Little Falls

I love when I just kind of randomly happen across a destination, near where we’re staying.

During a recent camping trip to Quetico Provincial Park, I was working up my Bridal Veil Falls post, from our recent stay on Manitoulin Island.

I needed to Google some information on the waterfall itself - height, etc - and happened across the Waterfalls of Ontario Interactive Map. What a cool feature!

Just for the hell of it, I decided to see if there was anything in the area... and what do you know, there was an apparently decent sized waterfall about half an hour away!

I mentioned it to my husband, not expecting him (the driver!) to be up to an impromptu field trip.

He had, however, been patiently suffering my peri-menopausal air conditioning reign of terror, and was all too agreeable at the idea of going out and spending some time in the sunshine.

So, we hopped in the car for a little adventure!

After a felt-shorter-than-it-was drive along the top of Quetico Provincial Park, we came to the town of Atikokan, which we’d never been to before.

I’d mostly heard about it from my cousin - I guess it’s a bit of a hub for those living in Gakijiwanong / Lac La Croix.

I’d never heard of this waterfall before, so I was looking forward to it. You know, even if it meant going outside in the mid afternoon, in full sun. Waterfalls look so much better on sunny days, am I right?

We had a great time at Little Falls Lookout, which was much more of a *park* than we’d expected.

Let us tell you all about it!

The Basics:

Location Name: Little Falls Scenic Lookout
Address: 1 Little Falls Rd, Atikokan, ON P0T 1C0
Website: Visit Atikokan - Little Falls
Price Free!
Reservations: Not Applicable

Logistics

Little Falls Scenic Lookout is a public park / roadside attraction. The parking is free, there are no reservations needed - or available. Just show up, park, and enjoy the area!

One thing to note: The 1 km long Little Falls Rd is pretty rough in places - breaking up, water damage, etc - so you’re going to want to drive relatively slowly.

It’s nothing that requires higher wheels or anything, though - we got by just fine in our little sedan.

Parking

The parking lot is a bit of a cul-du-sac. Fairly large, but with no parking spots actually indicated - I’d guess it could fit about 10 cars, easily.

If it’s not busy - and it didn’t seem like the kind of place that gets flooded with tourists - you could definitely bring an RV or trailer down there.

One thing to note, though: It shares its parking lot with the Atikokan Wildlife Hatchery, which can hatch up to three million Walleye each spring.

So ... between that little factoid, and the fact that waterfalls tend to be best in spring? I’d expect a bit more of a crowd at that time (I’m assuming, anyway!).

One thing to note: Unless people are parking like total jerks... if you bring your RV or trailer down there and find it full, you should still be able to easily turn around.

Washrooms

There is a single Portapotty in the parking lot, and it was NICE. It feels weird to rave about a toilet, but we’ve seen some real sh... err, horror shows.

Anyway, it’s a large, wheelchair-accessible style one, and it seemed pretty new at the time of our September 2025 visit.

It was stocked with hand sanitizer - as usual - but also had an air freshener and a fly strip in there. Not something we normally see!

I appreciate any effort taken to make outhouses less gross. Thank you, Atikokan Sportsmen's Conservation Club!

Maps and Signage

We didn’t see any maps or signage at all, but really... you don’t really need it, here.

The toilet and picnic areas are visible before you’re even parked, and the whole area is laid out beneath you, almost as soon as you get out of your car.

Accessibility

The Portapotty is wheelchair accessible, though you do have to get up a bit of a steep hill to get to it.

There is a relatively wheelchair accessible short path - not paved, but flat - from the parking lot to the picnic shelter. You can see the falls from there, but that’s the extent of wheelchair accessibility.

For those who have mobility issues and don’t use a wheelchair...

Once you pass the picnic shelter, there’s a short but VERY steep hill downwards. That’s how you get to the path that takes you around to the other side of the water, and the lookout platform there.

If you can make it down that first embankment, you’re all good - it’s just gentle sloping inclines and declines from there, though most of the trail is pretty flat and level.

Pets

We didn’t see anything at all about pets, on the premises.

So, we would assume they’re allowed, with all of the standard rules / courtesies applying. As for picking up after your dog, we didn’t see any poop baggie dispensers.

That said, there was a garbage can at the picnic shelter, and on the far side of the water, near the boardwalk/lookout.

Connectivity

We had really good cellular reception at Little Falls Scenic Lookout, both in the area of the parking lot, and on the other side of the falls at the lookout.

We’re on Rogers Wireless.

Day Use Area

There are two main picnic areas in the park.

The first is a little picnic shelter, right next to the parking lot. It had two regular picnic tables, and there was a bench on the law nearby.

For that matter, the lawn would make a nice picnic area - it overlooks the water and the waterfalls.

The second picnic area is around the other side of the lake. It’s a short walk - 0.6 km, there and back - which takes you over a scenic bridge. (More on that in a minute!)

This area has a wooden platform with a view from the other side of the falls, with a single picnic table. Very cute!

Entertainment and Activity

While there’s not a LOT to do at Little Falls Scenic Lookout - it’s a very small park - here’s some information on your options:

Little Falls Waterfall

Little Falls is actually 2 waterfalls. The larger one is most clearly visible from the parking lot side, with the second one slightly behind it.

That second one wasn’t super visible at the time of our visit - a much better view from the other side - but the falls seemed to be at a “low flow” time. I’ve seen photos of this waterfall during a higher flow, and that second waterfall looks much more impressive in them.

Apparently there’s a dam up top that controls the flow, but it was absolutely not visible from anywhere below.

Anyway, Little Falls is a 50 ft high Cascade style waterfall, fed by the Atikokan River.

Apparently you can hike up to the top on either side of the falls, but we didn’t see those paths. I only knew because we saw something online mentioning unmaintained paths, after we got back.

Hiking

There is one main trail from the parking lot, across the bridge, to the lookout. There are also roads / paths that connect off it - including part of the Great Trail.

As mentioned earlier, there weren’t any maps of the park area, so - for the purposes of this post - we’re just going to talk about the path from the parking lot to the lookout.

Anyway, this trail wasn’t marked or indicated from the parking lot.

We’d initially wondered if we were supposed to go straight off to the left from the parking lot, but the place we thought to be trail was really overgrown.

As we walked past the picnic shelter, we could see the actual trail - which started with a VERY steep hill downward.

Once you get to the bottom of that little section, the trail is pretty easy. You go off to the left through a short section of woods, before joining up with a dirt road and continuing to the right, over a cute little suspension bridge.

Just after you cross the bridge if you had to the right you'll come to a little bit of an open field area, leading up to a short U-shaped boardwalk that takes you to the lookout.

If you go to the left when you see the boardwalk, it’s an easy walk - a slight slope downwards towards the lookout, picnic table, and water.

There’s also a short, rough, and very steep path downward, if you want to access the other side of the boardwalk.

Overall for able-bodied people I'd say it's a really easy trail. There are some very steep sections, but they're each very short... and there aren’t many.

I didn't have a ton of trouble doing the walk to the lookout and back, really just getting up and down that initial embankment.

As for distance - from the parking lot, down across the bridge over to the other side lookout and back came to only 0.6 km.

Birding, Wildlife, and Nature

We heard some Black-Capped Chickadees at the time of our visit, and that was it. I’d imagine it’s a good place for birding in the spring, though.

We did see a fair amount of late-season wildflowers and Rosehips, including a fuchsia flower I’d never seen before.

I bet the area is especially pretty in July-August, when wildflowers seem to be at their peak.

Anyway, I also saw what appeared to be a Ladyslipper Orchid plant. Not 100% on that, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if they grew here.

Niantic Games

There was a single Niantic Game stop (Pokestop / Ingress Portal) at Little Falls Lookout, located in the parking lot.

As mentioned earlier, the cell reception was good.

Final Thoughts

While it was slightly disappointing that the falls weren’t as spectacular as we’ve seen them in photos, we LOVED visiting Little Falls Scenic Lookout.

The whole area is super cute, and it’s a really nice rest stop or picnic destination.

Honestly the falls were almost secondary to everything else. Had the falls not been there, it still would have been a gorgeous little area and a nice walk.

Everything there - the washroom, picnic shelter, trail, bridge, lookout - all seemed to be really well maintained and in good condition.

It was all a lot more... developed?... than we were expecting. We thought it was going to be a pretty basic little roadside stop, this was a really nicely appointed park in general.

Really just a beautiful attraction, and worth a visit even if the falls happen to be low. A nice way to spend some time outside - we’re definitely going to be back!

More Ontario Waterfall Posts

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

Aguasabon Falls
Bridal Veil Falls, Manitoulin Island
Chippewa Falls
Eugenia Falls
Falls Reserve Conservation Area
Gariepy Creek Falls
Healey Falls
Hogg's Falls
Indian Falls Conservation Area
Inglis Falls
Jones Falls
Kakabeka Falls
Kap-Kig-Iwan Provincial Park
Mink Creek Falls
Onaping Falls
Oxtongue River-Ragged Falls Provincial Park
Provoking Falls
Rainbow Falls
Roy Wilson Suspension Bridge
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!

We also have a long list of Campground Reviews, and a ton of Camping Recipes to cook up, while on your adventures!