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Great Smokey Hollow Walk |
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Flamborough (Waterdown) |
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Access Point: |
Smokey Hollow Resource Management Area, Mill Street |
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Distance: |
5.1 km linear trail (10.2 km return) |
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Ease of Access: |
Moderate |
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Trail Surface: |
Hard packed earth, wooden bridges, gravel |
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Parking Fee: |
No |
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City Bus Route: |
Not available |
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Road Directions: |
From Hwy 403 take the Hwy 6 North to Hwy 5. Turn right on Hwy 5 (Dundas
Street East). At the town centre, turn right onto Mill Street and
proceed down the escarpment approximately 450 metres. You will find the
parking area on your right just past the railway bridge. |
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Map of the Walk: |
Adobe PDF Map |
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| Other Trail Information & Directions: |
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Make your way down the steps to the lookout over Great Falls, then head
south on the access trail to the Main Bruce Trail. Continue your hike
downstream along Grindstone Creek and the Bruce Trail as it weaves along
the Niagara Escarpment slope. Hike from Great Falls south-west to Upper
Cascade Falls and then turn back. |
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The feature of this hike is Great Falls, a terraced, ribbon falls, 10
metres high and 5 metres wide. Located on Grindstone Creek, this
waterfall is visible year round. |
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For more than 100 years, mills were powered by the creek as it plunged
over the escarpment. It is believed a landowner, Alexander Brown, was
the first to build a mill on this site, which then became the nucleus of
a small industrial complex. Once the railway bypassed Waterdown and the
last mill was destroyed by fire, the mill owners retired. |
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Along the Way: |
Great Falls
Grindstone Creek
Bruce Trail
Escarpment cliffs
Grindstone Cascade
Snake and Lower Snake Falls
Upper Quarry Falls |
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How did Waterdown get its name? |
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A village grew up around the mills of Smokey Hollow, where the water of
Grindstone Creek plunged down the Niagara Escarpment, thus the name
Waterdown. |
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