• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
2 Nerds In A Truck
  • About Us
  • Food
  • DIY
  • Gear
  • Maintenance
  • Life
  • Campground Reviews
  • Contact Us
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • About Us
  • Food
  • DIY
  • Gear
  • Maintenance
  • Life
  • Campground Reviews
  • Contact Us
  • Join Us On Social Media

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
  • ×
    Home » Campground Reviews

    Rainbow Falls Provincial Park

    Published: Jun 28, 2026

    Note: This site is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for the site to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.

    Sharing is caring!

    • Reddit
    • Email
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • Tumblr

    Rainbow Falls Provincial Park is a Northern Ontario campground with some AMAZING views. Here's our review & complete camping guide.

    Originally published on October 3, 2024, updated on 6/28/2026.

    A small but powerful waterfall. Overlaid text says rainbow falls provincial park review and camping guide.

    Rainbow Falls Provincial Park is a campground that - until 2024 - we’d skipped over a few times, just due to location.

    It’s close enough to a couple other campgrounds - Neys Provincial Park, Pukaskwa National Park - that it didn’t really make sense to stop.

    We like to get a few hours of driving in on a drive day, after all - especially when it comes to that stretch between Lake Superior Provincial Park and Thunder Bay.

    In 2024, we decided to add it to our little tour of Ontario’s Superior Country... then visited twice again in 2025, and yet again in June 2026!

    The 2024 trip had been all about the field trips - including Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park - and this stop afforded us the possibility of two more field trips, both about 20-25 minutes away.

    First, there was our second visit to Aguasabon Falls & Gorge - an attraction we first visited in 2023.

    Then, we took a short drive down to Terrace Bay Beach, which - like Rainbow Falls - is located within the region of the Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area .

    Unlike Rainbow Falls though - which is a Provincial Park - Terrace Bay Beach seems to be a Parks Canada location.

    Anyway, definitely check those places out, but - for now - how about we talk about our experiences at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park?

    Sunrise over a salmon run on Lake Superior.

    The Basics:

    Campground Name: Rainbow Falls Provincial Park
    Address: P.O. Box 280, 1004 Hwy 17 Terrace Bay, ON P0T 2W0
    Website: Rainbow Falls Provincial Park
    Price: Ontario Provincial Parks uses a pricing matrix across all their parks. See 2026 Camping Fees for more details.
    Reservations: Ontario Parks Reservations
    Park Classification: Recreational
    Season: May 15, 2026 to October 13, 2026 (Day use & Rossport Campground), May 15, 2026 to September 13, 2026 (Whitesand Lake Campground)
    Park Duty Officer: (807) 823-0886

    The rainbow falls provincial park sign.

    Logistics

    With two separate campgrounds, the logistics at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park are a little odd. Here’s the basic information you’ll want to know, when planning your visit:

    Registration and Check In

    Each time, we booked our trip 5 months ahead of time, on the Ontario Parks website. No problems at all, and we were usually able to secure an amazing waterfront site!

    Check in was quick and easy each, as usual at Ontario Provincial Parks.

    A small gatehouse at rainbow falls provincial park.
    Rossport Gatehouse

    Maps and Signage

    A few thoughts on getting around at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park:

    Park Map

    The park map is mostly pretty good. It’s an 11 x 17, double sided, full colour map. One side has a full map for the Rossport Campground, as well as a park overview map for the Whitesand Lake Campground.

    The other side has a more detailed map of the campground area of Whitesand Lake Campground, including the East Beach day use area.

    No real complaints, aside from the fact that there are some connecting trails - in Whitesand Lake, in and around the trailheads and the dog beach - that are not shown on the map.

    I would have liked to know where all they went, especially as the campground and east beach areas weren’t accessible by road.

    2 part image showing the rainbow falls provincial park campground maps.

    Signage

    There wasn’t a ton of directional signage in the Rossport Campground, but then again... you can see pretty much the entire campground from almost anywhere in the campground.

    It’s tiny, and it’s very open.

    When it came to the signage at the Whitesand Lake section, there was some VERY contradictory information on the signage.

    On one sign, it said that there was no one on duty, and that the hours were 8 am - 10 pm.

    Right across from it - on the actual gatehouse - there was a hand written whiteboard sign, telling people to get out by 4pm.

    We managed to miss THAT sign on our first visit to that section. We drove in after setting up, hoping to get in a walk on the Rainbow Falls trail before supper.

    We saw the first sign, and figured we had tons of time.

    As we got closer to the trails section, we happened to see another one of the hand written signs - it was already after 4 at that point! So, we turned around - thoroughly unimpressed with the situation.

    The directional signage is more or less adequate, though - it’s a small campground, you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding your way around.

    2 part image showing contradictory and unfriendly signage at the whitesand lake campground.
    These signs were directly across the lane from each other.

    Waste & Water Services

    The situation at Rainbow Falls odd, and can be less than ideal, depending on how and when you’re camping there.

    The fill and dump stations are split up by several kilometres, and the garbage dump area is really small.

    So, the main Trailer Sanitation Station is located in the Whitesand Lake Campground - a short loop off the main road, as soon as you get into the park. (Before the gatehouse).

    This was a single lane, with no bypass - a dump platform, followed by a fill platform.

    More often than not - at least at the time we’ve visited - that fill platform has had a boil water advisory on it.

    There WAS a fill platform after that, but the hose was tied up to a tree, with a big notice about it being non-potable / boil water advisory. (This did not seem to be the case in 2026.)

    There’s a fill-only station in the Rossport Campground, kind of right in the middle of the campground, next to the picnic shelter. Kind of awkwardly placed - for us to fill on the way out, we would have needed to pull a really tight U turn in the RV, whichever way we tried to do it.

    Filling on the way in was no problem, though - it’s a threaded hose, BTW.

    The garbage dump was small and up a few steps, and the recycling bin was tiny.

    Of note: There were a couple campsite clean up stations - with a rake and shovel. That’s nice to see!

    2 part image showing the dump and fill stations at rainbow falls provincial park.
    The Sanitation and Fill Stations

    Connectivity

    We had really great phone and internet connection - with Rogers Mobile - throughout the Rossport Campground, and in most areas of the Whitesand Land Campground.

    Accessibility

    Overall, Rainbow Falls Provincial Park is not an very disability-friendly campground.

    A few basic notes:

    1. The garbage bins are located up a set of steps.

    2. There is no MobiMat at any of the beaches. (And getting down to the Rossport beach will be difficult for anyone with mobility impairment!)

    3. West Beach is fairly accessible. There's a bit of a guided path a short distance into the day use area, which ends at a grassy field. There's a bench, a campfire circle with benches, and a volleyball court, beach volleyball court, that are all in the range of accessible.

    Getting to the beach, there's a moderate decline for about 5 to 10 m. The beach sand is compact, no gravel, easy to walk. There’s also an outhouse with a bit of a ramp up that is barrier-free.

    4. None of the trails are wheelchair accessible. The Superior Trail isn’t really appropriate for anyone with a mobility issue / using mobility aids.

    Rainbow Falls Trail is boardwalk the whole way, which is nice... but there are a LOT of stairs. I mean .. A LOT.

    So if you’re in a walking boot or using a cane, it should be fine, but definitely not wheelchair accessible.

    Beyond that...

    Barrier-Free Facilities

    The Rossport Comfort station has a barrier-free shower, and a single-stall unisex barrier-free washroom. (The multi-stall washrooms do no have wheelchair accessible stalls.)

    There’s a single designated disabled parking spot, and that’s the only parking at that comfort station. The side that has the parking spot is the only barrier-free access to the building - there’s a set of stairs at one corner, and a rough, uphill trail at another.

    The Whitesand Lake Comfort Station is two buildings.

    The first is just washrooms. There’s a barrier-free stall in the multi-stall washroom, as well as a larger, single stall unisex barrier-free washroom.

    The second building has the laundry room and the showers, where there’s a single barrier-free shower.

    4 part image showing  then barrier free facilities at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park.
    Row 1: Rossport Comfort Station
    Row 2: Whitesand Lake Comfort Station
    Row 3: West Beach Outhouse
    Barrier-Free Campsites

    Each of the two campgrounds has a single barrier-free campsite.

    In the Rossport Campground, that’s site #30 - located almost directly across from the comfort station.

    It has a wheelchair accessible style picnic table, and one of the taller style fire pits. This one is gets a lot of daylight, there’s not a lot of tree cover.

    The barrier-free campsite in Whitesand Lake Campgrond is site #5. It’s also located across from that campground’s comfort station, with the back of the campsite backing out onto the main campground road.

    There’s an opening in the fence there, with the road side of the fence marked to warn that it’s only access for that campsite. I imagine people cut through it often.

    Anyway, this one is a large campsite, but not super level. It has a wheelchair-accessible picnic table and a regular fire pit.

    This site has heavy tree cover. One thing to keep in mind - for certain times of year - when we visited it late June 2026, this site was completely infested with cankerworms. I’ve never seen so many in one place in my life. So gross.

    4 part image showing  the Barrier free campsites at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park.
    Row 1: Rossport Campground
    Row 2: Whitesand Lake Campground

    Pets

    Dogs aren’t allowed on the beach at Rossport Campground, but there’s a really nice leash-free pet exercise area and dog beach at the Whitesand Lake campground - several kilometers up the highway.

    This is in the section that’s open for the entire camping season, btw - not in the gated off area.

    It has a small parking lot, which leads to an open area with a few small, looping trail areas around it. There’s a picnic table and a fire pit there.

    There’s a short set of steps down to a private dog beach, on Whitesand Lake. Dogs are not allowed on the main beach in the Whitesand Lake Campground.

    Aside from that area, dogs are required to be on leashes at all times, and owners are expected to pick up - and properly dispose of - their dog’s droppings.

    5 part image showing various views of the off leash dog area and beach at rainbow falls provincial park.
    Off Leash Dog Beach

    Parking

    Overall, the parking situation seems pretty decent, for the size of the campground being supported. None of the parking areas we used at the Whitesand Lake Campground were busy at all.

    Then again, those parking lots were just supporting the Rossport Campground campers - they didn’t need much in the way of parking.

    It’s hard to say how the parking lots may fare in the summer, when the other campground is open.

    Update: None of the parking lots were very busy at all during our June 2025 stay.

    Pink and green aurora boreals over 2 RVs.

    Miscellaneous

    So, a couple things to mention:

    1. After the horrible stay at White Lake Provincial Park, I made a point of googling “train” with “Rainbow Falls”, and it really didn’t bring anything up.

    ... there was a train. It was relatively close - you could hear the rattle of the tracks - and it didn’t blare the horn as much as the one at White Lake did, but it was definitely there, and it was annoying. This was during our Rossport stay - we didn’t hear it from our site in the Whitesand Lake campground.

    2. Rainbow Falls is in an area of low light pollution, and is fantastic for star gazing, especially down on the Lake Superior shoreline. We got a few good photos of the Milky Way over Lake Superior.

    The milky way over lake superior.
    Milky Way
    That said... not great for Northern Lights viewing.

    There WAS Aurora Borealis activity on one of the nights of our stay, but the best view we could get was down on the lake, looking back up over the campground.
    There were headlights from the highway that would ruin some photos, and the treeline is definitely too close to get great photos.

    That said, East Beach in the Whitesand Lake is *probably * a good place to see the northern lights... if it’s open at the time of the auroral activity.

    It was not open during the relatively big show we got on an earlier trip, but we were able to check it out during a small show of Northern Lights in 2025.

    The clouds got in our way and were just getting worse as the night started to finally get dark enough, so we didn’t get any great photos... but we can tell you that the East Beach is definitely going to be the best north facing view in the park.

    Don’t bother at the falls - the north view is blocked by a way-too-close treeline.

    A nighttime view over whitesand lake.
    North View from East Beach

    Campground Amenities & Info

    Here’s some basic information on the amenities offered at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park:

    Creature Comforts

    There are two comfort stations at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park - one in the Rossport Campground, and one in the Whitesand Lake Campground.

    Both are designated as barrier free, with flush toilets, showers, and laundry facilities.

    Rossport Campground Comfort Station

    The Rossport Campground comfort station has two regular showers, a barrier-free shower, 2 multi-stall gendered washrooms, a single-stall unisex barrier-free washroom, and a tiny laundry room.

    The washer was $3.50/load, the dryer was $2.75 a load (Loonies and quarters for both), and a vending machine sold detergents and dryer sheets for $1/box.

    There was also a first aid kit in the laundry room.

    4 part image showing  the Rossport Campground comfort station at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park.
    Rossport Campground Comfort Station
    Whitesand Lake Campground Comfort Station

    The comfort station in the Whitesand Lake Campground is actually two buildings, along with a tiny picnic gazebo, and a bear-resistant food locker in the same area.

    The first is basically just a washrooms building, with two multi-stall, gendered washrooms, as well as a single-stall unisex barrier free washroom.

    The second building is set just back from the first building - this is where the laundry facilities and showers are.

    There are four regular showers - with shower curtains! - and a single barrier-free shower.

    The laundry room is bigger than the Rossport Comfort station, with two washers and two dryers... as well as a first aid kit and an defibrillator.

    There was some weird pricing going on with the laundry machines during our June 2026 visit.

    One of the dryers was $3.75/load, the other was $4.00/load. The $4 one had a note saying that it’s temporary pricing as they fix their machines.

    Anyway, the washers were $2.75/load. All machines appeared to take Loonies and quarters.

    Whitesand Lake Comfort Station

    Park Store

    There’s no standalone park store at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park, but there’s a small selection of souvenirs and camping supplies available at the Rossport Campground gatehouse.

    You can also buy ice and firewood there.

    2 part image showing the inside of the rossport campground gatehouse, including a small camp store.
    Rossport Campground Store

    There was a similar selection in the Whitesand Lake Campground office, during our 2025 visit:

    2 part image showing the whitesand lake campground store.
    The Whitesand Lake Park Store

    Visitor Centre

    There is no Visitor Centre at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park.

    Day Use Area

    There are a few day use areas across the two campgrounds, though not all of them were publicly accessible at the time of our visit.

    The Rossport Campground has a small picnic shelter, as well as some picnic tables along the grassy area, overlooking the Lake Superior Beach. There’s even a firepit!

    2 part image showing a small picnic shelter and picnic area on the side of lake superior.
    Rossport Campground Day Use
    Over at the Whitesand Lake Campground, the East Beach area - including the picnic shelter, playground, and boat launch - were gated off during our first stay, but we got to check it out in 2025.

    It’s a cute enough area, but I guess I was expecting a bit bigger, based on the map. It’s a small grassy area, a picnic shelter, and a tiny beach.

    4 part image showing the East Beach Day Use Area in the whitesand lake campground of rainbow falls provincial park.
    The East Beach Day Use Area
    The West Beach day use area was accessible during both stays, though - it was cute! A small, clean beach with several picnic tables scattered around it.

    There’s a firepit with a few park benches around it, as well.

    There’s also the aforementioned dog beach area, as well as a picnic table early on, on the Rainbow Falls Trail. It’s on a big wooden deck, overlooking the lake and the start of the falls.

    4 part image showing  the west beach day use area at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park.
    West Beach Day Use Area

    There is also a small playground in the Whitesand Lake Campground.

    The Rainbow Falls Provincial park playground.

    Rentals

    The park rents out bicycles, canoes, kayaks, paddle boats, and water bikes. This is handled out of the Whitesand Lake Gatehouse.

    2 part image showing racks of rentals canoes and kayaks.

    Campsite Details

    As mentioned, there are two separate campgrounds:

    Whitesand Lake Campground

    On the north side of Highway 17 (The Trans-Canada Highway), the Whitesand Lake location offers about 100 wooded sites.

    About half of these sites have electrical service, a few are pull-through sites, and a few are near the shores of Whitesand Lake.

    8 part image showing various campsites at rainbow falls provincial park.
    Some of the Whitesand Lake Campsites
    There were a lot of campsite cleaning stations - a rack with a rake and shovel for campers to borrow - scattered throughout the Whitesand Lake Campground area.

    Also - a lot of the campsites had sunken fire pits, which was cool to see. (Ours was a regular one though).

    A stand with a rake and a shovel.
    One of the Clean Up Stations.
    That said, our campsite - #38 - ended up being probably the cutest campsite we saw in the Whitesands Lake campground. It was on its own little offshoot, just past a small parking area.

    No one used that parking lot during our stay, so the site felt extra secluded and private.

    From our RV, we had a cute view of a rock ledge and forest as the backdrop to our picnic table and fire pit.

    2 part image showing a campsite with a rock cliff behind it.
    Our Campsite in Whitesand Lake

    Rossport Campground

    On the south side of Highway17, there’s the Rossport campground location - a much smaller campground, on the rugged shore of Lake Superior.

    This is where we stayed during our 2024 trip, and it’s our favourite of the two camping areas at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park.

    2 part image showing a small, wide open campground.
    Rossport Campground
    There are only 36 sites - and it honestly doesn’t even feel like that many! - about ⅔ of which are electrical sites. All have a fire pit and a picnic table, and about a dozen of the sites have water views.

    It IS wide open, with very little in the way of privacy... but it was a surprisingly quiet place, at least during our visit.

    8 part image showing various campsites from the rossport campground at rainbow falls provincial park.
    A few of the campsites we saw.
    On one of our morning walks on the beach, we came to a little rocky inlet, with a couple kayaks resting there on the rocky outcrops.

    We realized that it was likely the back of someone’s campsite! We think maybe site #21, but it could be #25.

    Imagine walking out of the back of your campsite to THIS! Probably the best lake front site I’ve ever seen!

    A rocky inlet with a sandy beach and campsite behind it.
    This is behind someone's campsite!
    Our Campsite

    We may not have had a private little inlet to ourselves, but we had an AWESOME site.

    Wide open view over Lake Superior, with a little path through the embankment, down to the beach.

    Immediately behind our campsite was the little stream where McLean’s Creek ran into Lake Superior, which was a salmon run at the time of our visit!

    I’d never seen salmon head upstream, so I spent a fair amount of time down there, watching nature happen.

    2 part image showing a campsite with lake superior and a beach behind it.
    Our Campsite

    Share the Love!

    If you’ve made one of our recipes, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you post it to Bluesky, be sure to tag us - @2NerdsInATruck, or you can tag us on TikTok, if you’re posting video. We're also on Pinterest, so you can save all your favourite recipes and park reviews to your own boards!

    Also, be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of our nonsense. Well, the published nonsense, anyway!

    Entertainment and Activity

    Some basic information on the outdoor experiences you can participate in while staying at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park:

    Hiking

    There are 3 main hiking trails in the park, plus a few extensions off them. Here’s some information on the trails:

    Back 40 Trail / Back 40 Lookout Trail - 3.5 km, Moderate/Difficult

    This trail was in the gated area of the park, so we didn’t end up doing it during our first trip. Per the trail map, though, it starts out with a 0.57 km trail, which leads to a 1.5 km loop.

    128 metres from where the loop starts (when going counter-clockwise), there’s an offshoot trail - the Back Forty Lookout Trail.

    No distance is given for that one, but according to our MapMyRun data, it's 0.5 km, each way.

    The site description says it’s an old road that “climbs steeply”, taking you up for views of Whitesand Lake and the surrounding area.

    June 2026 Update:

    Porter has now done this set of trails, here’s what he had to say about them:

    4 part image showing various views along the Back 40 Trail at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park.
    Back 40 Trail
    Back 40 Trail

    “Beginning at the parking lot for the boat launch and beach, the trail is a gravel road, pretty smooth and flat. This part of the trail is easy and would be barrier-free if not for the giant metal gate you immediately encounter.

    There's no way around the gate, you have to duck under it. It's pretty frustrating to see this kind of intentional barrier on a walking trail, when there are many easy ways to prevent cars from going down the road, and still allow maintenance vehicles access.

    The wide path splits to a loop, both will bring you to the Back 40 Lookout Trail but the right branch will get you there much faster.

    Wildflowers line the sides of the road and birds sing but were staying up high during my visit. The forest is thick and you can't really see the water, even though you're hiking pretty close to the water's edge for some of the trail.

    At 1.1 km if you take the loop clockwise, there's a branch off to the right with no signage. There aren't any trailblazes on this loop at all, and there definitely should be one at this junction.

    It turns out the right-hand branch is the continuation of the trail; to the left is a road to some private land. The road is now a narrower dirt road, narrow for vehicles but still an easy walk.

    There are some moderate hills, but overall this is an easy trail. Overall the Back 40 Trail loop is a nice walk through the woods, nothing too special.

    I see it as a way to get to the lookout, but I think it would be a nice easy trail for small kids or those with some mobility issues.”

    4 part image showing various views along the Back 40 Trail at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park.
    Back 40 Trail
    Back 40 Lookout Trail

    “From the Back 40 Trail a sign directs you to the right toward the lookout. The trail immediately is narrow and moderate in difficulty, hilly with roots serving as steps. A short while later the trail becomes difficult. Multiple sections of steep boulders to climb, very steep inclines.

    One spot even has a rope to assist climbing or descending. It had rained the night before my hike, so the path was slippery and even had some trickling water in areas. It's quite a workout to get to the top of this trail.

    The views get more intensely boreal, with mosses, lichens, and blueberry plants all around the rocky landscape. There are few trailblazes, and it could use some more in a couple of areas where small paths (animal tracks?) make you wonder for a moment if you're still on the right path.

    You arrive at a large flat boulder with a terrific lookout over the surrounding area. Probably about 120° view of the forest and water.”

    4 part image showing various views along the Back 40 Lookout Trail at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park.
    Back 40 Lookout Trail
    “The trail actually continues up for another 10-20 meters, putting you at another smaller boulder lookout. This gives you a slightly better view of one small area, but trees obscure more of the view, perhaps only 45° of viewing area.

    This means the lower lookout is actually the better place to hang out, so if you're sick of climbing at that point, you can safely skip that last portion.

    I clocked the distance of the Back 40 Trail plus the Back 40 Lookout Trail to be 3.74km. I recommend taking the right branch and skipping most of the Back 40 Trail Loop. This would put the distance at about 2.5km.”

    4 part image showing various views along the Back 40 Lookout Trail at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park.
    Back 40 Lookout Trail

    Rainbow Falls Trail - 2.2 km, Moderate/Difficult

    This trail is listed as being 1.1 km, but it’s really more of a “choose your own adventure” kind of thing.

    Starting out from the parking lot, you come to the park’s namesake waterfalls pretty quickly, with a nice deck type overlook over the start of the falls.

    From there, it’s a series of stairs and boardwalk sections that follow the cascading waters of rainbow falls for about 0.3 km, to the bridge that crosses the falls / Hewiston River.

    4 part image showing various views along the rainbow falls trail at rainbow falls provincial park.
    Rainbow Falls Trail
    Along that 300 metres or so, there were a few breaks in the boardwalk siding that let you walk out onto the rock ledges of Rainbow Falls, should you choose to do so.

    These gave you the BEST views, IMHO - but involved some steep rocks, roots, uneven footing, etc.

    As you go down the final steps to the bridge, you can look down to the right and see the moss-covered remnants of an earlier set of stairs.

    Anyway, the bridge gives you some nice views up and down stream - and that’s where I ended my trail, each time. So, for me the trail ended up being about 0.6 km, round trip

    4 part image showing various views along the rainbow falls trail at rainbow falls provincial park.
    Rainbow Falls Trail
    On one occasion, Porter continued along the trail on the other side of the bridge - it ceased to be boardwalk, and immediately turned into a very steep, very rough trail up.

    I’ll let him tell you about it:

    4 part image showing various views along the rainbow falls trail at rainbow falls provincial park.
    Rainbow Falls Trail
    “The trail gets much more difficult at this point, with steep inclines and rocky paths, winding up with some great forest views.

    There's a sign that says "picnic table ahead" which I found amusing because it looked like a warning sign. The picnic table near the top is a great place to rest if needed.

    I planned on going to the outlook then returning.

    I reached the outlook sign and was a bit disappointed - A lot of the view was obstructed by nearby trees!

    I decided to keep going some more, and I'm very glad I did. Within a couple hundred meters were three more outlooks, each with progressively better views.

    At that point the trail looked to go away from the cliff edge, into the forest more. I decided to turn around at that point.

    I wish I had time to keep going, it is a really nice trail if you can handle the difficulty.”

    4 part image showing various views along the rainbow falls trail at rainbow falls provincial park.
    Rainbow Falls Trail - Beyond the Bridge
    The Extension Trails

    Had he continued along that trail, he’d have been on the 52km Casque Isles Trail section of the Voyageur Trail.

    This is a very challenging hike, known for some rugged trail conditions, amazing panoramic views of Lake Superior, and a few Red Chairs along the way.

    This section of the trail leads to the village of Rossport.

    If you exit the campground and cross the highway (a little to the west of the gate), you can access the Schreiber Channel Segment of the Casque Isle Trail, which is another 13 km long segment of trail.

    This section takes you to / through locations such as Twin Harbours, Flint Island, Winston Point Lookout and Selim Lookout.

    You can continue along the same trail all the way out to the communities of Terrace Bay and Shrieber, including Terrace Bay Beach and the trail terminus at Aguasabon Falls & Gorge, should you so choose.

    4 part image showing various views along the rainbow falls trail at rainbow falls provincial park.
    Rainbow Falls Trail - Beyond the Bridge

    Superior Trail - 1.1 km, Moderate to Difficult.

    This trail is 1.1 km long on the trail itself. You can do it as a 2.2 km return trail, or walk back to your starting point along the campground road.

    Neither trail head is particularly well marked, we accessed it via the parking lot at the Dog Beach.

    Porter did this one alone, so I’ll let him tell you about it:

    4 part image showing various views along the superior trail at rainbow falls provincial park.
    Superior Trail
    “I started this trail at the dog beach parking, and I think this direction was good because there were some inclines that I believe to be easier in this direction.

    It starts off with a lengthy section of boardwalks - a string of separate short walkways placed nearly end-to-end. Then it has multiple steep areas, very rocky. It's definitely a difficult trail, though pretty short.

    The views from the top of the giant boulders are amazing, well worth the climb.

    There's a rope on one boulder, to help you up or down, but I didn't need it. I love that it's available though!

    The trail ends at the road and you can could turn around and go back, or follow the road back to the parking lot.

    I chose to follow the road, which doesn't offer a great view but is faster.”

    4 part image showing various views along the superior trail at rainbow falls provincial park.
    Superior Trail

    Biking

    There aren’t any dedicated bike trails at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park, but guests are welcome to go cycling on the campground roads.

    The park also rents out bicycles and helmets, on request.

    Lake superior shoreline with waves and sunshine.

    Swimming

    There are a few swimming areas across the two campgrounds, which offer wildly different swimming experiences.

    If you’re looking for sandy beaches, you’ll want to head to the warm inland waters of Whitesand Lake. The east beach is only open for part of the camping season, though.

    4 part image showing  the East Beach at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park.
    East Beach
    If you’re not up for driving ~5 km to seek out the warmer inland waters of Whitesand Lake, there’s always the cooler Lake Superior experience, with a rocky beach and crystal clear water.

    I LOVE the rocks on the Rossport Beach - every colour of granite stone you could imagine. I even saw a bright yellow stone with white and black inclusions.

    If you’re going to swim in Lake Superior, just be mindful of the undertow - especially at the mouth of McLean’s Creek.

    4 part image showing  rossport campground beach at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park.
    Rossport Campground Beach

    Birding, Wildlife, and Nature

    When we pulled up, we weren’t under then impression that we’d see much in the way of birds.

    Over the course of our stay, though, we didn’t do too poorly!

    We saw Rusty Blackbirds for the first time, right in our campsite... and both Bald Eagles and Golden Eagles flew overhead, as we photographed them from the beach below our RV.

    While we didn’t see or hear anything along the boardwalk trail (the falls were pretty loud!), the short walk from the parking lot to the first platform on Rainbow Falls trail *erupted* with bird activity.

    Overall, we saw : American Crow, American Robin, Bald Eagle, Black-Capped Chickadee, Common Raven, Dark-Eyed Junco, Golden-Crowned Kinglet, Golden Eagle, Hairy Woodpecker, Ruffed Grouse, Rusty Blackbird, Turkey Vulture, and White-Throated Sparrow.

    ... and we heard: Fox Sparrow, Great Horned Owl, Northern Flicker, and Northern Parula.

    9 piece image showing the birds listed below.
    Row 1: American Crow, American Pipit, Bald Eagle
    Row 2: Downy Woodpecker, Golden Eagle, Ruffed Grouse
    Row 3: Ruffed Grouse, Rusty Blackbird, Turkey Vulture

    As has been the case with our camping late summer - early fall, we saw a nice variety of mushrooms and other fungi:

    24 part image showing a variety of colourful mushrooms and other fungi.
    Just a few of the fungi varieties we saw,

    2025 & 2026 Birding Update

    The absolute highlight of the second visit was seeing a grouse mama with a bunch of tiny little babies crossing the road to the falls. The little fuzzbutts running around were SO ridiculously cute!

    Aside from that, so far - over several stays - we have heard and/or seen:

    American Crow, American Herring Gull, American Pipit, American Redstart, American Robin, Bald Eagle, Bay-Breasted Warbler, Belted Kingfisher, Blackburnian Warbler, Black-Capped Chickadee, Black-Throated Blue Warbler, Black-Throated Green Warbler, Blue-Headed Vireo, Cedar Waxwing, Chipping Sparrow, Common Loon, Common Merganser, Common Raven, Dark-Eyed Junco, European Starling, Fox Sparrow, Golden-Crowned Kinglet, Golden Eagle, Great Horned Owl, Hairy Woodpecker, Magnolia Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Northern Flicker, Northern Mockingbird, Northern Parula, Northern Yellow Warbler, Ovenbird, Pine Siskin, Red-Breasted Nuthatch, Red-Eyed Vireo, Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, Ruffed Grouse, Rusty Blackbird, Swainson’s Thrush, Tennessee Warbler, Turkey Vulture, White-Crowned Sparrow, White-Throated Sparrow, Winter Wren, Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher, and Yellow-Rumped Warbler.

    A ruffed grouse with 2 baby grouse on the road.

    Also in June 2025 AND June 2026, we saw a bunch of wild orchids growing in the park!

    A pink lady slipper orchid.

    Boating

    Lake Superior is the largest fresh water lake - with a total surface area of over 31,700 square miles (over 82,000 square kilometres), you can imagine that Rainbow Falls Provincial Park is a popular spot for a variety of water sports.

    Apparently, canoeing and kayaking on Lake Superior is similar to doing so on an ocean, which I find cool.

    That said, there’s no actual boat launch at the Rossport Campground, or anywhere in the park where you can launch onto Lake Superior.

    A small power boat on lake superior.

    There IS a boat launch at Whitesand Lake - but it was gated off, and far enough off from the gate that we were unable to see it during our first visit.

    It was a really small boat launch, and you have to drive right out onto the beach to get to it. Also, the cement pad of the boat launch starts a few feet out into the lake itself, and has a bit of a lip on the front edge of it, where it sits on top of the sand.

    Those boating on Whitesand Lake are required to avoid swimming areas, as well as the area above the falls.

    2 part image showing a small boat launch and dock on Whitesand Lake
    The Boat Launch

    Fishing

    Fishing happens in a few areas at Rainbow Falls provincial Park:

    On Whitesand River, you’re likely to find Brook Trout.

    If you go out on Whitesand Lake, you can expect to find Bass and Lake Trout.

    For those who venture out onto Lake Superior, expect to find Lake Trout, Rainbow Trout, Salmon, and Whitefish.

    A family fishing on a small boat on lake superior.

    We were shocked to find salmon running upstream right behind our campsite!

    I had originally assumed them to be trout - thinking salmon was quite a bit bigger than what I was seeing - but it turned out that they were pink salmon.

    My cousin works at Quetico, and was able to identify them for me. Unfortunately, she told me that by the time they run into the streams - and turn the colour they were in my photos - that they weren’t any good to eat.

    I don’t want my first fishing experience to be for mushy fish, so we skipped attempting it. Which, really, is probably for the best.

    Fishing for them after they finally get intro that stream after SO much effort... seems kind of mean, TBH.

    I did kind of want to scoop them up out of the lake and transport them upstream a bit, though. They were definitely having serious difficulty fighting the stream out.

    4 part image showing salmon in a salmon run at rainbow falls provincial park.
    The Salmon Run

    Discovery Program

    As with most of the parks, Rainbow Falls Provincial Park runs a Discovery Program during the summer.

    It sounds like this is mostly the Exploration Station / Discovery Activity Book, exclusively in July and August.

    We didn’t see any facilities where other programming or events may take place, nor did we see any old event calendar signage left up from the summertime.. So no real idea what may have been on offer!

    During our June 2026 visit, we DID see a schedule, though. Looks fun!

    A sheet of scheduled Discovery programming details.

    Miscellaneous

    While the campgrounds are both gated during the winter, the campground roads are “open” for cross-country skiing.

    Niantic Games

    There were a couple Ingress Portals / Pokestops / Gyms in the Rossport Campground, and we were in range of one in our own campsite.

    There were a few more in the Whitesand Lake campground, mostly at the Rainbow Falls Trail head / parking lot area. Plenty of cell phone connectivity in both places (Rogers).

    A seating bench overlooking one set of waterfalls at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park.

    Final Thoughts

    So, kind of a mixed bag on this one. I liked that there was easy access to the campground, directly off the Transcanada Highway.

    Loved, loved, LOVED our first campsite. It wasn’t great for privacy, but that VIEW - and the salmon run! - were spectacular. The second one was nice, but really - hard to compete with a lakeside site!

    We were lucky to have a lot of wind/big waves during our first stay, which muted the train noise a fair amount. On a calm day... that could have been a lot more miserable.

    There wasn’t a lot in the way of amenities or activities available at the time of our stay, but we LOVED the Rainbow Falls Trail. I can’t think of any other trail - anywhere -that we’ve done multiple times on a trip, never mind 3 times in one day.

    The situation with the separate campgrounds was annoying, especially with the 4pm gating on the one that had all the trails, etc. The sunlight would have been best over the falls AFTER the 4pm close time in the fall, so that wasn’t ideal.

    Overall though, I’d say that the campsite view + the Rainbow Falls trail were strong enough pros to bring the whole experience into a net positive.

    Rocky shoreline on lake superior.

    More Northern Ontario Provincial Parks & Places to See

    Want to read some more about the parks we've camped and at places we've seen in Northern Ontario? Here are some more posts!

    Northern Ontario Campground Reviews:

    Aaron Provincial Park
    Agawa Bay Campground, Lake Superior Provincial Park
    Blue Lake Provincial Park
    Caliper Lake Provincial Park
    Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park
    MacLeod Provincial Park
    Neys Provincial Park
    Ojibway Provincial Park
    Pakwash Provincial Park
    Pancake Bay Provincial Park
    Pukaskwa National Park
    Quetico Provincial Park
    Rabbit Blanket Lake, Lake Superior Provincial Park
    Rushing River Provincial Park
    Sandbar Lake Provincial Park
    Sioux Narrows Provincial Park
    Sleeping Giant Provincial Park
    White Lake Provincial Park

    Northern Ontario Places to See:

    Aguasabon Falls & Gorge
    Amethyst Mine Panorama
    Batchawana Bay
    Bridgeview Lookout Tower
    Chippewa Falls
    Kakabeka Falls
    Little Falls Scenic Lookout, Atikokan
    Mink Creek Falls
    Old Woman Bay
    Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park
    Potholes Provincial Park
    Roy Wilson Suspension Bridge
    Sand River Falls
    Scenic High Falls
    Schreiber Beach
    Temagami Fire Tower
    Terrace Bay Beach
    Terrace Bay Lighthouse
    Terry Fox National Historic Monument
    Wawa Goose
    Winnie the Pooh Memorial

    Want to explore beyond Northern Ontario? Check out our full list of Campground Reviews, Ontario Waterfalls, and other Places to See.

    We also have a ton of Camping Recipes to cook up, while on your adventures!

    One set of waterfalls at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park.

    Thanks for Reading!

    If you loved this post - or have any questions about it - please leave a comment below! We'd also love it if you would consider sharing the link on social media!

    One set of waterfalls at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park.

    Lake superior shoreline with waves.

    Rossport Campground Beach at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park.

    One set of waterfalls at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park.

    One set of waterfalls at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park.

    One set of waterfalls at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park.

    One set of waterfalls at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park.

    More Campground Reviews

    • A wooden boardwalk extending over a marsh at Achray Campground on a sunny day.
      Achray Campground
    • Six Mile Lake at sunrise.
      Six Mile Lake Provincial Park
    • Falls and a bridge on the aux sables river.
      Chutes Provincial Park
    • A pastel sunset over Lake Superior.
      Neys Provincial Park

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    The 2 Nerds in a Truck logo - a cartoon RV, wearing nerd glasses over the headlights.

    2 Nerds in a Truck


    Two Nerds buy an RV... Hilarity ensues!

    Well, maybe not hilarity... but a lot of DIY, camp cooking, travel, and general fun!

    More about us... →


    Join us on Social Media

    Youtube Logo. Pinterest Logo - White on red background. BlueSky Logo - White on Blue background. TikTok Logo Icon

    Most Recent Posts

    • 3 large pieces of Indian Fry bread on a plate, on a wooden dock.
      Frybread
    • A bench overlooking the barron canyon.
      Barron Canyon Trail
    • A yellow-rumped warbler screaming at the photographer.
      Fielding Bird Sanctuary
    • Grilled chicken quesadillas on a plate with sour cream and cilantro.
      Grilled Chicken Quesadillas

    Footer

    About

    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

    Newsletter

    • Click here to sign up for emails and updates

    Our Other Blogs

    • Celebration Generation
    • Beyond Flour
    • Low Carb Hoser
    • Spandex Simplified
    • Protein Powder Ideas
    • Marie Back on Ice
    • Autism Rants

    Note: This site is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for the site to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites. While we’ll only ever link to items that we, personally, wholeheartedly recommend, we do need to put that disclosure out there!

    Copyright © 2024 Foodie Pro on the Foodie Pro Theme

    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.