Gariepy Creek Falls

As an autistic who gets PRETTY stereotypical when it comes to changes in routine / plans, I’ve been trying to get better about rolling with it when things go wrong.

I had a - ahem- *wonderful opportunity* to practice that mindset on a recent road trip.

We were en route between Driftwood Provincial Park and Mew Lake Campground in Algonquin Provincial Park.

We were already running later than I wanted in general, had recently realized that we’d booked the stay on a Friday-Monday *on a holiday weekend*, and we were grumbling about being able to get in on time.

I wanted to get good shots of some of the campsites and such before the crowds rolled in, and we were already pushing it.

So we’re driving along the highway, and all of a sudden there’s a loud BANG under the RV - I thought something exploded - then a repetitive luod noise.

We pulled over immediately - right behind the crest of a tight curve, headed DOWNHILL on a busy highway, no less - to find out that one of our (driver’s side!) tires blew.

Gotta say, not ideal.

I convinced Porter to look up the road a little to see if there was a straightaway or more flat location to do the fix, because we were in an incredibly dangerous spot.

We lucked out to see an open section of road, flat and with a good line of sight leading up to it, so we very slowly limped our way there and pulled over.

Surprise! Waterfalls!

As the “At least 15 minutes” ticked over the 1 hour mark, I got out for a stretch - and noticed what looked to be a trail head.

I walked over and peeked in, to see a well worn, fairly wide trail.

SO weird- there was absolutely no signage leading up to this point. Before we actually pulled over, we assumed it was the opening of a driveway or something.

I looked at Google maps, and saw that we were probably 100-200 metres away from the Gariepy Creek Falls waterfall, but no trail was shown on the map.

I assumed the one leading from the parking lot would take me there, so I went exploring...

The Basics:

Location Name: Gariepy Creek Falls
Address: PJG6+4P, Laurentian Valley, ON K8A 0G9
Website: None, as far as I can tell.
Price: Free!
Reservations: Not Applicable.

Maps and Signage

There are no maps or signage at all.

While the falls - as a location - shows up on Google Maps, the trail itself does not.

The parking lot wasn’t marked, we had no idea it was any kind of a trail head when we pulled over.

I just happened to notice what looked to be a trail when I went outside to stretch.

If I hadn’t had Google maps going before we lost connection, I wouldn’t have had any idea that there was a waterfall back there - no road signage or anything.

That said, it’s a straight shot trail to the falls. If you stay on what’s obviously the main trail, you’ll get there!

Parking

The parking lot is unmarked and on the side of the highway - you’ll really want to be looking for it.

It was able to fit our RV and towed car up the length of it, so there’s parking for at least 3-4 cars.

That said, there was no one there during the ~ 2.5 hours we were there.

With it not being a marked attraction on the highway, I’m guessing there’s not a lot of competition for those parking spots!

Connectivity

There was absolutely no cell phone reception anywhere near the falls.

Not on the trail, in the parking, or on the highway for a good distance in either direction.

Accessibility

The trail is not at all wheelchair accessible.

You could do the first part in a walking boot or with a cane - IF you’re ok with stepping over fallen trees.

... but in order to actually see the falls, you’ll have to scale a fairly vertical section of trail that really wouldn’t work for most mobility issues.

I was actually having bad tendon day (across the top of my right foot) and I barely made it back up. I think adrenaline helped out.

Washrooms

There are no washrooms of any kind on site.

Pets

I didn’t see any signage at all about pets, so I would imagine that dogs are allowed.

That last little bit of trail before the falls might be really difficult for them, though.

Entertainment and Activity

Hiking

It’s a short hike to get to the falls - probably about 0.4 - 0.45 km. I started MapMyRun a hundred metres or so into the walk, and came in just under a kilometer, return.

The trail starts out relatively wide and well packed, with a bit of a downhill section right away.

There are a couple downed trees and such to walk over - nothing too wild though.

About halfway down the trail, the path gets much more narrow, with trees and bushes growing into the trail. The trail itself is still well packed, though it starts getting a bit rockier at this point.

I hadn’t considered that the trail wouldn’t be direct to the falls - it actually starts out kind of parallel to the road, leading AWAY from the falls, then loops back.

Around the 350 m mark, I started second guessing my choices. It was hot, I was still recovering from heat sickness a couple days earlier, and my right foot was NOT holding up well.

Of course, that’s when I started hearing the waterfall.

So, I pressed on.

Right before you get to the waterfall, the trail gets MUCH steeper. It was rough to get down, and I was definitely thankful that I had changed into my hiking boots before checking out the trail.

Once at the bottom of that incline, you come to a clearing, with the falls off to the right.

There are at least two other trails leading out from that clearing (one looked more used, the other looked far more rustic), but I didn’t bother checking them out.

You can pretty much walk right up to the falls, and into / across / alongside the creek.

I snapped a few photos, said some choice words to the mosquitos, and hightailed it out of there.

Looking at that incline from the base of it... it seemed like an entirely different beast, than when I’d walked down it. Honestly wasn’t sure how I’d make it back up, and didn’t have the cell phone reception - or desire! - to call Porter to ask for help.

I did get up though, and headed back to the RV.

He was just finishing up with getting the wheel attached, so the timing worked out well!

Biking

With all of the downed trees and the general nature of the trail, I can’t imagine this being a great place for biking.

Swimming

At the time of our visit, the waterfall was just a trickle, and there wasn’t much in the way of a standing water source at the base.

I don’t know how much more active the stream gets, but - based on the condition of the rocks under the falls - I doubt it sees enough water to be much of a swimming destination.

Birding, Wildlife, and Nature

It was an incredibly short trail, and I was trying to get it done as quickly as possible.

Also, Porter was (obviously!) otherwise occupied, so I didn’t have the benefit of his birding camera. (WAY too heavy for me to carry on a trail of unknown difficulty!)

So, between that and all the mosquitos and flys that were looking at me as a buffet, I didn’t do much in the way of birding.

My app wouldn’t load a location, but I heard a crow for sure, at least one Common Grackle, and I’m pretty sure at least one Red-Eyed Vireo.

Pretty much all of the “wildlife” I saw was of the flora variety - especially fungi!

There were definitely some cool, unique types of fungus along the path.

Final Thoughts

Well, as far as emergency pull-over spots go, we could definitely have done worse!

Happening across a waterfall and trail like that was definitely a happy surprise - and welcome distraction from the stressful situation.

It was also a nice excuse to get out of the RV and stretch my legs, on what was a fairly long stretch of driving.

That said, the falls were ... underwhelming. If I’d made a point of driving out there to see them, I definitely would have been disappointed.

I’ll probably have Porter go check it out, next time we’re passing through the area. While I wouldn’t make a dedicated trip for it, it’s definitely decent as a rest stop option.

Way more scenic and active than pulling over at a random picnic area, after all!

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