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Cooper's Falls Trail (Trans-Canada Trail)

Cooper's Falls Trail (Trans-Canada Trail) near Gravenhurst, ON

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This trail was given a rating of 4 out of 5 stars

8 kms
3hours
moderate
Snowshoeing, Hiking, Mountain Biking
Winter, Fall, Summer
Gravenhurst, ON

Crisscross

LARGER MAP

Passes through Kahshe Barrens Reserve - excellent Canadian Shield terrain with ridges, ponds, barrens, forest and swamps. The trail is marked by a few signs, cairns, and some ribbons - no blazes or paint. It's best to look for the worn paths. Pay attention or you can lose the route in open parts. From the south: heading north the trail is on a jeep track - look for a pond on the right after a short way - then becomes an old access road. It follows the old road passing many ponds (you have to go a bit off the trail to see them) to a large cleared right-of-way a major Hydro line (Minden-Swift Rapids). The trail leaves the cleared area and climbs to a ridge (if you go straight, there is a large pond about 100 meters ahead). The route continues over open ridges and in bush between them. At the 2 km sign the long bridge over the swamp is submerged and impassable but go a bit east and cross on a beaver dam then head west back to trail. There is also an excellent outlook to the east over a large barrens area a bit east on the rise before the dam. At the 3 km sign, you arrive at a particularly beautiful pond to the west of trail with light rock outcrops into the water. There is one direct outlook from the trail but go down to the shore on the north end for the best views. At 4 km the trail crosses under a phone line with low towers - poorly marked here - easy to lose trail due to the bare rock - so be careful. Continue to a memorial bench with an excellent view over large swamp meadows, cliffs and water. This is an excellent destination for a round trip. The trail continues to cross Laroger Road ([private road to Muskoka 6 east, Kahshe Lake to west) and goes west on the road to the remainder of the trail, which enters from the north. The final part traverses a swampy and very buggy area (should be re-routed to the ridges), heading east north east to end at parking near Riley Lake Road on Muskoka 6.

Directions:

Highway 11 - exit at Cooper's Falls Road (Simcoe 52)south of Severn Bridge. Follow 52 - it becomes Muskoka 6 through the ghost town of Cooper's Falls to the well-marked trailhead on the north side of the road (look for pedestrian crossing signs). There is parking at the trailhead but the approach is bad. It is probably better if you park on the side of the paved road where it gets wider to the east. For the other end, continue on Muskoka 6 heading east then north. The parking lot is on the west side near Riley Lake Road. The trail head is a bit south of the parking. You can make a loop by leaving a bike at one end and riding it back.

By Posted By: orillianaturist - Tue May 05 05:11:38 EDT 2009 Upside Very isolated, little used, peaceful, very picturesque. Abundance of wild life due to it's isolated location and no private dwellings anywhere near the trail. Challenging in places which makes for a great workout. If you are looking for peace and quiet, solitude, and great location to be alone and meditate. This is the place to be. Great place to put up a small tent and spend the night. No shortage of drinking water. Downside Buggy at certain times of the year. Can easily loose your way if you miss a trail marker. You are "really" on your own if you go alone. Both entrances can be easily missed. Comment For the "freehiker" this is the ideal place to go. Both entrances have off road parking. You can leave your clothes in your vehicle and spend the whole day freehiking. Good footwear, a hat and sunscreen are recommended. The vast flat rock areas hold the heat which is great as the day cools off. There are many cool clean ponds for skinnydipping. At the mid-way point there is a bench to sit and relax and enjoy the view from the top of a cliff over Cache Barrens. To date I have never had a negative reaction from any clothed hikers, as I feel we are all out there for the same reason, just to get away for the day and enjoy the peace and quiet and solitude of this great trail. This is also a fantastic place to sleep ovenight, outdoors on the warm flat rocks and gaze at the stars as there are no lights to obscure the night sky. There is lots of dry wood and plenty of water. Obey local campfire codes.

John (Orillia Naturist)

By Posted By: Crisscross - Mon Apr 27 20:00:44 EDT 2009 Not Rated Comment Sorry about the GPS - I had a leftover track from out west so the thing was included and and I couldn't edit it. To see the track, zoom in to Highway 11 at Washago (about 150 km due north of Toronto) south of Gravenhurst and then east to the words "Coopers Falls". The track is clearly there just to the east.

By Posted By: Crisscross - Tue Jul 17 17:19:31 EDT 2007 Not Rated Comment The extral points have been removed. The track shown is from the southern trailhead to the memorial bench, about 4 km in.

By Posted By: Crisscross - Tue Jul 17 15:31:04 EDT 2007 Not Rated Comment The extra tracks in the original GPS were Boynton Canyon (Sedona, Arizona). Huckleberry Rock (Muskoka Lakes, ON). and Old Joe's at Bayview Wildwood, snowshoesing (Washago, ON)

By Posted By: trailpeak - Tue Jul 17 12:41:32 EDT 2007 Not Rated Comment trailpeak note: gps data was approved, however since several locations seem to have been part of this submissions, the preview shows a very wide area (Americas) ... however, if you zoom into the area Noth of Toronto, you will see 3 excellent track logs here, all in the Garvenhurst area, no doubt one is Coopers.