Obviously, the main attraction of Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park is the Kakabeka Falls themselves, but this short hike brings you to a beautiful set of small falls hidden in the forest.
Quick Info
Roundtrip: 4km
Difficulty: Moderate
Location: Kakabeka Falls, ON
Click here for Google Map
Directions to Trailhead
From Thunder Bay head west on Highway 11/17 for 30km to the town of Kakabeka Falls. The park entrance is just west of the town on the left. Park in the main parking lot and pay the day fee at the self-serve fee station.
Walk across the bridge and follow the path staying left past the park building to the Mountain Portage Trail gravel loop. The Little Falls Trail begins near the southwest end of this loop trail. There is a sign indicating the start of each of the trails.
Trail Information
You can go either direction but most people follow the trail along the West Gorge of the Kam River before descending to reach the Little Falls. Much of the trail in the gorge is like walking in an enchanted forest. The return trail follows the creek to the Kam and continues upriver. There is a short steep climb back to the top of the gorge where you connect back up with the Mountain Portage Trail.
Just hiked this trail for the first time. There are some difficult parts steep and rocky but overall a great hike. Take your time and relax. The benefit is amazing. I will have to come here in spring or after a few days of rain the falls should be very nice.
Such a fun little hike for a new adventurer! Once you get to a T in the trail, you can turn right and go to little falls, or you can turn left and take a bit of a different trail back. If you turn left it bring you by what I assume to be a hydro mill and a damn, a different view from the traditional Kakabeka falls.
The trail is pretty straight forward, but if ever you get confused there is service the entire time so you can just throw on google maps and it can help you get the rest of the way.
I hiked into Little Falls this afternoon (July 2, 2016) and there was lots of water coming over the waterfall. The trail was a bit muddy and with standing water in some sections, but still navigable. I never knew about Little Falls until I saw it on the cover of the 2016 Ontario Parks booklet about Kakabeka Falls. Amy’s description of Little Falls and the hike in is bang on and I fully agree that “the pay-off is fantastic”!
One of my favourite hikes! The hike itself is enough to be make you feel like you have been truly exploring, with a moderate difficulty level. The pay-off is fantastic. The best part for me is hearing the falls before seeing them. It builds the anitcipation before rounding corner and seeing such a lovely sight.
In the spring the falls will be quite impressive, but they are really pretty in the summer, when the water trickles over the slate shelves onto a perfectly smooth slate river bottom. If it is a particularly dry part of the year the falls may be disappointing, so plan accordingly 🙂