Kakabeka Falls

Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park - in the Thunder Bay Area - is kind of a weird case when it comes to writing about it. It feels like there’s really two wholly different experiences when you visit.

The first is the road trip Kakabeka Falls experience, which is the one I’ve known it for, all my life.

Known as the “Niagara of the North”, it’s the second-highest waterfall in Ontario - and located right on the Trans-Canada Highway.

The falls are surrounded by board walks and viewing decks. It’s a great way to get a break from a drive!

Stretch your legs while getting a great view of LOTS of water falling over the sheer cliffs. The various viewing platforms give you a great view from a bunch of different angles.

One observation deck is so close to the falls, it’s almost impossible to get a photo of the whole thing from that angle!

Obviously, a great place to visit, when traveling in Northern Ontario. My family used to stop there when I was a kid, Porter and I would visit back when we were still living in the United States, and now it’s a must-see on the way to Quetico Provincial Park.

The second Kakabeka Falls experience is the car camping one.

It’s a good stopover point when traveling through Northwest Ontario, and camping lets you spend much more time enjoying the falls and surrounding area.

The thing is, those looking to visit as a day trip aren’t necessarily looking for information on things like... comfort stations and dump platforms.

So, if you’re looking to camp at Kakebeka Falls, check out our Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park Campground Review & Guide for all of that additional information.

For the rest of you, you’re in the right place! This is our guide to visiting the falls as an attraction, rather than a campground.

Still lots to talk about, so let’s get to it!

The Basics:

Location Name: Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park
Address: Box 252, 4853 Hwy 11/17 Kakabeka Falls, ON, ON P0T 1W0
Website: https://www.ontarioparks.com/park/kakabekafalls/
Price Ontario Provincial Parks uses a pricing matrix across all their parks. See 2025 Day Use Fees for more details.
Reservations: Ontario Parks Reservations
Park Classification: Natural Environment
Season: January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025 (Day Use)

Logistics

Some basic information to help you plan your trip to Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park:

Registration and Check In

There are a few different ways you can pay your parking fee to visit Kakabeka Falls:

1. Reserve and check in online (see link above)

2. Purchase your ticket at the gatehouse. There’s a small gift shop in there, also:

3. On the edge of the main parking lot, there is at least one sign with a QR code and phone number, offering options to purchase on site, without going in to the office.

4. If you have an Ontario Provincial Parks pass, that’s good for free entry. Just display it, and you’re good to go!

Maps and Signage

While there are definitely some map and signage issues if you’re camping at Kakabeka Falls, you shouldn’t really run into those issues if you’re just visiting the falls.

You won’t need a full park map - the falls area is really straightforward. You can see the boardwalks from the parking area, and it’s just not a complicated layout.

If you DO want a map, there is a full colour map sign in the parking lot.

Parking

There is a large parking lot next to the falls, off to the left as you enter the park. This parking lot has trailer parking, plenty of room to turn around, etc.

On weekdays and in the off season, there’s a TON of room - I have been there at times where the parking got pretty full, though. I would imagine this is much more of an issue in the summer months, than anything.

There are also a couple vending machines in this parking lot, should you want a cold drink during your visit.

There is also a much smaller parking lot - well, sequence of parking lots, I guess - on the other side of the bridge.

Once you cross, you’ll take the first left (I don’t think it’s marked well, if I recall correctly!), towards the visitor centre.

It’s a large loop, so you won’t have to worry about having to turn around - but trailer parking back there might be tricky.

If wanting to visit the Visitor Centre, I recommend parking in the main lot, and using the boardwalk trail to cross the bridge on foot.

If you’re able to walk, it’s a fair amount less hassle, than driving across and parking there.

Washrooms

There are a few different washrooms throughout the day use areas of Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park.

In the main parking lot, there’s a building with individual stalls (each with their own door to the outside) of flush toilets. Weirdly, this building doesn’t seem to have any signage that indicates it’s a washroom, aside from one “accessible” symbol.

On the other side of the bridge, there’s another washroom building in the parking lot near the Visitor Center. This one is the more... “communal” probably isn’t the word I’m looking for. It’s the type of washroom building with a large room, with sectioned off washrooms stalls in it.

Finally, there’s a set of two vault toilets in the beach area. While the other two washroom buildings are maintained well enough, this vault toilet stood out for how IMMACULATE it was.

I’ve always hated any form of outhouse, this is the first I’ve seen that didn’t have a hint of scary or gross about it!

Accessibility

As a tourist destination, Kakabeka Falls is actually fairly accessible.

There are several accessible parking spots, with several access points to the boardwalk. There’s a washroom building on the edge of the parking lot, with accessible stalls.

The boardwalk is - for the most park - accessible. You can get from the parking lot to the waterfall, then on to the bridge and around the other side of the waterfall without leaving the flat, level boardwalk.

That said, there are several platforms off the boardwalk that are NOT wheelchair accessible.

In each of these cases, you can still get a view of the falls - not as good, but still decent - and there’s always a bypass boardwalk to get around those sections.

Beyond that, the beach area is also mostly accessible - a flat, level, well-packed walkway, and an accessible vault toilet. There are wheelchair accessible picnic tables... but the beach itself is down a hill, and not wheelchair accessible itself.

Connectivity

We had relatively decent reception in the main parking lot, MOST of the time - we’re on Rogers Wireless.

The reception got a bit better as we’d closer to the falls, and we found it better on the main parking lot side, than on the visitor center side of the falls.

This seems to vary from day to day, and visit to visit, though.

Pets

Dogs are allowed, but are to be leashed at all times, picked up after, and not be allowed to harass other visitors or animals.

Also - while it’s not listed on the website - there’s a leash free dog beach, just past the swimming beach. This is along the road to the RIGHT, as you pass through the front gate. (Rather than turning left into the main parking lot for the falls).

The dog beach is a short walk from its parking lot, and pretty cute!

Dogs are also allowed in the grassy area of the main beach, just not down on the sand or in the swimming area there.

Visitor Centre & Park Store

There’s a small visitor centre and park store on the far side of the falls. To get there, you can either drive across the bridge and turn left, or just walk the boardwalk trail across the bridge and to the left - it’ll take you right there.

The Visitor Centre is cute, but very ... casual ... compared to some of the more museum-like Visitor Centres we’ve seen at other Provincial Parks.

The main park store is inside the same building, and has a good selection of parks souvenirs and such.

The visitor centre and store is only open from the May long weekend until the Thanksgiving Weekend, so keep that in mind!

There are no restaurants on site, but the small village of Kakabeka falls is only about ½ km away.

Day Use Area

If you’re looking to have a picnic lunch during your visit, you’ve got a few options.

The “Day-use area” at Kakabeka Falls is more like... several different day use areas, dotted around the falls- and upstream of the falls.

First, there’s a bit a picnic area as you entre the park, in the area between the main parking lot and the boardwalk / falls.

If you take the road out towards Kakabeka Falls beach (Turning RIGHT as you pass through the front gate, rather than turning left towards the main parking lot), there are a few more secluded picnic nooks along that road, with plenty of parking along the way.

Finally, the beach itself has even more picnic areas, including another small picnic shelter.

The Waterfall

Kakabeka Falls is a HUGE waterfall - the second highest waterfall in Ontario, behind Niagara falls.

Depending on which source you’re looking at, the name Kakabeka either comes from the Ojibwe word “gakaabikaa”, meaning “Waterfall over a cliff”, or the Ojibwe word "Kah-kah-peeh-kah", meaning "sheer cliff”.

Some of the viewing platforms have signage talking about the history of the waterfall and surrounding area, where you can pick up factoids like this. 🙂

Anyway, the 40 metre high Kakabeka falls is just over 70 metres across, and is either a steep washboard, split, or cascade style waterfall, depending on what source you’re looking at.

The flow is regulated by Ontario Hydro, and can be strikingly different. I’m used to waterfalls looking different based on the time of year, but was surprised at the difference you could see at Kakabeka Falls, just a few hours apart!

Anyway, there are viewing platforms on both sides of the river - and you can take a boardwalk bridge across the top of the falls - but there’s no access to the bottom of the falls.

That’s a bit of a shame, as the base of the falls is home to 1.6 million year old fossils ... and Lake Sturgeon spawn down there!

Those suckers live up to 100 years are huge - they can be more than 3 metres long and weigh almost 400 lbs!

Not surprisingly, they’re the largest freshwater fish in Canada - so that would be SOMETHING to watch!

Kaministiqua River

The waterfall is located along a historic route of the voyageurs and other early travellers - the Kaministiquia River. “Gaa-ministigweyaa” is an Ojibwe word meaning “where a stream flows in island”, btw.

The river was a major trade route for fur traders, connecting what is now Thunder Bay, to western Canada. The portage around the falls was apparently AWFUL, though, so it was eventually abandoned in favour of the Grand Portage route, to the south.

Actually, one of my absolute favourite things about the park is a sign near the falls. It has the quote:

"I really believe that the devil got up in this expedition for the purpose of getting hold of my immortal soul, as I am already beginning to swear" - Hugh John Macdonald, Red River Expedition, 1870

Let me tell you how fast I adopted that as a mantra, LOL!

Anyway, you can access the Kaministiqua River upstream of the falls - at the beach and dog beach areas - or downstream from the falls, via the Little Falls Trail.

Entertainment and Activity

If you’re looking to hang around the park a bit longer, there are a few activities available:

Hiking

For most people visiting the falls, there’s only one hiking trail that really applies here:

The Boardwalk Trail

This is about a 0.75 km trail, or 1.5 km return.

An easy trail, this is the trail I’m most familiar with, as I’ve visited it - for the viewing platforms - several times over the years.

I don’t know if the whole trail was in place ~30 years ago when I was a kid, but I clearly remember the same excellent views of the falls from way back then.

Anyway, this trail is MOSTLY wheelchair accessible, and allows for amazing views of the falls on both sides of the river.

The viewing decks on the trail are accessed via the main parking lot on one side of the falls, and via the Visitor Centre on the other side. A pedestrian bridge - with a nice view - connects the boardwalk trail on either side of the falls.

The main parking lot has several different platforms, allowing you to view the falls from several different angles, while there’s basically one main deck - and a walkway- on the campground side of the river.

Other Hiking Trails

There are several other nature trails in the Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park, which I detailed at length in my Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park Campground Review & Guide. There’s where you’ll find full reviews and photos on each.

As a quick overview though, the options are:

Beaver Meadows and River Terrace Trails - A set of 2 loop trails, these are more intended to be used as cross-country ski trails - they’re not maintained outside of the winter months.

Little Falls Trail - A moderate to difficult 2.5 km loop trail. You walk part of the Portage trail to get there - aside from the Boardwalk Trail, this is the most scenic trail in the park. Generally moderate, with a steep descent / ascent at one point.

Mountain Portage Trail - The only fully wheelchair accessible trail, this 1.25 km loop is an easy hike.

Poplar Point Trail - A 4 km loop that borders one of the campgrounds. Not especially scenic - except during fall colours season - this is a mixed use trail.

Village Trail - Not mentioned on the website, this is a 0.5 km / 1 km return trail that’s more or less barrier free. Not really scenic, it’s more just a pedestrian access road to the village.

Biking

The Poplar Point Trail is good for biking, otherwise there are the campground roads. Really, if you’re just using Kakabeka Falls as a roadtrip stop, it’s not really a great place for cycling.

The walking trails are far more scenic.

Birding, Wildlife, and Nature

The only birds mentioned on the parks website are the bald eagles that hang out in the gorge - and Porter saw one of those on the Little Falls hiking trail.

Other than that, we saw a TON of pigeons around the falls - they seemed to be nesting in the cliffs.

Overall, we saw: American Crow, American Robin, Bald Eagle, Black-Capped Chickadee, Blue Jay, Canada Goose, Common Raven, Golden-Crowned Kinglet, Hairy Woodpecker, Pigeon, Red-Breasted Nuthatch, White-Throated Sparrow.

... and we heard a Pileated Woodpecker.

Swimming

I’ve never really considered going for a swim when I’ve stopped by Kakakabeka Falls as a roadtrip stop... but I also had no idea it was an option.

There’s a small beach upstream of the falls - take a right after you enter the front gate, rather then turning left into the parking lot.

Anyway, it’s a cute little sandy beach with some nice picnic areas around it. See my Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park Campground Review & Guide for more details on the beach area.

Niantic Games

There are several gyms / Pokestops / Ingress Portals in the areas surrounding the falls, but - as mentioned earlier - the cell reception can be a bit sketchy at times..

In our experience, the main parking lot - and boardwalk on that side - is a better place to play than on the other side of the falls.

There’s a higher concentration of game features, plus a slightly better chance of actually having some degree of connectivity.

Final Thoughts

Given than I’ve been visiting Kakabeka Falls for over 30 years at this point, it feels a little silly to be writing a “final thoughts”. Obviously I recommend going to see it, and it’s a safe bet that we’ll be back!

The falls are always spectacular to see, but - if you’re able to plan your trip - they’re extra gorgeous on a clear, sunny day.

If you’re anywhere near Thunder Bay, I would definitely say this is a must-see attraction. Definitely one of the BEST places to get out and stretch your legs, whether it’s just as a quick break, or if you’re going to spend a few hours there.

And hey, if you’re not near Thunder Bay... probably a pretty good reason to visit the area.

More Ontario Waterfall Posts

Looking to waterfalling in Ontario? Here are more Ontario Waterfalls to check out:

Aguasabon Falls
Chippewa Falls
Eugenia Falls
Falls Reserve Conservation Area
Gariepy Creek Falls
Healey Falls
Hogg's Falls
Indian Falls Conservation Area
Inglis Falls
Jones Falls [Pottawatomi Conservation Area]
Mink Creek Falls
Onaping Falls
Oxtongue River-Ragged Falls Provincial Park
Provoking Falls
Rainbow Falls
Sand River Falls
Sauble Falls
Scenic High Falls
Walter's Falls
Webwood Falls

Beyond the waterfalls, be sure to check out our Places to See category, to find more interesting Ontario places to explore!