Kakabeka Falls

The Kaministiquia River drops about forty metres at Kakabeka, the second highest waterfall in Ontario, and boardwalks on both sides of the gorge give it from several angles with a bridge across the lip. The name comes from the Ojibwe gakaabikaa, a waterfall over a cliff. The gorge walls hold stromatolite fossils around 1.6 billion years old, formed by mats of cyanobacteria. An Ojibwe story tells of Green Mantle, a chief's daughter who led a Sioux war party over the falls to save her people. A hydro station upstream diverts water, so flow is managed rather than natural.

The landscape

• The forty-metre drop - Ontario's second highest waterfall.
• The boardwalks - viewing platforms on both sides and a bridge at the lip.
• The stromatolites - 1.6 billion year old fossils in the gorge walls.
• The gorge - a steep cut below the falls with lookout points.

When to go

May to October for full access; spring melt gives the strongest flow. The park stays open in winter for skiing and the frozen falls. Flow is affected by upstream hydro diversion.

What to expect

Water volume is controlled by the hydro station and can be much reduced in dry periods. The site is compact, about an hour. Boardwalks are icy in shoulder seasons.

Nearby

Thunder Bay lies east; Ouimet Canyon is northeast.

Key facts