Have you ever wanted to explore the Niagara Escarpment beyond the crowds of Niagara Falls? Hiking the Niagara Escarpment is a great alternative to visiting the falls and gives you a chance to get up close and personal with this unique and rugged landscape.
Some of the best hiking trails in Southern Ontario can be found on the Niagara Escarpment. You can find unique hiking trails dotted with caves, cliff faces that are a rock climbers dream come true, and yes…waterfalls! In this article we will give you our list of Southern Ontario’s top 10 places to hike the Niagara Escarpment.
What is the Niagara Escarpment?
The Niagara Escarpment is an internationally recognized land form that runs east/west from New York through Ontario and Michigan. This green belt of Ontario is a UNESCO designated site with a 450 million year old geological history. The rocky cliffs of the escarpment provide the perfect environment for rich biodiversity, deep river gorges, steep cliffs, caves, and waterfalls, the most famous being Niagara Falls of course! It is a treasure to be protected for generations to come.
How to Access the Hiking Trails in Southern Ontario
All of the hiking trails listed in this guide, with the exception of Lions Head Provincial Park, are accessible as day hikes from Toronto. Lions Head Provincial Park is a 3-4 hour drive from Toronto, so an overnight in the quaint town of Lions Head would be recommended.
Public transit is not widely available to access the trails listed in this guide therefore, having your own car is recommended.
Each of the trails listed is located either in a provincial park or a conservation area. Most conservation areas and provincial parks in Ontario have a small entrance fee for day use. Approximate prices for each hike have been included below.
Best Places to Hike the Niagara Escarpment
1. Lions Head Provincial Park
Lion’s Head Provincial Park is located on a small peninsula along the bigger Bruce Peninsula in Southern Ontario. The park juts out into the turquoise waters of Georgian Bay in Lake Huron.
The 200 foot cliffs above turquoise, aquamarine waters surrounded by ancient white cedars is enough to make you think you have left Canada and somehow escaped to a tropical destination!
The Lion’s Head trail is a 17 km loop trail that circles the peninsula. It is part of the much longer Bruce Trail that runs through the whole region. For all the details about hiking this gem of a trail, check out our detailed post here.
FEES: Lions Head is one of many Parks Ontario parks. However it is a non-gated provincial park, so use of the park is not monitored and is therefore free to enter.
2. Rattlesnake Point
Rattlesnake Point is part of the Conservation Halton series of parks along the Niagara Escarpment. There are over 13 km of trails winding through ancient cedars and hackberry trees to explore. The view over the bold faced cliffs of the rocky escarpment is just icing on the cake.
Most people come to admire the views from Buffalo Crag Lookout Point, but our kids love the fissures and caves found in the rock of the escarpment. They are always a highlight to explore and climb!
The Nassagaweya Trail leads visitors down the valley and back up to Crawford Lake. It makes a great day hike for the whole family. A return hike will take you between 4-5 hours so make sure you pack a picnic lunch to eat beside the beautiful Crawford Lake.
FEES: Rattlesnake Point is managed by Conservation Halton. Entrance to the park is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors and $5.25 for children between the ages of 5-14. Children under the age of 5 are free. Your daily entrance fee receipt provides access to ALL Halton Parks for that same day. You could make a full day of it by combining a visit to Hilton Falls, Mount Nemo and Kelso which are all listed in this article.
3. Forks of the Credit Provincial Park
Hiking the Niagara Escarpment in the fall is an Ontario “must do.” Forks of the Credit Provincial Park, located in Caledon, Ontario, is the perfect place to do it. The area has a history of once functioning as a mill and later a railway station. There are still ruins of the mill and powerhouse at Cataract Falls as well as a trestle bridge over the Credit River.
Visitors can take Meadow Trail past Kettle Lake to Dominion Trail which eventually leads to Cataract Falls. The trail is best visited in the fall when the maple and oak trees are in a blaze of yellow, orange and red!
FEES: The day use fee for 2020 is a daily vehicle permit fee of $12.25. The parking lot has a self service parking ticket kiosk that accepts most credit cards.
4. Hilton Falls
Hilton Falls is part of the Conservation Halton group of parks. It is a year round destination with both summer and winter activities available in the park.
The park has trails for hiking, biking, horseback riding, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing (rentals are available). The reward at the end of the trail is the fantastic Hilton Falls! The falls are beautiful in the summer as the water cascades down the rocky ledge of the escarpment, but are also just as beautiful in the winter when they freeze into giant icicles.
At the top of the falls there is a large communal fire pit with firewood provided by the park. Bring hot dogs and marshmallows for a wienie roast and a chance to warm up cold fingers and toes on a cold winter day!
FEES: Entrance to the park is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors and $5.25 for children between the ages of 5-14. Children under the age of 5 are free. Your daily entrance fee receipt provides access to ALL Halton Parks for that same day.
5. Mount Nemo Conservation Area
Mount Nemo is the third conservation area we are including on our list from Conservation Halton Parks, and probably our favourite! It is a small park but what it lacks in size, it makes up for with amazing views, hidden caves and caverns, and birds galore.
There are two trails covering a modest 5km of easy terrain. They offer beautiful look out points, access to hidden cave systems and cross babbling brooks.
It is also a fantastic place for rock climbing. Pack a picnic lunch, find a shady spot along the escarpment and watch the Turkey vultures soar and the rock climbers scale the limestone cliffs below. For a full detailed hiking guide for visiting Mount Nemo, see our post here.
FEES: Entrance to the park is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors and $5.25 for children between the ages of 5-14. Children under the age of 5 are free. Your daily entrance fee receipt provides access to ALL Halton Parks for that same day.
6. Kelso/Glen Eden Conservation Area
Kelso Conservation Area and Glen Eden Ski Hill share the same location in Milton, Ontario. The exposed cliffs make this an excellent place for skiing, mountain biking and hiking the Niagara Escarpment!
The steep, exposed slopes with chair lifts for downhill skiing and the forested trails for cross-country skiing both make great winter options. The same forested trails double as mountain biking and hiking trails in the spring, summer and fall. No matter what season you visit, the views are spectacular!
FEES: Entrance to the park is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors and $5.25 for children between the ages of 5-14. Children under the age of 5 are free. Your daily entrance fee receipt provides access to ALL Halton Parks for that same day.
7. Dundas Valley Conservation Area
Dundas Valley Conservation Area is located in Dundas, Ontario and offers over 40 km of trails to choose from. The park is a protected Carolinian Forest that can’t be found in any other part of Canada. The exposed rocky bluffs of the escarpment and the beautiful deciduous forest are open for hikers, cyclists, equestrians and cross-country skiers.
There are four waterfalls within the conservation area which make it the perfect place to go chasing waterfalls!
FEES: A day use vehicle parking permit is $10 and is available from a kiosk in the parking lot.
8. Rockwood Conservation Area
Rockwood Conservation Area is located near the town of Rockwood. Towering limestone cliffs, caves and glacial potholes, including one of the world’s largest, are a few of the natural wonders at Rockwood. You can view them from hiking trails on both sides of the Eramosa River or in a rented canoe. Two trails covering 2.6km, take you around the reservoir, along the tops of cliffs, across boardwalks through wetlands and beside big glacial potholes.
The ruins of the Rockwood Woolen Mill are a unique feature to the park and are a fun place to begin and end your hike around the park.
FEES: Rockwood Conservation Area is managed by the Grand River Conservation Authority. Day use fees are $7.50 for adults, $6 for seniors, and $3 for children ages 6-14. Children 5 and under are free.
9. Mono Cliffs Provincial Park
Mono Cliffs Provincial Park is located near the rural town of Mono and is filled with over 20 km of trails along the Niagara Escarpment. The park is home to an old canyon, wooden boardwalks and staircases in the thick of a cedar forest. There are deep crevice caves carved by ancient glacial activity, and breathtaking vistas atop 40 metre tall limestone cliffs. Both are reason enough to visit!
FEES: The day use fee for 2020 is a daily vehicle permit fee of $12.25 including HST. The parking lot has a self service parking ticket kiosk that accepts most credit cards.
10. Devils Punchbowl
Devil’s Punchbowl is a 37 metre ribbon waterfall located in Hamilton, Ontario, and one of the Niagara Escarpment’s most amazing sights. It was created at the end of the last ice age by huge melt-water rivers that plunged over the escarpment, thus carving the Punch Bowl and gorge. The punchbowl around the falls is one of the few places where you can clearly see the colourful striations of stratified rock.
There is a trail leading from the parking lot by the upper falls down to the river gorge below. From the bottom you can walk along the river with a view of the smaller cascading lower falls.
FEES: A parking pass for the day is $5 and is available from a kiosk in the parking lot.
Looking for other ways to explore Canada? Check out some of our other adventure guides:
Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park: Explore Ontario’s rich history dating back to the early fur trading days of Canada’s beginnings in this camping guide.
Cape Spear, Newfoundland: Hike along the easternmost edge of our continent and be the first to meet the rising sun is this Newfoundland hiking guide.
Top 10 Things to do in Northern, BC: Get off the beaten path and explore a remote and pristine mountain wilderness away from the crowds in this guide to Northern British Columbia.
Want to remember this for later? Go ahead and pin it!
So many amazing hikes! I never realised just how beautiful the area was, I really hope to visit one day.
It really is a beautiful area! And often overlooked when people visit Ontario. Niagara Falls gets all of the attention, but there are lots of other places to explore as well!
I’ve never even heard of this. It’s gorgeous! I’d love to hike there with my crew
It really is a great place to hike with kids! Our kids absolutely love all of the hidden caves and rocks to climb!
These are great! I’m definitely saving this on Pinterest so we can come back to it when we make it to Ontario.
These hikes in the Niagara Falls area look great! I love NOTL and Niagara Falls but have never been hiking there!