WAYPOINT
INTERVAL

DISTANCE
km

WAYPOINT-TO-WAYPOINT TRAIL DESCRIPTION

001 - 002

-

To begin the hike from Rockway Falls to Louth Falls, walk to the back of the parking lot at the Rockway Community Centre and enter the Bruce Trail beside the fence and head right. The trail passes some good lookout spots for Rockway Falls as it passes right along the cliff edge. Further down the creek you can see the Middle Falls. The trail veers away from the cliff edge and drops down over a rocky descent into a wooded area where it curves right and meets the Rockway Falls ST (002).

002 - 003

1.1

The side trail heads left and continues down to a creek crossing (003). Continue a bit further down before crossing the creek to see the Rockway Lower Falls . NOTE: This creek is not passable when water levels are high so you will need to return to the Rockway Community Centre parking lot.

003 - 004

2.8

1) If you can cross the creek, the trail come out to Ninth Ave where it turns left and heads uphill to meet the Bruce Trail and end at (004).

2) If the water level is too high, return to the parking lot, cross Rockway Road and continue on the right to the bridge over Fifteen Mile Creek. Looking upstream you can see Martin’s Falls. Continue on Rockway Road to Ninth Ave where the trail turns right and follows Ninth Ave to the intersection with the Rockway Falls ST (004).

004 - 005

4.5

The trail heads uphill on a steep narrow path and wanders through a hardwood forest and then through an overgrown bush passing an open farmer’s field on the left. The trail follows the field edge. The trail descends a dry gully to cross a creek and curve around the ravine edge. Following close to the edge of the ravine, the trail passes through an area of heavy undergrowth and becomes rocky in places.

The trail descends a mother-of-a-ravine slope that can be slippery when wet but has a few small trees to help you from falling. Once down, the creek can be passed by walking over rocks on the creek bed. The trail then climbs a very steep high mother-of-a-slope where you may need to use your hands to grab onto roots and rocks to get up to the top on the other side of the ravine. The trail soon arrives at a second ravine to cross -this one a baby in comparison. Before you know it, there is a third ravine a bit bigger than the second. The trail soon comes to a cliff edge overlooking a steep descent (005).

005 - 006

5.1

Just at the cliff edge, the trail passes through a narrow crevice between two rocks and then makes a very long descent down a very slippery mud trail with some switchbacks but little for you to hold onto save for some wiry little plants with tenacious roots near the bottom to keep you from sliding down the rest of the way and landing on your butt -or worse. This was very slippery 40 h after a rainfall so I would not recommend tackling this descent in wet weather.
At the bottom of the hill, the trail arrives at a farm road and turns right along this road allowance. The trail crosses a creek with some stepping stones and continues along the farm lane. The climbs a grassy lane which leads to a large cornfield and vineyard (006).

006 - Louth          Falls

6.6

The trail continues straight ahead past the vineyard and  between two fields of corn before re-entering the woods. The trail Passes the Louth Side Trail and comes to a T-intersection at a ravine edge and heads to the left along the ravine to arrive at Louth Falls . There is an easy path down to the crest of the falls to view the rock formations up close.

Falls -007

6.9

The trail turns right and begins to climb, reaches a farm lane and turns right to climb up to the hilltop. Here a blue sign (T) marks the termination of the Louth ST (007).

007 - 008

7.5

Continue straight ahead on the main Bruce Trail. The main trail become very rocky requiring much attention to the trail as you step from one rock to another separated by deep crevices. The main trail comes out to Staff Avenue just 150 m west of the Louth Parking Lot on Staff Ave (008).
The upper Louth Falls immediately to your left at roadside cascades down just under 4 m while the larger lower falls drops about 9 m. Due to a rock slide or road construction or both, the upper falls is now partly buried under huge boulders and is not very impressive. Also cross Staff Ave to view the deep ground fissures there and the puzzling flow of water.

Enjoy the hike and the day!

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