Home  |  Ottawa Valley Region |  

River

York River

Class

Cascade

Size

Medium

Visitability

Good

Accessibility

Free

Activity

Quiet

Walk Time

15min

Trail

Moderate

Gorge Access

Difficult

Other Trails

Some

County

Hastings

Follow Hwy 28 east from Bancroft and watch for the sign for the Egan Chute provincal park. A short access road leads off to the north (left side) of the road, just before the road crosses the York River (ie. on the west side). The access road is paved for the first 300-500 m, and then turns to sand as it follows north along the river. There is a small parking area at the end of the paved section of the access road. It is safer to park here, although I made it quite a bit further along the sand road in a Honda Civic hatchback (drive slowly, since this trail is not maintained for cars). When you come upon a small abandoned open pit mine (Goulding-Keene Quarry) cut into the bedrock on the west side of the river, the path widens slightly and this is a good spot to park, if you haven't already. Follow the sand path for another 10-15 minutes or so along the bank of the river. It will emerge from the forest onto a rocky point overlooking the chute.

Settlement

Bowen Corner

NTS Map

31 F/4

Easting

284515

Northing

4995230

UTM Zone

A neat waterfall that looks 1000% better in person than in my botched photo! It is located where the river constricts and flows through a V-shaped notch in the local bedrock. The falls is about 3 to 5 m high, although the total drop along this stretch of the river is probably 10 m.
This falls is located at the end of an old forest access/mining road, just east of the town of Bancroft. The trail to the falls appears in rough shape, and the walk into the secluded woods may discourage some. However, the path isn't as bad as it seems and the scenery at the end is worth the 10-20 minute walk. I once met up with a man painting landscapes at this site. If it is warm and muggy, the bugs can be moderately thick, so be prepared.

You should be careful at these falls! There are no guard rails or fences, and the bedrock along the shore slopes directly into the waterfall. The river can be quite powerful at high stage, and you wouldn't want to slip on the wet, algae-covered rocks.

Be sure to visit the abandoned Goulding-Keene Quarry (free) on the access road on the way back. Look for exposures of the blue mineral "Sodalite" Bancroft is one of the only places in the world where this mineral is found in abundance. Use caution in the Quarry - the rock walls are up to 7m high. Rocks in the area are principally nepheline syenite and nepheline gneiss, although carbonate metasedimentary rocks also exist. The quarry is located in a giant alkaline pegmatite, with very large albite and nepheline cyrstals.

Egan Chute is included in the print version of "Waterfalls of Ontario.