"Your freedom to explore comes with responsibilities"

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Risks Associated with Waterfalling

Waterfall Hazards
Swimming at Waterfalls
Private Property
Prohibited Areas
Tragic Loss of Life
Covid-19 makes things worse

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Waterfall Hazards

Waterfall visits can be safe and fun excursions for the whole family. They can also be dangerous! People have DIED at many of Ontario's waterfalls. Fortunately, it's not hard to keep you and your family and friends safe. The tips below mostly involve common sense.

Steep Slopes and Vertical Cliffs
Many waterfalls have no safety barriers or viewing platforms. You must stay back from steep slopes. People have fallen to their death at Ontario's waterfalls.

Water Hazards
Some waterfalls are on powerful rivers and currents can overcome even the strongest swimmer, so you must stay back from the water's edge and slippery rocks. People have drowned at Ontario's waterfalls. This includes some surprisingly small falls.

Isolation
Some waterfalls are found in more remote areas of the province that are out of cell service. You might be the only visitor that day. Cell service doesn't always work when you are the bottom of a narrow rocky gorge. It is recommended that you let someone know where you will be.

Bad Directions
This web site relies heavily on driving directions provided by Google Maps. But Google maps can be wrong! You must respect any signs that may have been posted to correct errors.

*Recognize that this site uses coordinates that pinpoint the waterfall, not the parking lot or trailhead. So, in some cases you will need to figure out the last little bit of the journey yourself. (Parking coordinates are being added slowly). Be sure to remember how to get back to your car!



Bears
Once you get out of southern Ontario, you are in bear territory. Bear encounters are very rare. Even if this happens, bears are likely to run off in the other direction. Still, you must take a few minutes to become Bear Wise.

Poison Ivy, Giant Hogweed, Ticks...
We only have one poisonous snake in Ontario - the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake. These are isolated to such a small part of the province, you are very, very, unlikely to come across one on your travels. If you are walking off-trail, you may encounter things like Poison Ivy , Giant Hogweed, or Ticks. The first two can cause severe itching and rash, while the latter can cause Lyme Disease. Take a minute to learn about these items. If you stay on marked trails, it's very unlikely that you will have an issue.

Angry Landowners
Most waterfalls in Ontario are on public lands, but some are located on private property. You might be respectful of the land, but the land owner doesn't have to care.

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Swimming at Waterfalls

Every summer people ask about swimming at waterfalls. The Waterfalls of Ontario project rarely gives any recommendations, because:

** Waterfalls are not waterparks! **

Seriously! Waterfalls are not engineered, designed or safety checked. They are wild places. Dangerous currents and undertows can be hidden to visitors. Rocks can be slippery and high cliffs can be really dangerous. Rock crevices hidden under water can snag and hold a foot. People have died swimming at many of Ontario's waterfalls.

It is true that many waterfalls have been used safely as swimming holes for years. It can be done. But please know the risks and be careful, and get local advice. See the photo of Furnace Falls below? Even though it is one of the lowest, gentlest waterfalls on this web site, people drowned here. Another person drowned trying to retrieve a fallen sandal.



Also, keep in mind that many streams and rivers in southern Ontario are not suitable for swimming. Agricultural runoff and municipal sewage can bring real risk of illness. Several waterfalls in Hamilton are actually fed from storm sewers. A few sewers are the very old type that connect to overflowing sanitary sewers during big storms. This means that you could be wading in poop! Don't do it! People still do, and it just boggles the mind.

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Private Property and Trespassing

Most waterfalls in Ontario are located on public lands. But there are a few that are found on private property. You must not try to access these sites without permission. You could be charged with trespassing, and this gives our hobby a bad name.

Despite what some people "feel", there is no law that prevents someone from owning a waterfall. You have no "right" to cross someone's property to get to a waterfall. Also, the laws around walking along a streambed through private property aren't as clear as you might think.

Would you want strangers accessing your land at any time for any purpose? If they saw a rare bird, butterfly, or plant, would that make it OK?

Many landowners will grant permission if you ask. Others will refuse because they have seen their property mis-used for years. Most hikers are respectful people. But entering someone else's property just isn't your decision to make. Property owners can have you charged regardless of your opinion.



Unfortunately, there is no law that says that private property has to be fenced or signed. Please heed any signs that you see, even if this web site or the book says otherwise. Red dots on a sign post mean "No trespassing".

This web page does not knowingly include directions to waterfalls that are on private property. Mistakes happen: If you see an error, please contact me. To be clear, there are a few cases where access to a waterfall on private property is generally known to be tolerated. But this could change with no notice.

Known Private Waterfalls

Some maps (even Google), other waterfall resources, and social media posts identify privately owned waterfalls. They are natural features afterall. But be warned, these won't keep you out of trouble. This is why this web site is useful.

To help to spread the word, here is a list of waterfalls that are off-limits due to private property.

1. Canning Falls
2. Dore Falls
3. Fagan's Falls
4. Fullers Falls
5. Hayward Falls
6. Hornings Mill Falls
7. Keefer Falls
8. Lavender Falls
9. Little Canterbury Falls
10. Opishing Falls
11. Oxenden Falls
12. Rosseau Falls, below the one-lane bridge
13. Scott's Falls
14. Stephanie Falls
15. Three Brothers Falls
16. Walters Falls - check with the Inn
17. Washboard Falls
18. Wasi Falls
19. Yarker Falls (except from bridge and former tea room)

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Prohibited Areas

Recently, a number of popular waterfalls have had certain areas blocked off to public access. These are mainly in the Hamilton and Niagara area, but also around Peterborough and Northumberland.

It is the rulebreakers that put us in this situation in the first place. By posting photos from off-limits areas, it encourages others to do the same. 'The rules don't apply to me.' At some waterfalls, the fines are $750, and there are by-law officers actively out looking for people.

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Deaths at Waterfalls

Waterfalls can be perfectly safe if you take normal precautions. But as a sad reminder of the risks, this growing list shows waterfalls where people have lost their lives. This includes deaths caused by "innocent" activities like swimming and photography.

After reading this list, it becomes more understandable why authorities are starting to close or restrict access.

1. Albion Falls
2. Bala Falls
3. Balls Falls
4. Barrett Chute
5. Blakeney Rapids
6. Bracebridge Falls
7. Chutes Prov Park
8. Decew Falls
9. Devil's Punchbowl
10. Eugenia Falls
11. Healey Falls
12. High Falls in Bracebridge
13. The Hogsback
14. Kakabeka Falls
15. Moon Falls
16. Niagara Falls
17. Pakenham Falls
18. Port Sydney Falls
19. Ragged Falls (QE2 Park)
20. Recollet Falls
21. Red Rock Falls (Wolf River)
22. Rushing River
23. Silver Falls
24. Stubbs Falls
25. Talon Chute
26. Three Brothers Falls
27. Tiffany Falls
28. Wasdell Falls
29. White's Falls
30. Wilsons Falls

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Near Misses

1. Albion Falls
2. Borer's Falls
3. Burleigh Falls
4. Decew Falls
5. Eugenia Falls
6. Felkers Falls
7. Hog's Back Falls
8. Inglis Falls
9. Inglis Falls
10. Onaping Falls
11. Princess Louise Falls
12. Tews Falls
13. Websters Falls

Covid made things worse

During the Covid Lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, our waterfalls really took a beating. Since many people were stuck at home and couldn't go anywhere else, they went outside. Many natural areas were swamped with visitors, in some cases far in excess of what the site could handle.

It was soon clear that many new visitors were not used to being in natural spaces: Litter increased dramatically, illegal parking became common, and people were actually defacating on neighbours' lawns because there were no public bathrooms available. In one case, illegally parked cars had to be towed before fire trucks could respond to an injured visitor.

Due to over-use and mis-use, a number of waterfalls have been temporarily closed to the public. This includes waterfalls located in popular conservation areas. In some cases, waterfalls that had always been private property but still accessible to the public, ceased to be accessible in 2020 (eg. Walters Falls). Landowners had simply had enough.

Another issue that got worse is an increase in the number of waterfalls with restricted access. Several of the biggest, most-impressive waterfalls in Hamilton can only be viewed from above. Access to the riverbed, which was allowed with incident for decades, is now prohibited at Albion Falls, Websters Falls and Waterdown Falls.

Inexperienced hikers have been injured or trapped at these locations. Rescues involving EMS are now common, and so municipalities are now taking steps to protect their liabilties. Unfortunately, many people continue to trespass, which in turn leads to increased enforcement and stronger restrictions.

>If we don't behave properly, we will lose more access. It's our choice.