Top Five Hamilton Waterfalls to See in Spring!

Spring is the best time to see a lot of waterfalls in Hamilton, especially since some only make an appearance around now! So it's a great opportunity to go and enjoy them. I'll have you know that this list is not just made up of my personal preferences, but is a careful calculation of more than a few factors - these are actually objectively the best springtime waterfalls, so...

5. Borer's Falls. This is a pretty cool waterfall that I just found out about last year, and it's one of those that are hard to appreciate during other seasons because of unpredictable water flow or difficulty accessing it - so springtime it is! Hiking closer to the falls is difficult, but it can be done, and there's also a lower falls to check out. I took these photos in June last year, and so it was drying up a little bit, but still wasn't too bad! You can read more of my hike here.

Lower Falls

4. Sherman Falls is beautiful 100% of the time so it belongs on the list, but you could see it any time and it would be gorgeous:

 

Since it's so great all of the time, just imagine how great it is in the spring! Sherman is nice for a short little walk or to take kids to, since the path is straightforward. Also I love it. Read more here and here.

3. Canterbury Falls. This is a cute little waterfall accessible from the Bruce Trail and also the Rail Trail. I've written about the hike I took to get there here and here - there are lots of different ways you can get around in that area. It's great for dogs, kids, and generally low-key hiking, but it's still one of my favourite views in the area.

2. Great Falls! Probably the most lush waterfall in the Hamilton area. When you go behind it it looks like this:

 

- basically tropical! And it's right next to a parking lot so you can be instantly transported into this paradise when you get out of your car. And it's also along the Bruce Trail so you can keep walking if you want to do more than take a peek over the lookout. These pictures were taken in the summer, but it's already SO green with a fair amount of water, so it has just that much more to it in the spring.

More here.

1. Number one, is of course Albion Falls. Albion can also be said to be one of the best waterfalls in the world, but it's at its best in the spring. Other times of the year it is stunning, but in the springtime it fills out, and is just wonderful. Also it's nestled in a gorge you might not even notice while driving past, so going down into the greenery is really nice. Also it's at its most accessible in the spring and summer, just because of the gorge - if it's muddy or snowy it can be difficult/ not a good idea to go down.

Normally I don't use other people's photos here, but unfortunately the only spring Albion picture I have doesn't do it justice at all:

So here's a picture from the Hamilton City of Waterfalls Website:

Photo by Chris Ecklund

It is stunning the rest of the year, but it is always nice to see it at its full flow. You can read more about hiking around Albion here and here.

Lots of beauty to enjoy, and now is the best time to do it!

Spring makes a difference! Scenic Falls

I have been trying to get decent pictures of Scenic Falls for ages! This is one of the main problems with Hamilton waterfalls - they can be kind of elusive and unpredictable sometimes! But right now is the absolute perfect time to go see one - lots of water from spring rains, but the ground has also dried up enough that you are not slipping in mud, and most of all, everything is getting so green!

Unfortunately I missed the beginnings of green for this past hike, but I was just glad to get out and to enjoy a sandwich by a gorgeous waterfall. Scenic falls is along the Chedoke Radial Trail, which is so great for biking, doing stairs or jogging as well as being able to access some other falls. I have missed Hamilton dearly and it was so wonderful to be able to go ten minutes from my house and be surrounded with trees. Scenic Falls is about a twenty minute walk heading west down the trail, if you start at the parking lot of the Chedoke Golf Course. You are also able to pass by a few other falls; right off the trail you can see Mountview Falls and Upper Princess Falls, and if you want to go a bit into the brush, Cliffview Falls and Westcliffe Falls (upper and lower for both) are right at the parking lot of the golf course. Chedoke Falls can also be found eastwards down the trail.

Scenic falls is marked on the righthand side of the trail with a blue Bruce Trail marker, signifying an offshoot trail. There's a stone wall that is cool to explore and lets you sit at the top of the falls, and there is also a bit of a trail that can take you down to the bottom, but it disappears around halfway down.

I should maybe invest in a tripod...

This is what the falls looked like last summer...

basically just wet rock.

Scenic Falls is a good waterfall for something that is accessible but still a bit out of the way. Spring is when a lot of Hamilton's hidden waterfalls come out, so now is a great (and limited) opportunity to check some out!

a bit of the Bruce Trail (St. Catharines)

It's been a while since I've been able to get to a Hamilton waterfall, but I'm hoping that with the semester done I will be able to trek out to Hamilton a bit more often and catch up! I did go hiking recently, but not in Hamilton. It was a pretty sweet hike along the Bruce Trail, and if you are looking for something a bit different, it is not too far away. I've been doing some installments of the Bruce Trail from the start, with the hopes of hiking the whole thing someday, and this leg was my favourite so far! We came across five waterfalls, which all got progressively better as the trail went along.

We haven’t gotten too far yet on the Bruce Trail, we are still chipping away in the St. Catharines area. This leg was pretty short, around 10km, and at an easy and exploratory pace it took my boyfriend and I around three hours. We parked one car at the end point at a parking lot on Staff Ave., in Louth Conservation Area to drive back to our starting point and pick up the other car, which was at Short Hills Conservation Area in a parking lot off Roland Road.

View Larger Map

  Although there were some really beautiful waterfalls, the trail itself didn’t always stray far from the road. As the hike progressed it became more and more isolated, but we were always relatively close to nearby vineyards; that said, it was still the most scenic part we have hiked so far. This can still be nice for a casual walk, especially as things get more green outside!

This waterfall was our starting point; from the Short Hills parking lot there are two trails, and there is a map that shows you how to come alongside this stream. It's about a five minute walk, and you should be able to hear water as you head down! This will link you up to the Bruce Trail; facing the waterfall, we headed left.

We made some friends.

we posed with this little one because we had no idea how much better the other ones would get!

It was a bit tricky getting down to see this one, so I wouldn't recommend it unless you're up for a bit of a climb. From the edge of the gorge though, the view is still gorgeous and there are a few tiers to these falls.

On the left is our trail marker, on the right a warning sign for a shooting range :s

Last, and best.

One of my favourite waterfalls ever!

We kept promising each other we wouldn't climb down into any more gorges, but the waterfalls at the end were so beautiful, we couldn't resist! It was such a nice surprise, I had no idea there would be scenes like this. Since this trail isn’t too difficult in terms of terrain, it can easily be coopted into longer segments of the trail, and is definitely worth checking out for the waterfalls we saw!