Tiffany and Sherman Falls
There are a lot of waterfalls in the Hamilton Ontario area, many along the Bruce Trail. This hike will take you past Tiffany Falls (21 metre cascade waterfall) and Sherman Falls (17 metre curtain waterfall – also called Fairy Falls or Angel Falls).
We’ll update this soon, but for now, see Hike 1 on our old site.
Location
This hike is located in the Hamilton/Ancaster Heights region of Ontario, Canada. It is described on maps #8 and #9 of the Iroquoia Club section of the Bruce Trail Reference 20.0.
Driving and parking:
- Take the 401 West to the 403 West to Hamilton.
- Continue on the 403, across the Bay.
- Exit the 403 on Main Street West (Highway 2 West).
- After about 2km Highway 2 will turn to the left and start up a long hill.
- You will pass a Garden Centre on your right, then shortly after that there will be a small parking lot on your left.
- This is “Tiffany Falls Conservation Area” 900 Wilson St E, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K5 Lat 43.24078761020681, Lng -79.96020411792689
Additional details:
- General location
- Hamilton/Ancaster Heights in the Dundas Valley, Ontario, Canada.
- Bruce Trail Reference 20.0
- Hike starts: Map #8 Dundas Iroquoia Club km 46.0
- Far end of hike: Map #8 Dundas Iroquoia Club km 48.5
- Total Bruce Trail Distance: 2.5 km
- Related details
- Tiffany Falls is described in Walk #2: Dundas Valley in the excellent book Country Walks: The Niagara Escarpment by Ross McLean, Anne Craik and John Sherk
- Tourism Hamilton website on Tiffany Falls
- Tourism Hamilton website on Sherman Falls
Suggested hike:
Once you’re parked and had a stretch, head south along the east side of the river (the left side). After about 10 minutes and some narrow sections in the path you will come to the bottom of Tiffany Falls:
Walk back the way you came and return to the parking area.
Head north and CAREFULLY cross Highway 2. Walk up the hill (to your left, west) about 15 meters to an open spot where we will join the Bruce Trail. There are rough steps heading away from the road (north) with a chain rail on the left side. This side of Highway 2 has a bike lane, and there was a bike stensil on the ground not far from the trail.
The trail heads west for about 1.2km (km 46.1 to km 47.3). It is a pretty easy walk with some rocky patches. Enjoy the views, and pick up any litter you might come across.
The trail leaves the trees (km 47.3) and crosses Old Dundas Road and continues south to the second falls, Sherman Falls (km 47.5) where Ancaster Creek drops in three stages over the Niagara Escarpment. A good place to take a picture of Sherman Falls as it flows over the Niagara Escarpment:
Once you are ready to move on, cross the steel bridge and follow the Bruce Trail back towards to road, now on the west side of the creek.
The path will turn to the left, then climb a hill and follow the north side of a field before returning to the trees and some views to the north. We walked for about another km (km 48.5) to the smallest waterfall we saw that day. We crossed the foot bridge and stopped here on a rocky outcrop to have lunch.
The only way back is the way we came, so retrace your steps all the way back to the car.
If you are ready for another hike not too far away, carry on to Hike 2.