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River

Fifteen Mile Creek

Class

Ramp

Size

Medium

Visitability

Outstanding

Accessibility

Free

Activity

Moderate

Walk Time

1min

Trail

Moderate

Gorge Access

Difficult

Other Trails

Many (Bruce Trail)

County

Niagara

Exit the QEW at Victoria Ave, and go south past the road to Balls Falls. Turn left on Niagara Regional Rd 69 and follow (take the left at the fork in the road - ie. follow main traffic flow) for about 6 km to the small Hamlet of Rockway. The falls is on the left. Park at the community centre, which is located on the left, immediately past the bridge over the gorge.

Settlement

Rockway

NTS Map

30 M/3

Easting

636421

Northing

4774521

UTM Zone

Rockway Falls is a surprisingly visitable waterfall, yet many people - even semi-locals - have never even heard of it. The gorge is at least as deep as that of nearby Balls Falls. I'm not sure why it doesn't receive even a quarter of the attention directed to Balls Falls or Decew Falls, but it may be partially a function of the form of the falls. Unlike Balls and Decew, Rockway Falls is not a plunge falls, which may lessen its appeal to some. I consider Rockway Falls to be one of the primary examples of a "ramp" waterall. Water slides over the bedrock at a very steep angle, but does not lose contact with the rock at any time. In this case, there is no overlying "caprock" to develop the plunge waterfalls that are so prevalent along the gorge.

There are actually three falls here - the upper falls is on the south side of the road (this is now on private property); the main falls (shown in the photo), and the lower falls, which is a small knickpoint formed in the Irondequoit Limestone located just downstream of the above photo. The upper and lower falls are each about 2 to 3 m in height.

Use caution when exploring Rockway Falls, as there are only limited fences to keep you away from the surprisingly steep cliffs.

Rockway Falls is covered in more detail in the print version of "Waterfalls of Ontario."