Rainbow Falls Provincial Park

Rainbow Falls Provincial Park is nestled along the northern shore of Lake Superior. It features five hiking trails that range in length and difficulty that are reputed to provide panoramic views of the surrounding area. Rainbow Falls also offers car camping and a variety of water-based recreational activities like fishing, canoeing and swimming on either Whitesand Lake or Lake Superior.

We’ve been to Rainbow Falls twice:

Hiking Trails

Rainbow Falls offers five hiking trails through the different landscapes in the park, one of which is the famous Casque Isles Hiking Trail that is 52km in length that links Terrace Bay, Schreiber and Rossport. Below are the trails that we’ve completed:

(1) Back Forty / Back 40 Lookout Trail (3.5km, rated moderate with difficult sections). The trail leads to a scenic lookout that provides sweeping views of Whitesand Lake and the surrounding area.

(2) Rainbow Falls Trail (2.2km round trip, rated moderate). The trail is an out and back trail and follows along a boardwalk. Along the way there are a few great viewpoints of the cascading falls and a series of interpretive plaques that provide more information about the natural features that occur along the trail.

(3) Superior Trail (2.2km, rated moderate with difficult sections). The trail winds along the top of a granite ridge and provides a nice view of Lake Superior. It’s an out and back again trail, or alternatively you can walk along the road to get back to the trailhead to turn it into a loop.

Other Activities and Attractions

Rainbow Falls also offers a variety of other activities and facilities, including:

  • A picnic area with a covered shelter
  • Two sandy beaches and designated swimming areas on Whitesand Lake
  • Several Moments of Algoma art installations at the nearby towns, including Nipigon, Rossport and Terrace Bay

Camping

We have yet to camp at Rainbow Falls, but it offers car camping at two campgrounds. Whitesand Lake Campground has about 100 campsite and is located on the north side of Highway 17 while Rossport Campground has 36 campsites and is located along the Lake Superior shoreline.