Length of stay: 1 day
Visited: September 2021
Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park is located just west of Thunder Bay. It features the second largest waterfall in Ontario, which is commonly referred to as the Niagara of the North. The park contains a number of viewing platforms and trails that provide excellent views of Kakabeka Falls and the surrounding area.
We were initially supposed to camp at Kakabeka Falls the night before. But it had rained throughout the day and the weather forecast was calling for even more rain overnight. It didn’t take much (or any) convincing for us to stay in a hotel in Thunder Bay instead. After spending the morning hiking in Pigeon River Provincial Park, we arrived at Kakabeka Falls in the early afternoon.
After eating some lunch at the picnic area, we set off to hike along the Boardwalk Trail (750m one-way, rated easy). The trail consists of a wide boardwalk and features several viewing platforms at different angles and viewpoints of Kakabeka Falls, the Kaministiquia River and the gorge below.
We then followed the path to the Visitor Centre to get to the trailhead for the Mountain Portage Trail (1.25km loop, rated easy). This trail is part of the historic portage that early travellers and voyageurs used from 1800 to 1820 to bypass the falls and to connect Lake Superior with Lake of the Woods and the West. It was later abandoned in favour of the shorter Grand Portage-Pigeon River route.
The trail is predominantly flat and the path is lined with gravel. There are a few benches and interpretive signs that provide more information about the Mountain Portage.
Mid-way through, the path connects with the Little Falls Trail (2.5km loop, rated moderate to difficult), which is also part of the historic Mountain Portage and leads down the slopes to the river below. We hiked counter-clockwise along the loop, which is arguably the best direction as there’s a super steep hill at the end, which is probably easier to climb up then down. The path winds through the forest, leads to Little Falls, follows a creek and then meanders along the river bank.
Towards the end there’s a super steep climb up a ridge to get back to the trailhead. We then hiked the rest of the Mountain Portage Trail, which features a few viewing platforms over the Kaministiquia River and gorge below. The gorge was carved through the rocks by melting glaciers and continues to be shaped by the falls.
Once we returned to the trailhead, we hiked along part of the Boardwalk Trail again, crossed the bridge, and walked back to the parking lot. It was nice to stretch our legs as we still had another hour and a half of driving to reach our next destination at Quetico Provincial Park where we planned to spend the night.
L
My progress on the Ontario Parks Challenge can be found here
This park is so beautiful and the waterfall is a photographers dream. I hope the weather stayed dry for you!
Kakabeka falls is such an impressive waterfall (and it’s really fun to say its name). I love that there are lots of different viewing platforms along the river and it helps to spread out the crowds. This was our first day without any rain and I’m glad we made the most of it!
The photos you captured of Kakabeka Falls are lovely. Brings back such wonderful memories!
It’s too bad you didn’t get to camp cuz of the rain. I wonder how sleeping near the falls and the sound of the rushing falls would’ve been like. But good call. Rain is never fun during camping!
Those trails you hiked were lovely and seems like a lifetime ago for us. Will have to back again one day!
Kakabeka Falls is gorgeous and I can easily see why it’s often referred to as the Niagara of the North. The park did an excellent job with the boardwalk and all the various viewing platforms.
It’s too bad we didn’t camp here the night before, but I have no regrets about ditching our campsite to avoid the rain! We should have at least driven through the campground to see what the campsites were like, but were running low on time since we still needed to drive to the next park and set up our tents before it got dark. We’ll just have to come back someday too!
We too didn’t drive through the campgrounds. Should’ve thought about doing while we were up there. I guess there’s always next time! 🙂
And yes, the viewing platforms were so well done. We were very fortunate to have spotted a bald Eagle when we were up there too. It didn’t look overly friendly perched up high. 😆
There will definitely be a next time. We’re actually thinking of flying into Thunder Bay at some point this year instead of doing the long drive again. Of course all of that depends on COVID. It’s tough to plan ahead.
How neat to spot a bald eagle when you were visiting Kakabeka Falls. It’s always a huge bonus to see some wildlife, regardless of whether they want to be seen.
Flying will certainly save some time! 😊I don’t even want to guess what summer will be like this year after thinking last summer would be the end the pandemic. 😆
No kidding. This pandemic seems to keep dragging on foreverrrr. We were really hoping to start travelling abroad this year, but I think we’re just going to stick with travelling within Canada.
If we get screwed over with travel again this year, we’re thinking of checking out Yukon and North West Territories in the summer… with the almost 24-hour sunshine. Should be an experience. If you and K have not done that, might be of interest.
Happy Friday. And PA Day too! 😆
I’ve never been to the territories before but have heard wonderful things about the scenery. The almost 24 hours of sunshine sounds amazing, especially these days when it’s been so dark and dreary outside. Maybe I should look into it as well if we’re just travelling within Canada this year.
Happy Fri-YAY! I guess this means that you’re done with remote learning for now. Woohoo! Have a wonderful weekend!
If you decide to come up here, don’t forget to buy some bug shirts!
Bug shirts would definitely be a must! I can only imagine how hungrier and mightier the mosquitoes are to survive the elements up north!!
Have a good weekend to you and K too. 🙂
Stay warm out there! It’s currently -22C (feels like -33C) outside. Brrrr. I am looking forward to the snowfall on Monday though.
Gorgeous waterfalls!! The park looks amazing!
Kakabeka Falls is one of the nicest waterfalls in Ontario. The park was very lovely and all the trails were well-signed and easy to follow. I also like that there were lots of interpretive panels and storyboards that provide more information about the history and geology of the area. Thanks for reading and leaving a comment.
Hey, at last, a park where we have been. We loved the falls and the fact that there was a nice burger joint near by for supper. We never did the Little Falls Trail, but it would have been nice to get down to river’s edge. Thanks for sharing. Happy Wednesday. Allan
Glad this triggered some fond memories of your drive through Ontario. Kakabeka Falls is such a nice park and the waterfall is gorgeous. I like that some of the trails have storyboards along the way that provide more fun facts about the history of the area and how the landscape and river were formed. The Little Falls was a bit of a let down after seeing Kakabeka Falls, but the walk along the edge of the river more than made up for it. Thanks for reading. Enjoy the rest of your week. Linda
I love these waterfall pictures. These and the trail look like a good day spent hiking!
Thanks for your kind words. The park did an excellent job with the boardwalk and I loved that there were various viewing platforms located on either side of the river and at different angles of the falls. The trails were all well-signed and easy to navigate. It was definitely a great day to be outside and just enjoy the nice weather and beautiful scenery.
It was nice to be transported back to fall for a little while thanks to your article. Lovely skies, gorgeous falls and some decent history to boot!
Thanks for your lovely comment. It’s been fun writing about our two week Northern Ontario road trip from the fall. The scenery is so different compared to in the south and the parks are typically quieter. We finally had nice weather and glad we took advantage of it.
Beautiful
Kakabeka Falls is easily one of the nicest waterfalls in Ontario. I’m glad there were lots of different viewing platforms on both sides of the river to see the falls from up close and at different angles. I could have spent the whole day here watching the rushing water fall over the edge.
Such a beautiful place! 🇨🇦❤️
Last summer when we visited Northern Ontario we didn’t have enough time to drive past Thunder Bay. I’m glad we decided to return for longer as there are so many hidden gems in the Thunder Bay area, like Kakabeka Falls and Pigeon River. Apparently flights are pretty cheap from Toronto to Thunder Bay so we’re thinking about returning this summer and to just fly there to cut down on driving time.
Airplanes are wonderful, aren’t they!
It’s amazing how quickly you can get somewhere when traveling by air. I haven’t been on a plane since the start of the pandemic and am eager to start travelling again. I’m so over this pandemic.
The falls and gorge are definitely worth seeing. This is one time when rain made the experience better.
For sure. I imagine all the rain from the day before helped fuel the falls. I’m glad it didn’t rain when we visited though! This was actually the first day of no rain during our road trip. I’m glad we were able to make the most of it and enjoy the nice views and many of the trails within the park.
Wow, that is a huge and lovely waterfall! It makes Little Falls look like a bummer.
Agreed, Little Falls is pretty pathetic in comparison to Kakabeka Falls. The real highlight of that trail was the walk along the river, which also provided some nice views of the gorge.
Kakabeka Falls are truly beautiful!
I’d say Kakabeka Falls lived up to its reputation. I liked that there were all these different viewing platforms to see the falls up close and from different angles. The gorge is also quite impressive and it was neat to learn how it was formed.
The falls look very impressive and the trails to them must be so nice to wander along with the sounds of the cascading water around you.
The park and trails were very well maintained. We finally had nice weather to spend time outdoors and just enjoy our surroundings. The waterfall was just lovely and it was nice that there were lots of different viewing platforms.
Lovely waterfalls! Really really nice.
Kakabeka Falls is really quite impressive and it lived up to its reputation. The views into the gorge were simply stunning as well. Thanks for reading and leaving a comment.
Beautiful place!
The waterfall, river and views into the gorge were spectacular. I continue to be amazed at the beauty of nature in Northern Ontario. The one benefit of this pandemic is that we’ve been able to spend more time here during the pandemic.
I stumbled into Kakabeka Falls during a road trip out west this summer. I was only looking for a place to sleep, and knew nothing about the park so I was definitely suprised with what I saw when I got there lol
What a great park to stumble upon! The waterfall is gorgeous and there’s a nice range of hiking trails. It’s also in a great location as it’s close to Thunder Bay and it’s surrounded by a few other amazing parks like Sleeping Giant, Ouimet Canyon, Pigeon River and Quetico.
Love Kakabeka!
It’s such a pretty waterfall and it’s kind of really fun to say its name. Prior to visiting Thunder Bay I thought there wasn’t much out here, but turns out the scenery is gorgeous and there’s no shortage of great views and trails.
Yes it is a gorgeous part of Ontario, even all the way to Kenora and Lake of the Woods.
For sure. I’m so glad we decided to return to Northern Ontario and explore more around the area west of Thunder Bay. Quetico Provincial Park was another highlight and I’d love to return to explore the backcountry.
Wow….this must be so so beautiful to hike! Gorgeous!
There’s a nice variety of trails that are all well-signed and feature some lovely viewing platforms of the waterfall, river and gorge. I’m glad we finally had nice weather to enjoy our time outside.
Wow! Such an amazing image and a great site to see.
I can easily see why Kakabeka Falls is referred to as the Niagara of the North. It’s quite impressive. The park has done an excellent job with their trail system and has built a few viewing platforms on either side of the river to see the waterfall up close and spread out the crowds.
Amazing and beautiful place! Thanks for share.
Have a wonderful time!
Elvira
The scenery at Kakabeka Falls is beautiful. We had such wonderful weather and enjoyed the views and hiking along some of the trails. Thanks for reading and leaving a comment. Linda
Thank you for your kindness. It is a pleassure follow your blog.
Elvira
You are too kind. It’ve enjoyed following along on your blog as well. Have a wonderful weekend! 🙂
Thanks Linda. Thats makes me happy! Have a wonderful weekend too! 🙏🏻😊🌞
The falls look pretty impressive and it’s nice that a part of the trail has a historical significance, which I imagine made the whole experience even more enjoyable.
I’ve come to appreciate parks that provide interpretive signs along the trail or throughout the park that contain more information about the history and geology of the area. It’s a great way to step back in time and think about how the area once looked or what it was used for. When we were hiking along part of the historic Mountain Portage route all I kept thinking about was how much harder it must have been to do this while carrying a canoe …especially when going up that hill towards the end!
Beautiful falls! What a gorgeous place, Linda. I would love to visit.
Kakabeka Falls and the area around Thunder Bay in general is beautiful. We’re thinking about flying to Thunder Bay this summer instead of making the long drive here since we had such a great time in this area last year.
Wow – it’s spectacular. What a stunning place 🙂
The scenery at Kakabeka Falls is gorgeous. It’s also really fun to say its name. It definitely lived up to its reputation. I’m so happy we finally had nice weather to enjoy the beautiful views.
Great looking falls.
Kakabeka Falls is pretty impressive. It’s also a lot of fun to say its name. The boardwalk and viewing platforms around the river were very well designed and a nice way to see the falls up close.
Great photos and such excellent views of the mighty Kakabeka falls and there’s even a viewing platform to see it in its full glory! The name is a bit funny tho, especially when you say it out loud and fast! Thanks for sharing and have a good day 🙂 Aiva
It’s impressive how much water actually flows over the cliff into the gorge below. What I found the most amazing was that there were a few trees and plants growing among the rocks in the middle of the falls. Agreed, it’s a lot of fun to say the name Kakabeka Falls. It’s got a nice ring to it! Thanks for reading. Have a wonderful weekend. Linda
This is so high on my list! Maybe one day!
The scenery in Northern Ontario is beautiful and there is no shortage of great views and hiking trails. If you love spending time in nature, you’d love it here. Thanks for reading and leaving a comment. Linda
That looks like a scene from LOTR! The Niagra of the North sounds rather weird since people already associate Niagra with being north
Now that you mention it, it totally does look like something out of LOTR (which is one of my favourite movies by the way!!). The landscape just looks so rugged and beautiful. I didn’t think that Kakabeka Falls looked anything like Niagara Falls, but I guess they were just trying to signal that it’s one impressive waterfall.
This is gorgeous. Would love to visit this place😍😍😍
Kakabeka Falls is pretty impressive and it’s nice that there are a variety of viewing platforms on either side of the river. I’m obsessed with the scenery in Northern Ontario and would highly recommend visiting if you enjoy spending time in nature. Thanks for reading and leaving a comment.
The falls are so dramatic! Were they loud too? I could imagine them roaring down the rocks.
Kakabeka Falls was beautiful. I found it remarkable how there were trees and plants growing in among the rocks between the falls. We could definitely here the sounds of rushing water as we were walked across the bridge and from a few of the platforms closer to the falls. It was very peaceful and soothing.
Ontario is really huge, isn’t it? I just looked up the falls and Quetico on Google Maps and was surprised to see them west of Thunder Bay. Happy wandering!
It really is. It’s amazing how much of it we still haven’t explored. I think the next time we visit Quetico we’ll probably end up flying to Thunder Bay as it’s one heck of a drive to get there otherwise. Enjoy the rest of your week.
You captured some amazing moments of the decent of water on the falls🙏🏼
Thanks for your kind words. The falls are very photogenic. It’s great that the park has constructed a variety of different viewing platforms on either side of the river that provide excellent views of the falls and gorge. It’s truly a spectacular sight.
What amazing waterfalls. So beautiful! You are very lucky. Whole the falls are beautiful, the hike along the river is just as stunning. Thank goodness Ontario has reserved so much land for Parks.
Kakabeka Falls is such a lovely park. We are quite fortunate that there are so many provincial parks in Ontario. The only issue is that there aren’t nearly enough closer to the city. Our parks have been extremely crowded during the pandemic, which goes to show just how important they are. I hope our province will recognize this and ensure we continue to conserve land instead of just having it go towards new developments.
What I’m wondering now is, how far north are you going to go? Will you go to all parks in Ontario, or will you draw the line after an 8 hour drive? Just curious, as I rarely go north of Jasper 🙂
I think it would take a lifetime to visit all the various parks in Ontario!! About a third of the parks are operating parks, which means there are some visitor facilities and activities like camping, hiking and swimming. These were the parks that we prioritized. The non-operating parks are a bit of a mixed bag. Many of them are for conservation purposes and have zero maintenance. While we plan to still visit a few Ontario parks, we’re really hoping to start travelling outside of our province this year.
That makes sense. I wouldn’t go bushwhacking in a conservation park either. I was just curious how far north the “organized” parks with facilities went, and if you’d ever drive way up north to visit.
And yes, travelling outside your home province is a worthy goal right now.
During our Northern Ontario road trip we pretty much covered most of the operating parks that were easily accessible along our route. Thankfully many of them are located near the highway, so it didn’t require much additional driving to visit. There are a few operating parks that are much further up north, but we just didn’t have enough time. That always seems to be the issue with vacation! There’s just never enough time or vacation days!!
I hear you! Never enough time. Still, it’s cool you got up north. I bet it was amazing and very few people get up there. Good for you!
That was one of the best parts about going up north during the fall was that it wasn’t very busy. There were surprisingly more people camping than we expected near Lake Superior, but many of them were probably retired and they were super quiet. That’s how we like it.
Absolutely stunning!!! I am continually hopeful for open borders as this account of an incredible area, as with all of the others you share, makes me want to visit!!! Just beautiful!
The one benefit of this pandemic is that we’ve been able to explore more of our home province and to visit up north. The scenery in Northern Ontario is simply stunning. As much as we’ve enjoyed Ontario, we’re hoping to finally start travelling abroad this year. Fingers crossed.
These pictures are so lovely!
Thanks for your kind words. The falls are gorgeous as is the gorge and surrounding landscape. I found it amazing how there were trees and other plants growing on the rocks between the falls. It’s impressive how resilient nature is.
Beautiful falls!
Kakabeka Falls is quite impressive. And it’s a lot of fun to say its name. It was nice that there were a variety of viewing platforms to see the falls from different angles and areas.
What a wonderful hike. The waterfall is stunning 🙂
The trails at Kakabeka Falls were all clearly signed and easy to follow. The park also did an excellent job with building a number of viewing platforms on either side of the river to see the gorge and falls from different viewpoints. I’d say the falls lived up to their reputation.
The Fall are just wild , glorious and free. Exciting rejuvenating adventures.
Kakabeka Falls is pretty magnificent. I love that there were some trees growing among the rocks in the middle of the falls. Nature can be so resilient sometimes.
The resiliency of trees growing in the most unexpected , challenging also inspires me. If the tree can do it, then we can do it.
You bet. It’s amazing to think of what nature and some people have had to endure. You have to have tough skin and determination!
This park is beautiful!
The scenery at Kakabeka Falls was simply stunning. It was nice that there were so many viewing platforms spread out on either side of the river that provided different views of the falls and gorge. Thanks for reading and leaving a comment.
Very scenic waterfalls, we loved them! Very beautiful area, you covered quite a lot🙂
I’d say Kakabeka Falls lived up to its reputation. I loved that there are so many different viewing platforms to see the falls and gorge from various angles. It was such a lovely park and I wish we could have stayed for longer. There never seems to be enough time (or vacation days).
So true, about vacation also😉
I can’t wait to retire! Think of how many road trips and parks we could visit then!? I don’t think I could handle sleeping in a tent anymore and would definitely want to upgrade to a campervan.
Hihi, that’s our goal too, still working on it🙂
Great minds think alike. For now we try to make the most of our weekends and vacation days, especially when the weather is nice.
Amazing views! We are planning a Canadian camping trip this summer and we can’t wait!!
There are lots of great viewing platforms and overlooks to see the falls from different vantage points. A Canadian camping trip sounds very exciting! While we’ve enjoyed exploring more of Ontario these past two years during the pandemic, we’re hoping to visit other areas in Canada this year as well.
Absolutely gorgeous Falls. So much stunning Nature . Thank you for the many adventures. Always a joy and calming journey. Thanks.
Kakabeka Falls was very impressive. And it’s just really fun to pronounce its name. Thankfully we had fabulous weather for being outdoors and to just enjoy nature.