Wentworth Falls

Joseph Howe Falls, Nova Scotia

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I visited Nova Scotia and New Brunswick three years ago, and they were both beautiful to visit. I, of course, was looking for waterfalls. In Nova Scotia, they are somewhat spread apart. I visited Wentworth Falls, which was probably my favorite of the three waterfalls I visited. Joseph Howe Falls and Waddell Falls are both in the same park, Victoria Park in Truro, and are both along the same creek, so they would classify as pretty close!

You can read my post on Waddell Falls to get more information, so I’ll just give you the rundown. Victoria Park was actually a pretty happening place. I wasn’t sure whether to expect a quiet oasis or a bustling hub, and I was surprised with a bustling hub of activity. The hike to the falls is simple and rather enjoyable, but when I visited, there wasn’t much water flowing over the falls, which is a bit surprising since I visited in May. These falls would best be viewed after rainfall, obviously, where they would probably appear rather impressive. If you happen to be in Truro, famous for its tides, this is a quick stop that doesn’t take much effort.

Directions:

  1. This is a case where I set my GPS and followed it. Many different roads will lead you to the falls. You will want to turn onto Brunswick Street, as the park is off of Brunswick Street.
  2. From there, instead of turning right on Park Street, go to Palmer Street. A gravel parking area (with much easier parking) will be at the end of Palmer Street.
  3. Head south along the trails toward the falls. It works well if you stay on the east side of Lepper Brook. There is great signage to the falls.

Accessibility: 7/10 (easy/moderate)
Height: 15′
Length of Hike: 0.8 miles round-trip

Joseph Howe Falls (4)

Joseph Howe Falls in May 2016

Where in the World is Joseph Howe Falls?

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Waddell Falls, Nova Scotia

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Last year around this time, I traveled to Nova Scotia. After arriving in Halifax, I headed northeast toward Truro. Truro is a nice, quiet town that’s most likely known for its tidal bore (how the tides come and go). In the town are two waterfalls along the same river, and that’s what I was there to find.

As I mentioned in a post about another waterfall in Nova Scotia, Wentworth Falls, there are many waterfalls in Nova Scotia, but they’re scattered throughout the province. They’re also often out far enough that you’ll spend some time driving from one to the next. I wanted a few quick waterfalls, and Waddell Falls fit the mold. It’s in Victoria Park in Truro. I was able to take a nap after arriving in Truro, and yet still had enough time to drive to the park and hike to the falls.

The hike is mostly level, with only the last portion being a bit uphill. The park was very busy, as the weather was extremely nice on the day I visited. There were a number of different events going on. The trail to the falls was very clearly marked, and I had no difficulty arriving at the falls. There were many others visiting the falls also. You’ll come upon Joseph Howe Falls first, and then a bit upstream (and uphill) is Waddell Falls. The only negative…there wasn’t a lot of water flowing. I’m not sure when would be a better time (obviously after a lot of rain), so I took what I saw. (There was enough water that the mosquitoes were crazy!)

Directions:

  1. This is a case where I set my GPS and followed it. Many different roads will lead you to the falls. You will want to turn onto Brunswick Street, as the park is off of Brunswick Street.
  2. From there, instead of turning right on Park Street, go to Palmer Street. A gravel parking area (with much easier parking) will be at the end of Palmer Street.
  3. Head south along the trails toward the falls. It works well if you stay on the east side of Lepper Brook. There is great signage to the falls.

Accessibility: 7/10 (easy/moderate)
Height: 10′
Length of Hike: 0.9 miles round-trip

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Waddell Falls in May 2016

Where in the World is Waddell Falls?

Wentworth Falls, Nova Scotia

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Wentworth Falls in May 2016

I’ve had the chance to explore Nova Scotia and New Brunswick for a few days. I found a few waterfalls in Truro, Nova Scotia on the day I arrived, but I’m going to post about Wentworth Falls because the directions I had were a bit fuzzy.

It ends up there are a lot of waterfalls in Nova Scotia. Check out The Nova Scotia Waterfalls Blog for far more waterfalls than I was able to visit in the short time I was in Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia is approximately 350 miles in length, and driving across it is longer still. So that means you’re unlikely to be able to stop at the many falls unless you have a while to explore. I ended up visiting three waterfalls in two locations, and could possibly have visited more. It seems, though, that waterfalls in Nova Scotia are a bit less developed than you might expect (and in some ways that’s ok). I read of many falls that required ropes to climb down to the base, and I didn’t want to risk that being by myself. Other falls didn’t have very clear directions so this made locating them more of a struggle.

Wentworth Falls is a good example of this. It’s actually a very easy waterfall to get to once you find where to go! Directions had mentioned hostels, which were a few miles north, throwing me off. The hotel near the falls may have been renamed a few times, and was definitely closed. Luckily, I followed my instinct when I saw a truck and trailer parked across the road from the beginning of the trail, and parked in front of the trailhead (though I wasn’t sure I was at the trailhead at the time). Check my directions below to see where to park.

Once you park, the hike is wildly short and easy to manage. Even little kids should have no problem, since we’re talking about 0.1 miles one-way at most. And if there weren’t swarms of mosquitoes there when I visited, I would say it would be a fun place to frolic in the water (unless that’s frowned upon 🙂 ).

Directions:

  1. Head south along NS-4 through the town of Wentworth. Along the way, you will pass Ski Wentworth on your left. Keep going a bit.  You will come to an old (and at this time abandoned) hotel/motel on your right.
  2. Some directions say to stop at the hotel, but I just kept driving for a few hundred yards/meters. I pulled off on the side of the road in front of a trail that had five or six large rocks blocking the trail in between pine trees. (These rocks are just meant to prevent you from driving up.)
  3. I walked past the rocks and up the clear trail to the falls. (If you had parked at the closed hotel, you can walk a few hundred yards/meters south of the hotel along NS-4 and you’ll find other trails that also lead to the falls.)

Accessibility: 10/10 (easy)
Height: ~55′
Hike: ~0.2 miles round-trip

Where in the World is Wentworth Falls?

Unnamed Falls, Blue Mountains NP, New South Wales

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A waterfall in the Blue Mountains National Park (May 2011)

I’m guessing that most people headed to Wentworth Falls aren’t going to intentionally try and find this waterfall, but if you’re on the Charles Darwin Walk, you might find this smaller waterfall. The walk is actually very beautiful. It was really enjoyable on this early May morning. There was some frost on the plants as I started.

The falls themselves are pretty close to Wentworth Falls. The trail starts in the town, and then ends at Wentworth Falls. Right before reaching the crest of Wentworth Falls, you’ll find this waterfall.

Directions:

  1. From the Wentworth Falls train platform, climb up the stairs and head left into the town.
  2. This got a little bit confusing.  You’ll see a number of shops in front of you.  Head down any of the streets to the right of you that run perpendicular to these shops.  You should end up at the main highway 32.
  3. From there, look for a sign indicating the trail that leads to Wentworth Falls.  It’s called the Charles Darwin Walk, and once you find it (near a children’s park), it’s a pretty easy and enjoyable walk.
  4. As you get near the falls, you do begin to descend toward the falls.  Follow the many different signs to see the different viewpoints available.
  5. Head back the way you came.  There’s another way to get back, but it led me more out of the way than I expected.  Overall, it’s about a 3 hour hike, and it’s about 3.5 miles, I think.

Accessibility: 7/10 (easy/moderate)
Height: 15′
Hike: 3.5 miles or so round-trip

Where in the World is the Blue Mountains Waterfall?

Gordon Falls, New South Wales

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Gordon Falls in May 2011

If you have the chance to visit the Blue Mountains while in the Sydney area, I would suggest taking the Blue Mountains Explorer Bus for most of your explorations in the area. The bus stops at most of the interesting scenic sites in the park. You can essentially hit a number of different places all with the setup.

One of the stops that isn’t as busy is the stop leading to Gordon Falls, though that may be because I went later in the day. The hike is very short, and you get an interesting view of a tall, but narrow, falls. They aren’t nearly as impressive as Wentworth Falls or Katoomba Falls, but you should still check it out because it’s so easy to visit…and the scenery is stunning. The falls you see are likely to be highly dependent on recent rainfall.

Directions:

  1. You can access the falls from either Katoomba or Leura.  If you’re driving, Leura would be the better choice, as then it’s a straight drive south on Leura Mall to Gordon Rd.  You would then veer right on Lone Pine Ave to the parking area at the end.
  2. If you’re taking the Blue Mountain Explorer Bus, you’ll get off at Stop #18.  This will be helpful even if your driving, as you can look for the sign.
  3. From the parking area, follow the short trail to the falls.  I didn’t explore whether hiking further on the trail led to better views since I had limited time.

Accessibility: 9/10 (easy)
Height: ~660′
Hike: 0.1 miles or so round-trip

Where in the World is Gordon Falls?

Wentworth Falls, New South Wales

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Lower portion of Wentworth Falls (in May 2011)

Because of the transportation decisions I had made, I got to take the more roundabout method of getting to Wentworth Falls. If you have a car, it’s pretty easy. Just head to the parking area for the falls, and then you’ve got a short hike to the falls themselves.

If you decide to take the train from Sydney, like I did, then you have to figure out an alternative. I had stayed in Katoomba the night before, and since it was my first full night in Australia, I woke up very, very early. I finally was able to determine that a train was going from Katoomba to Wentworth Falls soon (about every hour), so I went to the train station, and headed to Wentworth Falls. After getting off at Wentworth Falls, I got myself confused.

The signs to the falls were clear, except there could be a few more. I started walking in the direction of the sign, but that seemed to lead to the highway. It turned out (finding this out later) that I was heading in the right direction. I finally found the Charles Darwin Walk, and from there it was a very enjoyable, but early, hike to the falls. Frost covered many of the plants in the area.

Once at the falls, I started exploring to find the best view. On the left side of the falls, you get pretty good views of the upper portion of the falls, but you don’t get to see the lower portion. The upper portion is impressive, but seeing the lower portion makes you realize just how large Wentworth Falls is. To see the lower portion better, cross the river above the crest of the falls, and then climb a ways to get to a viewpoint above the falls. The sun was very bright at that point, and I thought I wasn’t going to be able to get any good views, but I covered the camera, and the pictures weren’t nearly as washed out. At 614′, it’s impressive!

Directions:

  1. From the Wentworth Falls train platform, climb up the stairs and head left into the town.
  2. This got a little bit confusing.  You’ll see a number of shops in front of you.  Head down any of the streets to the right of you that run perpendicular to these shops.  You should end up at the main highway 32.
  3. From there, look for a sign indicating the trail that leads to Wentworth Falls.  It’s called the Charles Darwin Walk, and once you find it (near a children’s park), it’s a pretty easy and enjoyable walk.
  4. As you get near the falls, you do begin to descend toward the falls.  Follow the many different signs to see the different viewpoints available.
  5. Head back the way you came.  There’s another way to get back, but it led me more out of the way than I expected.  Overall, it’s about a 3 hour hike, and it’s 3.5 miles, I think.

Accessibility: 7/10 (easy/moderate)
Height: 614′
Hike: 3.5 miles round-trip

Upper portion of Wentworth Falls

Where in the World is Wentworth Falls?