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River

Buck River

Class

Chute

Size

Small

Visitability

Average

Accessibility

Free

Activity

Walk Time

1min

Trail

Moderate

Gorge Access

Moderate

Other Trails

County

Muskoka

Follow Hwy 11 to Huntsville, and exit right (away from the town) on Muskoka Rd 2 (Ravenscliffe Rd). Follow this winding road for about 11 km to Muskoka Rd 45 (Hoodstown Rd). Turn left here, and drive for 1 km to the bridge over the river. Park on the side of the road, and walk to the left bank (looking downstream). You can get a nice overview of the site from the road bridge, or from the dam.

Settlement

Etwell

NTS Map

31 E/6

Easting

629700

Northing

5024720

UTM Zone

This is an interesting little site: by no means a major destination, but easily worth the short detour off Hwy 11 if you're out visiting Muskoka's larger falls. The "waterfall" is reallly only a long chute, with several cascade-like drops of a 2-3 meters each. But it is interesting in that the Buck River pushes through a straight bedrock-lined channel cut into dipping bedrock. The river's flow is regulated somewhat by a small dam just 25 m upstream of the falls serving to maintain water levels in Fox Lake. At higher flows however, the chute produces spray and some short reaches of bubbling foam.

The whole scene is surrounded by fairly dense forest, with abundant hemlock and cedar. Careful examination of the bedrock shows that it is dipping at about 30 degrees to the west. In some cases, the water slides across sections of the dipping bedrock, producing very small, localized slide-class waterfalls. The total elevation drop between Fox Lake and Lake Vernon is about 14 m, although the drop is spread over a number of chutes and small falls.

You can follow a path into the woods along the left bank (looking downstream) of the river. This eventually meets the river edge, from which you can get a good view of the rapids and little waterfalls. Please do not trespass on the land on the right bank beside the house. This side is private! Although I didn't confirm this, I believe that the path leads about 300-400 m downstream to the shores of Lake Vernon.

Before leaving the site, take a look at the historical plaque erected on the other side of the road. This gives a brief history of the little settlement of Hoodstown, which as you easily see, is no longer here! The little village at one point had 2 churches, a few stores and perhaps a dozen houses. Soon after the railway bypassed Hoodstown - instead favouring the Hwy 11 corridor - the village disappeared.