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River

Magnetawan River

Class

Cascade

Size

Medium

Visitability

Average

Accessibility

Free

Activity

Quiet

Walk Time

1min

Trail

Moderate

Gorge Access

Moderate

Other Trails

some

County

Parry Sound

Drive north on Hwy 11 from Huntsville to Emsdale. Drive two km north from the main road at Emsdale, and turn left (east) on Deer Lake Rd. Drive east for about 3.4 km to Brooks Falls Park on the left side of the road. Drive in to the end of the parking lot, and follow your ears to the falls! NOTE: Hwy 11 is being twinned to create an expressway here, and thus, you may (?) not be able to exit at Deer Lake Rd once the twinning is completed.

Settlement

Emsdale

NTS Map

31E/11

Easting

633037

Northing

5046119

UTM Zone

This is a nice, decent-sized falls that is bigger than it appears in this photo. And even though you can drive to within a two minute walk to the crest, this waterfall is unspoiled and could easily be mistaken for a true wilderness site. The falls is a wide, steep cascade, about 6 to 7 m in height and about 15 m wide at its base. It is surrounded by a round, low gorge cut out of the bedrock. The bedrock is dark, and rough, giving an interesting rugged look to the river.

There is no dedicated viewing platform, and while you can easily get a good shot of the falls from several spots part-way down the gorge, you should be careful since there are no fences to keep you back from the gorge walls. I shot this photo just steps from the parking area, by carefully stepping into the wooded valley walls and finding a safe rock platform facing the waterfall (one step to the left would have been a 5 to 8 m drop, so be careful!). A short walk upstream leads to the crest of the falls, while a short walk downstream leads to a pretty bedrock rapids about 40-50 m downstream of the falls. A wooden bench provides a perfect spot to sit and enjoy the rapids.

In order to get to the falls, you will drive through the small, passive Brooks Falls Park. It is rarely busy, but offers picnic tables and outhouse washrooms.