Jones Falls

Still catching up on some waterfall posts from last summer, during one of our stays at Meaford Memorial Park.

I’ve already posted about some of the other waterfalls we visited in the area - Inglis Falls Conservation Area being the most impressive, Hogg's Falls also being a great place to visit, and Eugenia Falls Conservation Area, Walter's Falls, and Webwood Falls Nature Preserve being... nice enough to visit once.

While the overall Jones Falls Conservation Area is a decent size - 116 hectares of Niagara Escarpment land, getting to the falls is quick and relatively easy, via the Jones Falls Trail.

It was a beautiful walk through a forest, crossing a bridge over cool rippling white water, and finally to the top of the high cliffs that flank scenic Jones Falls.

Just a really lovely way to spend an afternoon - we’ll tell you all about it!

The Basics:

Location Name: Jones Falls / Pottawatomi Conservation Area
Address: 717875 Hwy 6, Owen Sound, ON N4K 5N7
Website: Grey Sauble Conservation Authority
Price: Free!
Reservations: Not Applicable.
Season: Year-Round

Logistics

Some basic information that will help you plan your trip to Jones Falls:

Getting There

When you’re mapping to the park, be sure to map it to “Pottawatomi Conservation Area”, or to the actual address.

We’d made the mistake of mapping to “Jones Falls”, which brings you around the corner from the actual parking lot - with no signs, public access, or anything!

Anyway, the parking area you’re looking for is the one that has this sign:

Registration and Check In

Jones Falls & Pottawatomi Conservation Area is an unmanned park, there is no registration or check in to worry about. You don’t need - and can’t book - a reservation, and there’s no cost for parking.

That said, keep in mind that it shares a parking lot with a business building - and the trail was pretty busy when we went there at 10am on a weekday!

Park Map

I’m not a big fan of the “interactive map” on the Grey County website, but there’s a nice clear map at the end of the parking lot, near the trail entrance.

It doesn’t photograph well, but is definitely clear and easy to follow when you’re right there.

Signage

The signage at Pottowatomi Conservation Area was decent, given the layout.

If you take a look at the map before getting on the trail, you shouldn’t have any difficulty finding your way to Jones Falls. There were also trail blazes and such along the way.

Washrooms

We didn’t see any vault toilets or Portapotties during our visit.

Looking at the park map on the website afterwards, though, they’ve got a washroom symbol over one of the buildings in the parking lot.

I don’t know if it’s park-specific or just a random public washroom, but apparently it exists!

Connectivity

We had decent cell reception during our trip, especially by the Jones Falls itself. While we didn’t do much uploading /downloading, our birding app MOSTLY worked along the trail.

I uploaded some videos from the area of the falls, no problem - we’re on Rogers Wireless.

Accessibility

The trails are not wheelchair accessible, though you should be ok if you’re using other kinds of mobility aids.

Sort of.

The main things to keep in mind are:

1. The footbridge before Jones Falls has a BIG step up and down.

2. After you cross the bridge, the ground gets more unlevel, and there are large rocks to walk over.

I wouldn’t recommend doing this trail on crutches - and I may not have done it if I was using a cane -but would have been able to do it in a boot.

Pets

Dogs are allowed on the trails, but must be leashed at all times and picked up after.

Parking

As mentioned earlier, the parking is free, but somewhat limited. Given how busy it was on a random weekday morning, I’m assuming it gets pretty busy on weekends during peak times - spring and during the fall colours.

Jones Falls Waterfall

So, let’s talk about the waterfall!

Jones falls is a 12 metre high waterfall. Jones falls itself is a cascade waterfall, but there’s also a series of rushing cascades leading up to that main waterfall.

After walking over the Pottawatomi River - via a cute arched bridge - you’ll walk alongside the series of rapids - and soon come to the hidden cascade, beyond some rock formations.

There’s a nice vantage point just to the side of the main falls, where you can watch the water flow over the edge and down to the valley, where it’ll continue on to Owen Sound Bay.

As with most of the waterfalls in the area, Jones Falls has higher water flow in the spring - after the snow melts - and low waterfall in the late summer and early fall.

UNLIKE most of the waterfalls in the area, Pottawatomi Conservation Area actually invites visitors to hike to the bottom of Jones Falls - more on that in a bit!

Entertainment and Activity

While the Jones Falls waterfall is obviously the main attraction, there are a few recreational activities you can do while visiting Pottawatomi Conservation Area.

Hiking

The park’s site says that there are 7.3 km of trails on the property, though that doesn’t really line up with the trails and distances listed on the site.

No idea what’s up with that, we only did one short hike - Falls Trail.

Here’s what we can pass along in general, though:

Merle Gunby Side Trail - 2.2 km loop, Easy / Moderate

This is the main hiking loop in the park, and the one that will take you to - or overlap with - the other trails. It’s a Bruce Trail side trail.

We only did the section of this trail that overlapped with Falls Trail, below.

Falls Trail - 480 m linear, Easy/Moderate

This is a short section of the Merle Gunby Side Trail loop. It’s less than half a km from the parking lot to the lookout spot on the side of Jones Falls - about a 5-10 minute walk.

The trail was wide, hard packed ground, and muddy in spots. It was relatively flat, but had lots of big stones and roots to navigate.

After a few minutes, you’ll follow a sign that branches the trail off to the right, and come to an arched food bridge. (There is a BIG step up and down, to access the bridge!)

Once you cross the bridge, walk along the trail to your left, and the falls are straight ahead at that point.

There are some cool roots and boulders around the area, just a really interesting place to walk around.

As a note: The area around Jones Falls can be dangerous, so be sure to stay on the trails. There are steep slopes, loose rocks, and high cliffs - not a super safe combo!

If you're looking for more of a challenge - and you're wearing appropriate footwear! - you can hike to the bottom of the falls.

Apparently it's 15-25 minute hike from the main waterfall viewing area, down to the base. I had only SKIMMED the trail signage beforehand, so we were looking in completely the wrong area to get down there!

Anyway, for future reference...

From the main viewing area, you have to head back the way you came, and cross back over that arched bridge. Turn right, and go about 250 metres to a trail junction.

Take a sharp right at that point. You'll go through a large crevice, and down a steep incline to the base of Jones Falls.

I’d imagine there’s a gorgeous view of the waterfall, down there!

The Other Trails

Aside from the trail we actually did, there are a few other options in the park:

Main Trail - 1.7 km - This is a loop (with an extension) off the far end of the Merle Loop... which we didn't do. Confusingly, it’s listed with a similar name and distance to the Bruce Trail Main Trail - though they’re definitely completely different trails, per the map.

Bruce Trail Main Trail - This is a 1.7 km length of the Bruce Trail that runs through the Pottawatomi Conservation Area, following the Escarpment edge. We did not do it.

Biking

Cycling is not listed as an available activity on either the official Jones Falls / Pottawatomi Conservation Area website, or on the Ontario Trails website.

Birding, Wildlife, and Nature

At the time of our visit, Pottawatomi wasn’t a great place for birding.

We could hear some birds - American Goldfinch, Red-Eyed Vireo, and Song Sparrow - high up in the trees, but that was about it.

We were there in July, though, so I wouldn’t doubt that conditions would be better at other times of the year. I bet spring and fall would be better, between the condition of the trees, and spring/fall migration.

As it was, though... we didn’t really have any good opportunities for birding - not a great range of view.

Anyway, signage along the trail talked of a variety of wildlife in the area - Acadian Flycatcher, American Redstart, American Toad, Bats, Brown Snakes, Cerulean Warbler, Crows, Eagles, Falcon, Garter Snakes, Gray Treefrog, Hawks, Nuthatches, Owls, Porcupines, Raccoons, Raven, Red-Backed Salamander, Red Belly Snakes, Red-Spotted Newt, Scarlet Tanager, Spring Peeper, Wood Frog, Woodpeckers, Wood Snakes, Wood Thrush, Veery, and Yellow Spotted Salamander.

Niantic Games

There are a few Pokestops / Pokegyms / Ingress Portals throughout Pottawatomi Conservation Area, but the highest concentration of them is right in and around the parking lot.

Misc

The park is open year round. While the trails aren’t maintained in the winter, they’re open for cross country skiing and snowshoeing.

Final Thoughts

So, the walk from the parking lot to the bridge was a little “meh”, but once you got to the bridge, it was gorgeous. And really, we’ll take 5 minutes of “meh!”, for the payoff that came after that point.

We really liked the cascades leading up to the actual falls, and the way the lead-up to it was really... bouldery.

The view of the falls from up top is maybe a little underwhelming for the falls themselves, but we also visited it in the summer - when it’s low flow. There were still the unique views of the Niagara Escarpment, which was nice.

Also, I imagine the view would have been AMAZING from the bottom... had I actually bothered to read the signage that told people where to go, to get there!

Still, we loved it and had a great time. We’ll definitely be back, though next time we’ll both aim for a higher flow season, AND plan to hike to the bottom.

We’ll update this post once we’ve done so!

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
Kakabeka Falls
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 beautiful waterfalls, be sure to check out our Places to See category, to find more interesting Ontario places to explore!