There is a short hike to a waterfall on Panuke Lake which you can easily do with a family. This is a waterfall on the stream which empties Halls Lake into Panuke Lake.
The hardest part of this hike is to make your way to the start of the path. I suggest that you look closely at the 1:50000 or aerial photos to draw a map to the trailhead. Once at the trailhead follow the dirt road on your right towards Panuke Lake. This road is quite wide and goes through an evergreen forest. As you start to descend to the lake you will notice a faint trail on the left. Take this trail (single track size) and follow it until it crosses the brook. Follow this brook downstream for 10m on the right hand side (looking downstream) to have a better view of the fall.
This is a neat fall because it actually ends up in the lake. I have heard that it used to be taller but when they filled the lake (as a reservoir), the height of the fall was reduced. However it is still about 30 feet high.
Directions:
In St Croix, take Hartville Rd and continue to sharp bend and past railroad track. Just after the track, turn right on dirt road and past quarry and eventually taking a minor road that turns to the right (2.8km after leaving pavement). I parked at (44° 54.795'N, 64° 3.050'W) and headed down the dirt road on the right.
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ByPosted By: mbrinen
- Fri Oct 26 23:41:18 EDT 2012
UpsideI returned to these Falls a second time with 2 kids (4 and 5 years old). They did fantastic on the hike, despite ferns being taller then the 4 year old at times!
DownsideWe had quite a bit of rain the week we went, so the trail was wet, and swampy in parts. Most of it could be avoided by walking alongside the trail. With kids, crossing the brook was tricky, especially since we had quite a bit of rain. Adults can find there way across rocks, little kids, not so much. I ended up just walking through the water, carrying the kids.
CommentThe drive in the access road was long, I would suggest a truck in some parts of the access road. I've done it in a Kia Rio and a Toyota Corolla..both times we did find, but a higher vehicle would be easier and faster.
ByPosted By: mbrinen
- Sun Sep 16 11:36:16 EDT 2012
UpsideIt was awesome! We went for a swim in the pool of water below the falls, and climbed up the falls (a little slippery, but just wet), and enjoyed the pools of water up on top of the falls too! It was beautiful, and a beautiful hike in too.
DownsideThe access road took forever, especially when driving carefully in a small car (I wish we had a truck)! We walked in a road (instead of the trail), and it turned out to be someone's property, but we just cut through the woods and found the trail and waterfall. When you finally get to the trail, it is clearly marked.
CommentI would go back! The pictures don't do it justice. And we were thankful for the GPS coordinates, although we relied on the map, not the coordinates (they seemed to be a little off). Overall it was fantastic!
ByPosted By: iamthewalrus
- Mon Jun 11 20:55:36 EDT 2012
UpsideNot much of an upside for us, as we never made it to the falls.
DownsideWARNING: Be prepared for ticks.. my boyfriend and I regularly hike and have never experienced this many. Between the two of us we came out with over 40 (YES, not even a slight exaggeration) ticks on us. Please be aware and use caution. Make sure you check yourselves when leaving.
Posted By: mbrinen
Posted By: iamthewalrus
