Screaming Heads

During a recent stay at Arrowhead Provincial Park, we took a day out to go check out Mikisew Provincial Park, less than an hour away.

As the small town of Burks Falls is right on the route between the two, I took advantage of proximity to check another unique place of my “Places to See” bucket list map: Screaming Heads!

This large outdoor attraction is the work of Canadian Artist Peter Camani - a retired art teacher - and is both his private residence AND home of his sculptures.

The art pieces start as soon as you enter the front gate - the first thing you see is a row of the titular screaming heads, and a funky spider web gate separating the parking lot from the artist’s home.

Camani’s private home is an old farmhouse that he converted into “Midlothian Castle”, which is something that needs to be seen to be believed.

You can see some of it through - and around - the gate, like the lofted giant head that serves as the artist’s studio.

Apparently you can sometimes go in and look around - if the gate is open - and see it all up close.

The descriptions I’ve read are all wild - a knight and a warrior princess, a smoke-breathing dragon (I’m not sure if that’s the two-headed dragon I see mention of, or another one!), and more!

The gate was closed during our visit, which I guess was for the best. It was super hot out that day, so we weren’t able to spend THAT much time out in the direct sun.

That said, we had a ton of fun walking around a good chunk of the 310-acre property that afternoon, and have a ton of photos to share.

Let us tell you all about it!

The Basics:

Location Name: Screaming Heads of Midlothian
Address: 981 Midlothian Road, Burk's Falls, ON P0A 1C0
Website: Peter Camani's Facebook Page
Price: None set, there is a donation box on site.
Reservations: Not applicable.
Season: Open year round.

Maps and Signage

Weirdly, we came across two different addresses for Screaming Heads, when mapping there. The one listed above seems to be accurate, but 925-1201 Midlothian Rd came up as well.

On the drive to the property, we noticed more sculptures across the street. I’m not sure if that was part of the actual attraction, or more like... a neighbour also displaying his artwork.

There aren’t any maps on the site - and very little in the way of signage - so we didn’t explore beyond the obvious attraction. Didn’t want to unintentionally veer onto private property!

The signage we did see was mostly of the “don’t do these things” and “you’re visiting at your own risk” variety.

Connectivity

We had decent internet connection around the parking lot area, and for the first bit of our adventure.

Because there weren’t any maps, we were using the Pokemon Go app to give us an idea of the layout, where the trails went, etc. (It’s honestly the BEST app for such things!).

It worked really well, until somewhere on the other side of the pond. We lost signal entirely, and had no idea where any of the trails went from that point on!

So... spotty coverage.

Parking

There’s a pretty large parking lot as soon as you enter the property. It was definitely ample for the day we went - we even saw an RV / Trailer parked there.

The caveat: I’d imagine that a Wednesday afternoon has far fewer visitors than a weekend, so I could definitely imagine it getting pretty packed on other days of the week.

Washrooms

There is a row of Porta-Potties on the edge of the parking lot, these were the only washroom facilities we saw during our trip.

As it was a hot day and they were in full sun... we waited til we got back to our RV. So, no idea what condition they were in, inside.

Park Store

There was a little marketplace along one side of the parking lot, during our trip. I’m not sure of the hours / permanence of the shops.

They were a mix of tents and little wooden vendor cabins, and had a very “Ren Fest Vendor” feel to them. One of the tents was a farmer’s market, one of the cabins was selling jewelry and baubles, and some of the others appeared to be for paintings and such.

They weren’t all open at the time of our trip, though.

Accessibility

So, I’ve seen a few references to the attraction being wheelchair accessible, but I’d take that with a big grain of salt.

The PortaPotties aren’t the barrier-free kind, and most of the trails are pretty rough.

There’s a main central trail that’s wide and well-packed, but rocky in places, and with some inclines. I could see that maybe being accessible - especially with an all terrain chair.

As my husband said... “it may be wheelchair accessible, but it’s not wheelchair friendly!”

You can see a fair amount of the sculptures from that trail, but mostly from a distance.

In terms of other mobility issues, a few areas are REALLY rough, but there’s enough little offshoots and connected mini trails that if you come to an area you don’t want to risk navigating, you can back up and go elsewhere.

I was having a bad tendon day that day, and had a bit of trouble with the trails on the other side of the pond, but got by OK enough.

I would have been able to do them all if I’d been in a boot. Had I been using a cane, I would have had a bit of difficulty at one place, but would have been able to get through.

The caveat there is that some of the trails are steep / packed grass, so it probably gets REALLY slippery after rain or dew.

I don’t know about all of them, but my walking boot has absolutely no grip at all in slippery situations.

Beyond all of that, there aren’t really any places to sit down, other than just on the grass.

Pets

We didn’t see any dogs when we were there, and the only reference we saw to dogs was a “take your dog poop with you” sign.

So, I’m guessing they’re OK, as long as pet owners are respectful about the droppings.

Artist Bio

Sculptor Peter Camani is a retired high school art teacher who actually grew up in the city we live in - Hamilton.

He taught at Almaguin Highlands Secondary School in South River, and started working on Screaming Heads in the early 1980s.

After he retired from teaching in 2008, he continued developing his property, which he built up from cleared farmland. All those trees, the pond - all his work.

It was actually pretty wild to walk around knowing that, and imagining the land without the trees, water features, and artwork. He put a TON of work into the property over the years!

Anyway, he’s been featured on TV several times, from the CBC series On The Road Again, to MTV's Extreme Cribs.

He was also the subject of “Concrete Ambitions”, a 1996 documentary film.

I haven’t been able to find any of those shows or the documentary streaming anywhere, though. Unfortunate - I bet they’re fascinating!

The Screaming Heads

While the whole place is named “Screaming Heads” - and there are plenty of screaming face sculptures around the property, there are a few different themes going on across them.

There’s the “four horsemen of the apocalypse”, hand sculptures, and more... and these giant sculptures are all arranged to form the shape of a dragon - when viewed from above.

Camani has apparently said that the sculptures were partly inspired by the concept of duality, and uses the sun’s light to reflect this in his work. As the sun rises and sets, each sculpture has a light side and a dark side, which reverse over the course of the day.

Another concept he’s incorporated into the screaming heads is the idea of them serving as a warning against environmental degradation, that the sculptures represent “the earth rebelling against what we’re doing to the land.”

I’m, uh... I guess I have some questions about using thousands of tonnes of concrete to comment on environmental degradation, but that’s just me.

The Walking Trails

The trails are kind of a random web, covering a lot of area. A main trail will take you past woods and a pond filled with lilypads and ducks, and you’ll get a good view of most of the park, from a distance.

Going off on the smaller, more rustic trails will take you through grassy areas to get closer look at the various different areas of the sculpture garden

Most of the paths are going to be relatively easy for most people - some hills, some rocky areas - but we didn’t come across anything too wild.

The area around the back side of the pond was the most difficult we came across, so if you have issues with uneven ground, I’d avoid it.

Also: Definitely bring some bug spray, both for the mosquitos, and the grass you’ll likely end up walking through.

Metal Framework Structures

One thing that stood out to us were the giant metal sculptures that looked like fancy versions of the climbing structures we loved as kids. Some were basic domes, some were shaped.

One looked like a spaceship!

... and each had a sign telling people NOT to climb on them.

After wondering if they were some kind of artist commentary on something - denial, maybe - I wondered if maybe they were actual building structures.

That if you’d covered them with fabric, they’d make interesting venues.

As it turns out, I was right - they get covered up and used as performance venues for an EDM music festival.

Harvest Festival looks to be an annual event, and I’m shocked I hadn’t heard of it before - House music, techno - RIGHT up my alley!

And it’s a big public event that actually has commentary encouraging people to stay home if symptomatic for anything!

We’ll definitely have to check it out sometime.

The Ferry

At one point, my husband exclaimed “Is that a FERRY? THAT’S A FERRY!” while pointing down at what I thought was a little wooden covered dock or gazebo.

Upon our return, I Googled - he was right. Apparently it’s a little hand-crank ferry, to get to the other side of that little water feature.

Weird, but cool. Kinda wish we’d taken a closer look!

Disc Golf

We noticed a few white disc golf ... targets? Goalposts? ... around the property, but they didn’t look like they’d been in use for a WHILE.

There was also a memorial with a mini version of one of them, so we kind of assumed that the rest of them were basically the disc golf equivalent of Ghost Bikes, memorializing a lost loved one.

I looked it up after the fact - the memorial was for Dušan Nedelko, who was a fixture in the Ontario disc golf scene.

There’s a foundation named after him - Dušan Nedelko Foundation - dedicated to enriching the lives of young people through outdoor activities.

Screaming Heads hosts memorial disc golf tournaments - one in his honour, and another - the Trigg Memorial Disc Golf Tournament - which raises funds for a culinary scholarship in Andrew Trigg's honour.

Outside of those tournaments - in the spring and fall - the disc golf course is not used, and is never open for public play.

Memorial Structures

On the subject of memorials...

At one point, we came upon a set of tall, rectangular versions of the Screaming Heads. This set of otherwordly creations all had memorial dedications on them.

I had to use the Internet Archive Wayback Machine to view the artist’s now-defunct website from about a decade ago, but he used to offer memorials.

For $10k USD, you could reserve a spot on his property. Upon death, the ashes would get incorporated into a 20 tonne Screaming Head, with a biography of the person incorporated into the piece.

“Why settle for a small underground plot in the suburbs when you have the option of joining a vibrant creation that fills the landscape?”, he said. I dig it.

Birding, Wildlife, and Nature

We were surprised to not see or hear ANY birds during our visit. I wonder if it was too hot?

Anyway, we did see a few Hooded Merganser ducks, so that was cool.

Also, Porter saw a Garter Snake at one point. Being a smart man, he quietly photographed it and didn’t make mention of it til much later - I didn’t notice the snake.

I’m not a fan of them, LOL.

[editor's note: I quietly shepherded her around it so she wouldn't see it!]

There were also a TON of wildflowers, especially around the pond area. Gorgeous on their own, and probably the reason for there being so many butterflies!

That said, something got my allergies going - not something that wildflowers normally do to me - so I’d recommend popping an antihistamine before visiting, if that’s a concern for you!

Niantic Games

There are about a dozen Ingress Portals / Pokemon Go Pokestops / Gyms on the property, and it can be fun to collect “gifts” from there to send to your friends.

Also - as I mentioned earlier - Pokemon Go gives you a really great trail map of the property.

That said, cell reception was pretty spotty during our stay, so don’t be surprised if you have difficulty accessing game elements.

Final Thoughts

This was a really weird, really interesting attraction. Really weird, and really cool.

I wish we had been able to spend more time exploring the property, as I’m sure there are all kinds of things we missed. It was just so much bigger and more involved than I’d been assuming!

It definitely strikes me as the kind of place that you could visit multiple times, and notice “new” things each time. An art piece you didn’t see, finer details on a sculpture that weren’t obvious in a different sunlight angle, etc.

Luckily, we already know we’ll be back to Arrowhead Provincial Park, so visiting Screaming Heads will be easy enough to do again in our future!

Whether a one time thing, or a repeat visit plan... we’d definitely say this is a must-see for anyone that finds themselves in the general area. Definitely worth the drive... just plan to spend a good amount of time there!

More Places to See

Looking for some nice sights to see and great places to visit while you're out on your camping adventures? Here are a few of our favourite day use parks, attractions, etc.

Batchawana Bay
Big Bay, Ontario
Bruce Peninsula National Park
Falls Reserve Conservation Area
Flowerpot Island
Gariepy Creek Falls
Menesetung Bridge
Point Pelee National Park
Provoking Falls
Scenic Caves Nature Adventures
Spirit Rock Conservation Area
Temagami Fire Tower