Hamilton Waterfalls and Walking Trails

Today we decided to go look for some of the Hamilton Waterfalls. (We had a great find just before we got to our first stop - The Punchbowl Market and Bakery. This is a very dangerous place - innumerable baked goodies which I admired but denied myself other than the pecan butter tart that I had to have with my coffee!) We started off at the Devil's Punchbowl eventhough we knew that there would be no waterfall there. From the lookout there is a fantastic city view of Stoney Creek right down to Hamilton Harbour on Lake Ontario.

The Devil's Punchbowl was created at the end of the last ice age by huge streams that plunged over the Stoney Creek Escarpment and carved out the Punchbowl. You get a great view from the lookout down into the seemingly bottomless Punchbowl but it is impossible to catch well on camera.It is also quite difficult to get a good picture of the Devil's Punchbowl because of the foliage on the trees.

At the Devil's Punchbowl there is a huge cross which is obviously lit at night. William Sinclair and two other Hydro linemen planned and erected the cross in 1966.

 From The Devil's Punchbowl we set off to do part of the Dofosco 2000 Trail which is an 11.5 KM trail on Hamilton' East Mountain. It passes through beautiful rural countryside (the part we did, about 4 km so in total 8km) with apple trees and cherry trees. We felt we were totally cut off from the rest of the world, yet we were never far from civilisation.

Thistle-like things or like bulrushes.

We also saw lots of butterflies and big flies with peacock blue wings.









We hopped back into the car and went searching for waterfalls that flow all year round. First hop out was the Great Falls which are fed by Grindstone Creek. These falls are classified as ribbon or plunge falls.

We went down a lot of steps to try to get to the bottom of the falls but the terrain became a bit precarious for this unbalanced one who has a record of falling and breaking bones!







This gives you an idea of what the rock of the escarpment is like.

More of the Great Falls. We watched the stick for ages but there was no sign of it shifting. There was not a great volume of water feeding the falls yet there was quite a rushing sound of it falling.








Next stop was the Webster's Falls. These falls are in Spencer Gorge Conservation Area and are classified as Plunge Classical or Curtain Falls. They are fed by the Spencer Creek and are the largest in the region. They have two overhanging drops with a short break in between.

Unfortunately, the steps to the bottom of the falls were closed and so we did not get to see Baby Webster's Falls which is a smaller ribbon waterfall located as you descend the staircase.

The cobblestone bridge.

This is a beautifully landscaped area with lots of picnic shelters and tables and areas to barbecue. Unfortunately, we did not know this and missed out on having a picnic. Maybe we'll go again better prepared.

Looking upriver from the cobblestone bridge.

Isn't it very pretty!

It is possible to walk from the Webster's Falls to the Tew's Falls. This is a ribbon or plunge waterfall and, in our opinion, was the nicest.

There are lots more waterfalls in the Hamilton region but enough is enough! We had a great day in the outdoors but my skin is the worse for wear from all the sun. I seem to be allergic to it and to sunscreen so I am as red as a lobster and covered in bumps that are itchy and sore and I hate having to be indoors when the weather is so good!