Chauffeur service for a 17 year old participating in a rowing regatta in Port Dalhousie, Ontario. The waterfall riddled Niagara Escarpment within a short drive. A lot of time on my hands. The perfect storm for a dude who loves to capture images and video of water plunging over a cliff. Rockway Falls turned out to be a great personal discovery.
Rockway Falls
Rockway Falls is located almost directly south of Port Dalhousie and southwest of St. Catherines, Ontario. Like many of the waterfalls along the Niagara Escarpment, other than Niagara Falls, Rockway is best viewed earlier in year or after a decent rainfall. It tends to slow to a trickle later in the summer. I didn’t test it, but supposedly the pool at the base is at points ten feet deep.
At 18.3 metres, or 60 feet, in height, Rockway Falls is a wee bit shorter than Niagara Falls. Niagara is 51 metres, or 167 feet, high and massively wider. However, sometimes its not the sheer size that counts. Rockway goes under the radar of most visitors and is a thing of beauty. From where the above image was taken, beware – while I was setting up this image, a number of small rocks fell from above, narrowly missing me and, more importantly, narrowly missing the camera.
Rockway Falls results from the 15 Mile Creek intersection with the Niagara Escarpment. It is classified as a ‘ramp waterfall’, in that it cascades down a sloping rock cliff as opposed to directly plummeting over the edge and touching nothing until hitting the basin below.
The endless pools and terraces would make this place a refreshing cooldown on a hot summer day. The fact that there is a large amount of agriculture upstream might leave the water quality in question.
The image above is downstream from the main waterfall. This is perhaps the most picturesque section of 15 Mile Creek.
How To Get To Rockway Falls
Protected by the Rockway Falls Conservation Area, it is easy to find from the QEW. Although I’m sure the locals would have a different opinion, the way that worked for me was getting off the highway at the Seventh Street exit and going south (away from Lake Ontario).
You want to take a right at King Street and jog over to Ninth Street, where you’ll take a left. Ninth Street will dead end at Pelham Road, after some wicked curves. Turn left and park at the Rockway Community Centre. As a point of reference, Wessel Drive will branch off Pelham Road directly across from the Community Centre.
There are no fees to park or enter the Conservation Area. Officially, this is a side trail of the Bruce Trail. There are renegade trails throughout that will take you in more or less challenging paths to the base of the waterfall. For those really interested in possible broken bones, there is a cut in the rock cliff right at the parking lot that can be scaled down directly to the base.
Below the main waterfall, there is an endless number of small water waterfalls and rapids.
The great part about this location is that you are in the centre of wine country. Within a ten minute drive, there are several wineries, all selling their wares.
From the parking lot, you can take a very narrow trail between the Community Centre fence and the edge of the cliff. This will take you to the bridge above the main waterfall. From here, you can basically walk through the water to the edge, if you dare. There is footage of this area in the video below. A general warning for anyone hiking in this area: THERE IS A TON OF POISON IVY!
Map To Rockway Falls
‘A’ marks the spot.
The video below was taken the same day. Be sure to switch to HD for best viewing. Also, be sure to hit the ‘Like’ button!
Rockway Falls Video
