Balls Falls & Twenty Mile Creek - Hike 4

Sunday, May 12 again was a beautiful day. I headed out for my 4th Bruce Trail hike.

I parked in the parking lot at the side trail off the Bruce Trail at the 49.3km marker.

At the 50.3km marker I travelled north on Seventeenth Street for 1.3km along fields of grapes vines.

 

There was wonderful views across Lake Ontario to Toronto as well.

At the 53.7km marker I started the hike up the Twenty Mile Creek valley. This was a stunning walk through large deciduous and coniferous trees along a rushing river cascading over many large rocks. You would think you were walking along a river in Muskoka - just beautiful.

At about the 54km mark there was a very steep climb out of the valley, up switch-back steps and ropes to the edge of the escarpment at Ball's Falls.

Twenty Mile Creek cascades over the escarpment at Ball's Falls. There is an Upper falls at 11 meters high but the very impressive sight is the Lower falls at 27 meters high - that's 2/3 the height of Niagara Falls.

The village of Ball's Falls was built around various mills including saw, grist and woolen mills. It was a bustling village of 19 people back in 1852. Today it is one of only a few "Ghost Towns" in Ontario. The property and structures are part of the Ball's Falls Conservation Area and include the mill, homes and a church.

After leaving Ball's Falls, the trail travelled along the upper and lower parts of the escarpment. The trilliums were in bloom everywhere.

At one point I came across a unique little farm with goats!

And a famous Bruce Trail stile!

And a winery with vineyards.

Around the 61km mark, the trail was below the escarpment through a beautiful hardwood forest. The trees were all very tall with a high leaf canopy and very little undergrowth. With the leaves all just starting to open and everything very "green" and very quiet, walking though this forest felt almost mystical. The picture below does not do it justice.

A trail sign of historical significance to the Bruce Trail.

The last portion of the trail climbed steeply to the escarpment and then hugged the edge of the escarpment through to the 64.5km point of the trail. Along this part of the trail I had a visitor (not sure if he thought I was on my last legs and represented dinner) and many views down over the edge of the escarpment to the many vineyards below.

I finished the day's hike at the parking lot at the 65km mark. My wife met me and gave me a ride back to my car.

The tally for the day was 16.9km.

Again, I'm already looking forward to the next hike!


Completed: 65.0km