Located right off highway 11, the main thoroughfare that runs between Toronto and North Bay in Ontario, Muskoka High Falls is a bit of a secret, unknown to the thousands of daily passersby. Just after the north branch of the Muskoka River passes under the four lane freeway, it tumbles over a fifty foot cliff in a rather spectacular display of nature at its best.
Getting To Muskoka High Falls
Going north on 11, pass by the main exits for Bracebridge and leave the highway at the highway 117/Cedar Lane turnoff. Go left, or west, and directly across the overpass is an unassuming entrance to a small day-use park. You could potentially drive around this park that mostly serves as a rest area for folks on long journeys across Canada, and still not see the waterfall.
Although the water is controlled above the falls, the waterfall is mostly left to its natural state. The Muskoka River can be quite swollen and nasty in the springtime, as seen in extremes in April, 2013. However, during the summer and autumn, the waterfall is relatively calm and one can scramble across the rock face of the Canadian Shield to nearly the edge of the steep cascade.
Muskoka High Falls is one of several waterfalls in the region and specifically on the north branch of the Muskoka River. Below this waterfall are the smaller Wilson’s Falls and Bracebridge Falls.
From above the crest of the waterfall, there is a walking bridge across the river.
Once again, I strayed to the opposite end of the spectrum from my typical daytime long exposure water blur images. I’ve been jacking up the exposure time on waterfalls to get a different perspective. Many of these are at 1/4000 of a second exposure time.
The image above shows both the water from Potts Creek and the main High Falls. Potts Creek is much smaller and has a much lower waterflow, but it’s not all about size. There is an amazingly beautiful stretch of Potts Creek within the park. The Trans Canada Trail runs along side, allowing access to the main Potts Falls.
Yes, I did get some long exposure shots in. I want to go back and get some more in the autumn when the leaves start to change colour. However, most of the trees are either white cedar or white pine so there won’t be a whole lot of colour change here.
Potts Falls
Hiking up Potts Creek on the Trans Canada Trail has a bit of a ‘Lord of the Rings’ or ‘Narnia’ feel to the landscape. The gnarly roots of the white cedar are always photogenic.
The main Potts Falls is not much more than a trickle in August. This is a much more powerful waterfall during the spring runoff.
Between Potts Falls and the point where Potts Creek meets the Muskoka River. What I’m trying to capture is the rotation in the water in the upper left below these smaller cascades. It was pretty cool, even without the added effect of long exposure.
The HD Video below was taken on the same day as the images above. This is strictly of Muskoka High Falls and does not include Potts Falls. From the video, you can see and hear the power of High Falls that aren’t quite captured in still images.
Be sure to switch video quality to the highest setting and be sure to hit the ‘Like’ button! Also, it’s definitely worth a search in YouTube of ‘High Falls April 2013 flood’ to see some amazing video of the outrageous water levels seen this spring.
Muskoka High Falls Video
