitive to disturbance. Stay on the trails and the path, particularly in warm months, and do not step off the path for a closer look at a pond edge in the dark. Bugs and mud are noted on the reserve's site, and the area has no cell service at the campsites. In winter, expect cold, wind and an icy parking lot; the Southwood Road approach can be slick, and the winter and ski transfers page covers cold-season travel. Ontario 511 (511on.ca) posts road conditions and cameras for the highways leading in.

Pairing the barrens with other Muskoka stops

Stargazing works well as the end of a longer day. Muskoka Steamships and the Discovery Centre is on the Gravenhurst wharf, and the farm and winery in Bala fits a late-afternoon visit before dinner. In October, the fall colours tour can be combined with a night at the barrens, and the Thanksgiving weekend is covered by the long weekends guide. For more ideas, see the attractions hub. Hotel guests in Gravenhurst can start from the Taboo Muskoka page or the Muskoka Bay Resort page.

What the booking includes

Pickups from an airport are tracked against the flight. For the barrens, an hourly booking or a timed return covers the long wait; the standard allowances of 60 minutes free after an international landing, 30 after a domestic one and 15 on other pickups apply to ordinary pickups. In the booker you can add the Meet and Greet service, child, toddler and booster seats, and a note with the booking. Tell the desk about a pet when you book; pets ride in a carrier, and trained service animals ride free. The total is fixed and all-inclusive, with 13% HST included and nothing added at the end of the trip. Read how private car fares work, then visit the Muskoka hub, the Pearson airport page and the fleet page.