Niagara Km 29.1 to Km 45.1 - 12 May, 2014

Hikers: Helgy, Christine, Case and Andy

Leader:  Karen

Section and Distance:  Niagara Km 29.1 to Km 45.1

Weather: Cool, cloudy with some sun, windy

Actual Distance hiked:  16.1 Km

Starting the hike

This is a makeup hike for Christine, Andy and Case.

After positioning the cars we started the hike at DeCew House.   We entered the bush and then followed the south shore of Lake Moodie for 1.2 km to the Hydro facility and then followed the trail to the Escarpment edge above Twelve Mile Creek.  Here we saw a good view of the dry DeCew Falls by the waterworks building.  Apparently there was a leak and the water had been dropped to avoid flooding. They are hoping to be up and running again in a few weeks.  We continued along the old roadway to Morningstar Mill.  We continued along DeCew Road before entering the woods.

Walking along Lake Moodie

Lake Moodie

Man made falls

Dry DeCew Falls

Morningstar Mill

After crossing several streams we descended steeply to a swampy area, followed by more fields.  These lands form part of the 700-hectare Short Hills Provincial Park.  The trail turned left through fields and forests to Wiley Rd.  We followed the old farm road and followed the north bank of Terrace Creek to Terrace Creek Falls.

Jack in a Pulpit

After crossing a bridge over a stream we reached an old roadbed (Gillign Rd.) and followed it up the hill.  We continued hiking through old farm pastures and fields and then climbed a steep ravine by the Swayze Falls and observation deck overlooking the falls.  The falls is known as "dry falls" because it is often dry; however, today there was a trickle of water with some ice buildup.  We had our lunch at the observation deck

Swayze Falls (dry)

We continued through the wooded area of Short Hills Provincial Park before we exited onto Effingham Road which we followed for a short distance and then entered a right of way near an old water-filled quarry.  We skirted a field and followed an old road allowance for a short distance. 

We then ascended steeply to the top of the Escarpment and continued through the woods to Rockway Road.  We followed Rockway Road and walked to the Rockway Community Centre to our parked car.

We picked up our second car, and drove home.