Archives: waterfalls

It’s amazing when I think that we’ve already lived in Hamilton for seven years and that we’ve only checked out a handful of the multitude of waterfalls in and around the city.

Most of my Hamilton waterfall viewing has been during summer months, sometimes planned after a large rainfall to really see the water flowing. Up until recently I had yet to see any of the falls in winter.

We wanted a mini-outdoor activity to get out of the house but with a three year old and baby in tow combined with icy and snowy weather conditions we needed a waterfall that was not too much of hike to get to and one that would be safe to get up close to with the little ones. We decided to check out Tiffany Falls.

I can say that upon approaching Tiffany Falls I was pretty awestruck. There was a gorgeous blue-ish tinge to parts of the ice. The scale of the frozen falls and sound of the soft bits of water trickling off the massive 20 metre tall icicles was breathtaking.

I would definitely recommend doing some winter waterfall viewing if you get the chance.

Excited to check this one out again as spring approaches.

Located just off of Wilson Street East. Parking is available by the access point and it’s only a five minute walk to get to the falls.

Although Hamilton is known for being a city of waterfalls (among notably other things) I had only ever been to  Webster’s Falls, and Albion Falls.  I wanted to check out Devil’s Punch Bowl, especially with the backdrop of the changing fall foliage.  So one weekend about a month back we took a little drive to Devil’s Punch Bowl.  It was during one of those unseasonably hot October days, when there hadn’t been any rain for a few weeks, so the waterfall was just a little tiny trickle.  The bowl part was pretty neat (especially if you’re into geology and rock formations).  According to the Hamilton Conservation Authority it is the “only area where one can view such a large vertical display of Ordovician and Silurian stratified rock”.  Wow!  Who knew?

Just across the way from the fall is a cute little place called the Punch Bowl Country Market. It had a nice spread of baked goods, honey, maple syrup, gourmet mustards, local and seasonal fruit, and prepared homemade food items.  There was also a fine selection of novelty “nostalgic” children’s toys, perfect for a cute little gift. AND they sell my favourite kind of pop; Boylan‘s Black Cherry and Boylan’s birch root soda pop!  It was a perfect little repose from punch bowl viewing before heading back downtown.

*Punch Bowl Country Market, 136 Ridge Road, Stoney Creek, 905.662.1665

The other day we went for a bike ride, and I was happy to see the completed bike bridge that now connects the rail trail all the way to the waterfront trail (up & over the QEW), allowing for easier access to the beach and water all by bicycle!

I love the Hamilton bike trails. From our house it’s a 2 minute ride to the escarpment rail trail that goes east up and along the escarpment to Albion Falls.  A short jaunt away from our place (at the top of Dundurn) is the start of the other rail trail going west all the way to Brantford.  If you wanted to make a day of cycling you could do a huge circuit from Burlington’s lakeshore waterfront all the way to the Dundas Valley Conservation area all by trails.

Love, love, love the waterfront trail between Burlington & Hamilton.  It’s wide, paved, and can accommodate, bikers, walkers, strollers, rollerbladers and the like all without overcrowding.  On this day there were tons of picnics and bbqs going on, as well as, folks lounging by the beach, eating ice-cream and sipping patio beers.

On the way home from the waterfront we opted to take Lawrence road’s bike lane (the road that runs behind Gage Park to Stoney Creek) and follow the neighbourhood back roads that hug the escarpment back home to downtown.