If you’ve spent any time reading through the articles on this website, you’ve probably noticed my obsession with waterfalls. In particular, the waterfalls of the Niagara Escarpment in Ontario, Canada. The escarpment is best known as the catalyst for Niagara Falls. However, it is a lengthy break in the earth that extends up the Bruce Peninsula to Tobermory and beyond.
I’ve documented most of the waterfalls in images and video, with exception to those in the Hamilton area. I had plans to visit in the spring of 2014 and try to complete my ‘collection’. I found myself having to go to Brock University in St. Catherines the other weekend for an open house. My oldest son is off to university for the 2014-15 school year and Brock is one of his potential choices.
Why not take a bit of a side trip and check out one more waterfall?
Devil’s Punch Bowl is probably one of the most spectacular of the escarpment waterfalls and something the people of Stoney Creek seem to hide from the rest of the world. This waterfall is easily accessible from the QEW by exiting at Centennial Parkway, driving up the ‘mountain’ and turning left on Ridge Road. There is a small parking fee but it’s minimal.
The weather on the Sunday we visited was exceptional for early November. Unfortunately, it was the day the clocks went back for the winter and daylight hours were at a premium. There is a trail to the base of the waterfall which runs alongside the lower falls (pictured directly above) and the lower area is by no means off limits.
However, the warning at the parking lot that the gates would be locked at sundown and the fact sunlight was precious in getting good images and video caused us to rush. I made the ill decision to send us directly down a steep, muddy slope directly below the observation platform. Simply by moving downstream 30 feet or so, we would have found a perfectly good staircase.
It didn’t help my rushed nerves that when we approached the river bed, there was a cross erected at the top of the lower falls. Someone had not fared well at this location. I believe, it was for a man who plunged to his death from the upper observation platform back in 2012.
What I’m trying to say is…
I didn’t get to explore the area anywhere close to my satisfaction. This is a photographer’s heaven and I could spend several hours, if not a whole day here. Expect a follow up article on Devil’s Punch Bowl in the spring of 2014. The main and secondary waterfalls on site are spectacular and the view from above is quite breathtaking, as well.
Timing is critical with this natural gem. Apparently, you must visit after a decent rainfall or right after the spring melt. It is said that the waterfall will pretty much reduce to a trickle when it’s dry.
The main ‘ribbon’ is just over 120 feet high. At the highest flow, the crest is 36 feet across. The lower falls is around 23 feet in height and 23 feet wide at the crest. The lower falls is much more typical of a Niagara Escarpment waterfall and looks nearly identical to Churches Falls at Forks of the Credit Provincial Park in images.
It is said that the waterfall got it’s name because moonshiners used the location to distribute booze during prohibition. They were said to be doing the ‘devil’s work’ and the base of the main waterfall resembles a punch bowl.
The area is said to be haunted, with many deaths, both accidental, suicidal and homicidal, over the years.
The sunset across the gorge can be quite amazing and many visitors come to view just this. The other feature at Devil’s Punchbowl Conservation Area is the viewing platform, atop the escarpment. The platform surrounds a large cross, more than 30 feet high, that is brightly lit at night. Views from downtown Hamilton to the Toronto skyline can be taken in. Even the mess that is Hamilton Harbour looks pretty good from up here, at sunset when the leaves have turned their autumn colours.
The below video shows both waterfalls and a panoramic view from the platform.
