outdoors

Lower Düden Falls, Türkiye

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I’m in Türkiye (formerly known as Turkey) right now, and guess what? There are waterfalls in Turkey! It’s not surprising because there’s a lot of elevation change going on in the country, which is one of the main requirements to have waterfalls. There are probably more waterfalls than are “advertised”. Google does a pretty good job of showing where some of the waterfalls are, though it can be a bit difficult to determine how complicated it is to get to each falls.

The first waterfall we visited in Türkiye is an easy one to visit. It’s also an extremely stunning waterfall that drops about 131′ into the Mediterranean Sea. There are two distinct falls on the Düden Stream/River and they’re not always clearly distinguished. If you go to Google Maps, you’ll see photos for the two falls at the same location. If you could fly between the two, they’re approximately 13 km apart!

They’re both worthwhile to visit and Lower Düden Falls is the one that is seaside. There is a park dedicated to visiting the falls. It’s pretty easy to get to. If you’re driving in a Turkish city, it can be rather chaotic getting used to a different driving style. If you don’t want to take the effort to drive there, you can take the bus to the falls or you can purchase a tour guide/company to take you to the falls.

We are renting a car right now because our final destination is İstanbul. If you rent a car, then it is worthwhile to see the other three falls in a day (or over multiple days). There’s Manavgat Falls, Kurşunlu Falls, and Upper Düden Falls. You may also be able to find a tour guide that combines the four falls together. Tourism is a major business in Antalya, and the benefit is you can really go anywhere on a tour.

Directions:

  1. I’ll direct you to Google Maps if you’re driving. Look for Düden Park Şelalesi. Şelalesi is the term for waterfall. You can also set your directions to the Düden Otopark which is easy parking to get to the falls. It costs ~20 TL, which is about 1 USD.
  2. You could also take a tour guide there and not have to worry about where to park.

Accessibility: 10/10 (easy)
Height: 131′
Length of Hike: 0.1 miles round-trip

Lower Düden Falls in March 2023

Where in the World is Lower Düden Falls?

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Lace Falls, New York

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Lace Falls is a freebie that comes with a visit to one of the many waterfalls in Ithaca, New York. The interesting thing about the other waterfall is that it seems to have many different names: Wells Falls, Businessman’s Lunch Falls, or Van Natta’s Falls.

Lace Falls in May 2009

I don’t honestly remember the hike down to the falls as I visited Lace Falls 13 years ago and am just now getting to writing about it. Luckily I wrote about Wells Falls way back when, so the trail directions are down below. Once you get to the base of Wells Falls, Lace Falls is flowing off to the side. It’s a separate waterfall from Wells Falls. After a good rainfall, it will be impressive. If it’s been dry, there may not be much of a waterfall!

Directions:

  1. From the center of Ithaca, head out on East NY-79.
  2. You’ll pass the intersection for NY-366, but do not turn here. Shortly after that, you’re going to turn onto Water St.
  3. Water St. will end at the parking lot of a nature preserve that is right next to Six Mile Creek.
  4. Park in the nature preserve and walk across Giles St. and over the bridge that crosses Six Mile Creek.
  5. After you have passed the bridge, you have two options. First option: There is a trail that has been widely used that you will come up to first. This trail can give you some very good views of the crest of the falls, but not the base. If you continue on the trail, you will most likely end up with the trail ending abruptly. Second option: If you go a very short distance further, you’ll will notice a somewhat inclined trail/rock road/path that leads downward. If you follow this trail, you’ll end up with a much better view of the base of the falls. Try both options for multiple photo opportunities.

Accessibility: 7/10 (easy/moderate)
Height: 75′
Length of Hike: 0.2 miles round-trip

Where in the World is Lace Falls?

Cascade Springs Falls, Georgia

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Cascade Springs Falls isn’t a large waterfall, but it’s one of the more interesting waterfalls (in a certain respect) in Georgia. If you head one or two hours outside of Atlanta, you can find a multitude of waterfalls in the north of the state. If you head south, there aren’t as many, with High Falls being the main one. But in Atlanta, there aren’t many.

Cascade Springs Falls in May 2014

But there is Cascade Springs Falls! Just to the west of the downtown, you can stumble upon this fun waterfall, which is in a fascinating nature preserve. When I visited, it honestly felt a bit out of place…I’m thinking there should be the hustle and bustle of a major city, and yet there’s this ethereal park where you’ll find some really random and interesting treasures.

The ethereal feeling might come from the hobbit-like spring pump house you’ll find as you approach the falls. There’s also Civil War earthworks, though I don’t have much recollection of seeing directions as where to look for those.

Directions:

  1. I’m not sure what the best way to approach the park is…so I’ll give directions from I-285, which might be the main road closest to the falls.
  2. If you’re headed north on I-285 (north of the intersection of GA-154 or south of the intersection with I-20), you’ll come to exit 7, which is indicatively named Cascade Road.
  3. If headed north, you’ll turn right onto Cascade Road. Head just under 1.5 miles along Cascade Road to the entrance/parking area for Cascade Springs Nature Preserve.
  4. Follow a path south/southeast-ish to get to the falls.

Accessibility: 9/10 (easy)
Length of Hike: 1.9 miles round-trip (though I don’t think it’s that long to the falls)
Height: 6′

Where in the World is Cascade Springs Falls?

Turtleback Falls, North Carolina

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Turtleback Falls is a bonus waterfall. If you’re in the area of Turtleback Falls, you’re likely visiting the much larger Rainbow Falls, which is on the same trail. Rainbow Falls clocks in at 125′, whereas Turtleback Falls is about 20′ tall, though it doesn’t look that tall because of the angle you’ll be viewing the falls.

The thing with waterfall explorers…I want to add Turtleback Falls to the list, so once I reach Rainbow Falls, I walk about 0.2 miles further to find Turtleback Falls. Now I’ve got another one to add to the list! Turtleback Falls is a pretty waterfall, and in another area of North Carolina even, it would be a worthwhile stop. But with Rainbow Falls downstream, it probably gets a bit lost on the radar of most people.

The hike to Rainbow and Turtleback Falls is not a quick one. It’s about 3 miles round-trip to Rainbow Falls, and then about 0.4 miles additional hiking to get to Turtleback Falls. I don’t distinctly remember the hike, but I’ve been trying to record “my” difficulty right after the hike, and I rated it as on the moderate to strenuous side. That means there was probably a consistent amount of uphill/downhill hiking.

Directions:

  1. On US-64 between Lake Toxaway and Cashiers, you’ll find a road to Gorges State Park.
  2. If you’re heading west from Lake Toxaway, you’re not far from the park. Turn left from US-64 onto NC-281 (also known as Whitewater Road) heading south.
  3. After a mile on NC-281, turn left onto Grassy Ridge Road, which should lead into Gorges State Park.
  4. You’re looking for the Rainbow Falls and Turtleback Trailhead, which is about as far as you can go on Grassy Ridge Road before you start looping back toward the other roads.

Accessibility: 4/10 (moderate/strenuous)
Height: 20′
Distance of Hike: 3.4 miles round-trip

Turtleback Falls in March 2017

Where in the World is Turtleback Falls?

Undine Falls, Wyoming

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Yellowstone National Park has a number of very impressive waterfalls within its boundaries. Most of them can be visited without much difficulty. Undine Falls is a roadside waterfall that requires minimal effort to view. Just pull off the road…I think there might be a designated pull-off/parking area, though many vehicles just pull off to the side of the road anyway to view wildlife. (There were damaging floods in 2022, so I’m assuming that the pull-off would still be there, though it may be damaged.)

Undine Falls in June 2014

There’s a loop that goes around…it could be described as two connected loops. Undine Falls is on the northern portion of the upper loop. It’s not that far from Mammoth Hot Springs. Wraith Falls is essentially right across the road. They’re separated by barely a mile in distance. Wraith Falls requires a hike, whereas Undine Falls doesn’t. I think this was the area where I saw a bear on a slope, and I only noticed because of the above mentioned cars that were pulled off to the side of the road!

Directions

  1. Mammoth Hot Springs and Fort Yellowstone are found along US-89. Those essentially represent the northern entrance to Yellowstone National Park.
  2. If you head east on Grand Loop Road, you’ll be headed toward Undine Falls.
  3. Undine Falls is about 4 miles east of the intersection of US-89 and Grand Loop Road. If you’re headed east, it will be on the left side of the road.

Accessibility: 10/10 (easy)
Height: 100′
Distance of Hike: roadside

Where in the World is Undine Falls?

Webster Falls, Ontario

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The City of Hamilton is a spectacular place to find waterfalls. The Niagara Escarpment runs directly through the city. When we visited in July 2019, we weren’t in Hamilton for very long, but were still able to see a number of falls.

Webster Falls and Tews Falls are both within the same park and within the Spencer Gorge Conservation Area. There are two separate parking areas for the falls, though I think you can hike between them. Webster Falls isn’t one of my favorite falls in the area. There may be some designated viewing areas, but it’s really difficult to get a good view of the full falls, which are about 22 meters/72 feet tall. There is a lot of vegetation right in front of the path, pretty much the whole path. I have photos where I tried to capture the whole drop, but it’s even more so blocked by trees. It’s a pretty area to walk around, but if I had to choose certain falls, I would skip this one and instead visit other falls that I could get better views of.

There is a fee to enter the park and also to park the car. In 2019, there weren’t any reservations required, but in 2022, there are times where reservations are required. The Conservation Hamilton website provides the fees and the dates that reservations are required. Sometimes it is only weekends and holidays, but in the fall, it seems like it may be everyday. The reservation is an additional fee. That gets you in to see both falls.

Directions:

  1. There are a number of different paths you could take to get to the Spencer Gorge Conservation Area and Webster Falls. I would suggest having the map on your car/smartphone direct you to Webster Falls.
  2. As mentioned above, there are separate parking areas for Tews Falls and Webster Falls. Webster Falls is found off of Fallsview Road.

Accessibility: 10/10 (easy)
Height: 72′
Distance of Hike: 0.1 miles round trip

Webster Falls in July 2019

Where in the World is Webster Falls?

Wequiock Falls, Wisconsin

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I thought I had posted about Wequiock Falls earlier in the year, but here we are. In June, we went to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and ended up in the “thumb” of the UP. I was trying to decide how to get home and figured I would take the ferry from Manitowoc, WI to Ludington, MI. We drove down to Green Bay for the night. I knew there were a few waterfalls in the area.

Depending on the Google maps source, it was reported that Wequiock Falls was closed, but it wasn’t. Unless the path is blocked off, I’m not sure how the park could be closed. There isn’t much infrastructure there to close. After reading a Google review, I expected the park to be trashed, but was pleasantly surprised to find that it was pretty clean. There were some fast food wrappers before we got to the stairs that lead down to a view of the falls, but it wasn’t what I would classify as trashed. Someone may have shown up at a time where someone hadn’t cleaned up in a while?

Getting to the parking area for the falls is pretty easy, and then hiking to the falls is also not very complicated. There are some stairs that lead down to a viewing area. The viewing area is not great for viewing the falls, and so we walked closer to the falls.

We visited on June 21, 2022, and I guess much of the water from snowmelt had already found it’s way to Lake Michigan…There wasn’t a whole lot of water flowing over the falls. I think it had rained the day before (or hours before), but it still wasn’t a lot. It may benefit you to go in early spring or after a really good rainfall.

Directions:

  1. From Green Bay, head east/northeast on WI-57 (toward what we’ll call the thumb of Wisconsin).
  2. After a few miles, you’ll reach the intersection of WI-57 and VanLaanen Road. If you’re headed east, you’ll turn left onto VanLaanen Road.
  3. The parking area for the falls is a very sharp right after you turn. There are signs to indicate where you should head.
  4. After parking, you’ll head a bit further east. You should be able to see a smaller bridge that leads over a creek. You’ll be passing over the falls.
  5. You’ll head a 100-200 feet along that path and then you’ll come to a staircase. The staircase will lead you down to the creek. There is a viewing deck that’s not that great.
  6. You can head upstream. I didn’t find it to be difficult.

Accessibility: 10/10 (easy)
Height: 25′
Distance of Hike: 0.1 miles round trip

Wequiock Falls in June 2022

Where in the World is Wequiock Falls?

Les Cascades, Québec 

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Québec is not a province that is advertised as having many waterfalls. I decided to take my husband to Québec City for his birthday, and one of the perks is that there are many more waterfalls that one might expect, even in and around the city. If you head outside of the city, mostly northeast of Québec City, but a few south, you’ll find even more waterfalls.

To get to the falls, you will either have to drive to Québec or get a rental car. There are probably a lot more options for rental cars near Montréal, but there aren’t really any major waterfalls in or near that city, so you’d have to drive an hour or so north to even find some falls. The Québec airport is smaller and there are fewer options, but you’ll be closer to the falls. Driving in from the northeast US is also another option.

The first falls we stopped at is simply called Les Cascades. I don’t seem to find any more interesting name attached to them. They’re found near Parc Armand-Grenier or along Parc de la Rivière-Beauport. From Parc Armand-Grenier, it is a very short hike down some stairs to see the falls, so that is the option/park I refer to in the directions.

Les Cascades are the smallest of the five falls I visited in the Québec City region over two days. They’re still impressive and not at all difficult to find.

Directions:

  1. It’s easier to explain if you’re heading east along Autoroute 40 E. If you’re headed east, take exit 319.
  2. After taking exit 319, turn left onto Rue Cambronne.
  3. After 350 meters, turn right onto Avenue des Cascades and turn into Parc Armand-Grenier.
  4. There is no cost to visit. After parking, head toward the river and there will be a trail and some stairs leading down to the falls.
  5. If you’re headed west along Autoroute 40 W, you’ll have to take exit 320 and then do a number of right turns: first right onto Rue Clemenceau, then right onto Rue Seigneuriale, and then right onto Rue Cambronne. You’ll then go 1.3 km to Avenue des Cascades.

Accessibility: 9/10 (easy, some stairs)
Height: 33′
Distance of Hike: 0.1 miles round trip

Les Cascades on the Rivière-Beauport in late July 2022

Where in the World is Les Cascades?

Lower Johnston Canyon Falls, Alberta

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There are a number of waterfalls in Johnston Canyon, and I’m close to writing about all the falls. This is the “lowest” of the falls, which means it is the furthest downstream. There are three middle waterfalls that are named: Tunnel Falls, Stella Falls, and Cavern Falls. Then there are two falls the furthest upstream: Upper Johnston Canyon Falls and the falls I’ve designated as “Upper” Upper Johnston Canyon Falls.

Lower Johnston Canyon Falls in August 2014

As you might be able to figure out, Johnston Canyon is pretty awesome if you want to see waterfalls. And they’re really beautiful. The hike to view solely Lower Johnston Canyon Falls is 0.6 miles one-way. If you want to continue on to see the other falls, it is 1.7 miles one-way. The hike to the falls is pretty cool. There is a boardwalk that is built next to the canyon and at many points, you’re walking over or very close to the river.

It was very busy the day I visited. There was no parking available in the designated parking area and so I had to park on the main road somewhat distant from the trailhead. The hike is worth it, even to the lower falls. The one thing I will remember distinctly is families trying to push strollers down the boardwalk. It is a great hike for kids that can walk, but the boardwalk is just not big enough for strollers!

Directions:

  1. This isn’t a particularly difficult set of waterfalls to find, with one minor hitch. The trail head is along of the Bow Valley Parkway (Highway 1A). If you’re driving along the Transcanadian Highway 1, there are limited entrances/connections onto 1A. In order to find the falls, you can either enter onto 1A a few miles after leaving Banff. You will be heading west if you take this exit, and the trail head will be on your right after driving for a while. (You can also exit at the junction of Transcanadian Highway 1 and Alberta 93. Instead of heading south, though, head north for a short distance. Then turn right and drive for 6.4 km. The parking area will be on your left.)
  2. I mention a parking area, but as I said, that parking area was completely full. There were at least a hundred or so cars (possibly more) parked on the sides of 1A, so that’s where I parked. It added a little bit longer to the walk, but it wasn’t much.

Accessibility: 9/10 (easy)
Height: 30′
Distance of Hike: 1.2 miles round trip

Where in the World is Lower Johnston Canyon Falls?

Wahconah Falls, Massachusetts

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Wahconah Falls is not a waterfall that triggers any significant memories. I’ve looked at photos and they don’t click. That might sound odd to mention that, but sometimes I find it useful. I remember the unique, unusual, or difficult waterfalls. Viewing Wahconah Falls wasn’t difficult, since the exhausting hikes, are well…exhausting.

Wahconah Falls in July 2015

Wahconah Falls isn’t far outside Pittsfield, which is in the far west of Massachusetts in the Berkshires. It’s easily accessed off of a main road and there is a designated parking area for the state park. I don’t think there was any cost to view the falls. Once you’re parked, the hike to the falls is short and sweet. I don’t think I hung around long.

I’ve found in New England that some of the waterfalls in July and August don’t flow much, but Wahconah Falls was flowing well in July 2015. In the spring as the snow is melting, you’re likely to be greeted with a more intense waterfall.

Directions:

  1. If you start from Pittsfield, start on Route 9 heading out of the city east. It’s somewhat confusing…
  2. Route 9 is still route 9, but Route 8 will merge into at some point, so it will be Route 8 and 9…
  3. Dalton is to the east of Pittsfield, once you pass through Dalton, Route 8 and 9 split again. Stay on Route 9 heading northeast. Oddly enough, Route 9 will also be Route 8A.
  4. From the split of 8 and 9, it will be just under 2.5 miles to Wahconah Falls Road.
  5. Turn right onto Wahconah Falls Road and you will come to the parking area for the falls.

Accessibility: 9/10 (easy)
Height: 40′
Length of Hike: 0.4 miles round-trip

Where in the World is Wahconah Falls?