The Hamilton Frozen Waterfall Tour
Exploring the many waterfalls throughout Southern Ontario is a must do during the winter months. Many might consider hibernating during the cold, freezing winter season; however, it is a great opportunity to hike at the many hidden gems that have transformed into winter wonderland sceneries and ice-like natural sculptures. A friend of mine, who is also an avid hiker like myself, is from the Hamilton area and has been encouraging me to check out the many waterfalls in his hometown, during the recent freezing winter temperatures. After all, Hamilton is known as Canada’s “City of Waterfalls”, so I took the opportunity to visit 5 sites; as part of my Hamilton Frozen Waterfall Tour.
Tiffany Falls
We started our tour at Tiffany Falls; which is located on 900 Wilson Street East in Hamilton, Ontario. This is a very popular site, so it is a good idea to visit this place during the weekdays or early mornings on weekends, to avoid the big crowds. Parking is $7.50 and a ticket is purchased at one of their automated machines. Also, this same ticket will get you free admission to the other waterfalls and conservation areas within the Hamilton area. We arrived at Tiffany Falls, around 9 am, on a Saturday morning and managed to beat the traffic and occupy empty parking spots, before the long lines of cars started to emerge behind us.
The entrance area in the Tiffany Falls Conservation Area is a valley that was covered with snow that had fallen within the past week. The Tiffany Falls Side Trail leads to the base of the waterfalls and follows along a creek that was frozen solid. This side trail is also connected to the Bruce Trail; which is starts in Queenston and goes along the Niagara Escarpment, all the way to Tobermory, Ontario on the Bruce Peninsula. I would not advised anyone to walk on this creek but many hikers and visitors were seen walking along and taking their best Instagram worthy shots, along this route.
The Tiffany Falls Side Trail goes along a wooden bridge to help you cross over to the other side and continue to hike along the trail to the observation deck that is near the base of the waterfalls.
When we arrived at the observation deck, we witnessed many people that were already at the base of Tiffany Falls. There was a camera crew filming a documentary of various waterfalls throughout Canada. There was also a group of friends taking photos and selfies while doing head stands. As a result, we had to wait a bit for them to leave and then proceeded to the base of falls.
Tiffany Falls looks a whole lot different below zero degrees Celsius, compared to last summer when I visited this site. The fast flowing, majestic waterfall in the summer was transformed into a solid ice coating, covering the rocks and cliffs of this site. Tiffany Falls is also famous for ice climbing during the winter but we did not see climbers during this visit.
The creek at the base was frozen solid and hard enough to stand on to take photographs. I had recently purchased some Ice Trekker Diamond Grip, aluminum cleats and took the opportunity to strap them around the bottom of my winter boots to help me walk over slippery and icy grounds. These type of cleats are very handy and an accessory I would highly encourage hikers to purchase for their winter hikes.
The natural ice sculptures that were formed presented a very unique look and the icicles along the right side of the waterfalls looked spectacular around the base of the falls. It is advised to stay away and avoid standing beneath these icicles, since we noticed water dripping from many of them and even ice pelts falling from above.
As a whole, Tiffany Falls was the perfect spot to start our tour and the early hours is a good time to beat the crowd and have some one-on-one time with this picturesque setting.
2. Sherman Falls
We then proceeded to Sherman Falls; which is not too far from Tiffany Falls. It is a quick drive from Wilson Street East, by making a right on Montgomery Drive and a right on Old Dundas Rd and a right on Artaban Road that leads to the Sherman Falls Parking lot. Leave the parking ticket purchased from Tiffany Falls on your dashboard and after parking your car, proceed to walk towards Sherman Falls on Old Dundas Road.
The entrance area of Sherman Falls has a very similar look to Tiffany Falls. Once again it is a valley like setting and was covered with clear, white snow. There are these wooden steps that lead you into waterfall area and was covered with ice and snow, so hikers are encouraged to wear crampons or cleats. As you walk towards the falls, there is a wooden bridge to help hikers cross over the creek to the other side.
Sherman Falls had a steady flow and downpouring of water; surrounded by a unique looking coat of ice. This made a very distinct display of the waterfalls within its natural surroundings.
The frozen base area also made it easy to cross over to view the falls from the other side and take photographs from different angles of the waterfalls.
Sherman Falls is also within a valley of steep hills and the entire area surrounding it was covered with bright snow. During the summer months, it would be easier to climb up and get a view of the falls from the various spots above; however, its advisable to observe it from below due to the slippery surfacing of the snow and ice drifting from above.
3. Webster’s Falls
We then proceed to drive towards Webster’s Falls. Once again, your parking ticket from Tiffany Falls will get you free entrance to this site and show it to the park attendant while you cross the gates. The observation area to view this curtain style waterfall is not too far from the parking lot.
This observation area is also a great spot to capture your best shots of this waterfall. There are plenty of plaques to read presenting information about Spencer Creek, Webster’s Falls and the surrounding Spencer Gorge Wilderness Area. There are also many trails and paths around this area to have a quick walk or short hike.
We then proceeded to walk to the other side of the waterfalls to get a sideview of Webster’s Falls.
Access to the base of the waterfalls is currently gated off. We had three years ago embarked on an epic fall hike that started at Tews Falls and went through Dundas Peak, down to Spencer’s Creek and hiked it all the way to the base of Webster’s Falls and climbing up these stone like steps to the top into this area. We did see some hikers at the bottom at the base of Webster’s Falls during this winter hike but we thought it would not be advisable to pursue this due to the slippery steep hills that lead to Spencer’s Creek.
We thought of instead to spend some time in this area and check out the historic structures and settings like the cobblestone bridge that goes over Spencer’s Creek.
We crossed over the cobblestone bridge and led us into a different area of this park that had a hut like gazebo where we gathered and took break. This is the perfect place to get some shade and take a break to hydrate and have a small snack.
4. Tews Falls
We then proceeded to drive to Tews Falls; which is not too far from Webster’s Falls. Once again, your ticket purchased at Tiffany’s Falls will get you in free at this site. Tews Falls is part of the Spencer Gorge Wilderness Area; which is located on Harvest Road.
The Tews Falls Lookout Trail from the parking lot will lead you to the first observation deck; where one can take an excellent photograph of the waterfalls. The base of the falls was completely frozen and naturally transformed into an inverted funnel like shape, capturing the water from above. This made a very splendid looking setting and the most interesting formation from all the waterfalls we saw that day. We did see some hikers at the bottom capturing the waterfalls at its base; however, underneath our observation deck we heard and felt the gigantic icicles break off and crash towards the bottom. The hikers at the base ran for their life.
There is also another observation deck but the view of the falls from that angle was obstructed by nearby trees and branches. The Tews Falls Lookout Point was also closed and fenced off to prevent access into the famous Dundas Peak lookout points.
Having seen Tews Falls, we decided to break for lunch and proceed after to our final destination as part of our tour; which was Smokey Hollow Falls.
5. Smokey Hollow Waterfalls
Smokey Hollow Waterfalls is located in Waterdown, Ontario; so it is a medium distant drive to this site from Tews Falls. Parking at this site during the afternoon will most likely be occupied; which was the case when we arrived. We decided to park behind the falls at the parking lot at Sealey Park; which is located on Main Street.
We then walked toward Smokey Hollow Waterfalls and at the top of the falls is an observation deck; where one can view the base of the falls and a frozen Grindstone Creek with visitors standing on it.
The actual trail leading to the falls was covered with snow and ice and the best way to hike towards the base of the waterfall, was by sliding down the hill into the frozen Grindstone Creek and walking towards Smokey Hollow Waterfalls. Once again, it is advisable to strap crampons or cleats around your winter boots to make it easier to hike on solid ice.
Smokey Hollow Waterfalls looked similar to Tiffany Falls with its hard, solid, natural structure; however, we can hear water flowing down within it, so it was advisable to not climb on the frozen waterfall.
On its left side, one can see these spectacular formations of icicles, covering around a cave like setting, to walk behind the frozen waterfall.
Within this cave, there was an opening to get behind the falls and crawl to the other side.
However, due to the downpouring of water from above within the solid ice structure, we chose to avoid crawling through this scenic tunnel. We instead took the opportunity to witness the many icicles from this angle.
Thereafter, we chose to hike along Grindstone Creek into the Bruce Trail for a winter hike in this area. The view of the frozen Creek looking toward Smokey Hollow Waterfall reminded me of a winter wonderland.
Most of the creek was frozen but there were patches of open water flowing beneath it. This particular spot reminded me of a hot tub.
We then decided to climb up from the creek and onto the Bruce Trail. Most of the trail of this hike was filled with wilderness setting of naked trees and branches, without its lush greenery of leaves and bushes that can be seen on a summer hike.
This led us to the portion of the Bruce Trail on the banks of the creek where many hikers built Inuksuks.
Thereafter we proceeded to return back to the parking lot, since it was getting late and almost time for sunset. One thing to always consider during winter hikes is timings and sunsets, since the days are shorter during the winters and one should factor in the timings when it starts to get dark.
Overall, this tour made me appreciate hiking in the winter and something to pursue during the cold months. The waterfalls looks so much different during this season and the natural icy formations makes it look spectacular. This is a great loop to plan for next year’s winter season and sticking to this tour route will help you check out all the popular frozen waterfalls and provide you with an idea of what to expect and experience within the Hamilton Area.