We stayed at the cabin in Ocean Pond again this weekend, and it proved to be a good home base for driving to Cataracts Provincial Park, just outside of Colinet on Saturday!
The Cataracts Waterfalls
The three of us (Elizabeth’s sister included) weren’t sure the best route to take to the Cataracts from Ocean Pond because Google Maps was providing us with 3 different options. So we decided to drive through Whitbourne on the way down and then take Salmonier Line on the way back. The verdict: Going through Whitbourne was slightly faster but involved driving on a gravel road for much longer than we would have liked. Let’s just say that our car appreciated taking the smooth alternate route back!
The Cataracts turned out to be just over an hour from the cabin, and we had to traverse multiple gravel roads to get there. After we drove past Colinet the road turned to gravel again, and it was on this road that we came across the Cataracts. Although, if there wasn’t for a small “parking area” on the side of the road, we wouldn’t have even stopped at that spot. Unfortunately, the signage is almost non-existent – the only sign we came across was 1 km before the park; there were no signs to tell you that you had arrived in the Park, or anything that even acknowledged that you had just driven over a river next to cascading waterfalls! It’s not hard to find, but it could be easier.
Luckily, once you do find the falls, the gravel roads and slight confusion are definitely worth it. The parking area is across the road from the entrance to a trail which took us over the waterfall, around it, and then down into the gorge. It felt like we were being lead into a secret world as we went further down the steps turning corner after corner.
The path goes right in front of the waterfall, and over the river. From there, we continued on the trail for a few more minutes, still unsure of where it would lead us, when we realized that it brought us back up to the road. So we wandered back around and onto another trail to make sure we hadn't missed anything; it turns out that all we had missed were some outhouses and a lookout point. Then we took the first trail back to the waterfall to eat our picnic lunch. We set up camp on the wooden bridge in front of the Cataracts and enjoyed our food while admiring the view.
After lunch, Elizabeth spent some time playing around with the shutter speed on her camera and we just hung out on the bridge for a while. The Cataracts were a great picnic spot, despite the lack of picnic tables, and we felt completely immersed in untouched nature while we were in the gorge, with no one else in sight.
Here are some more pictures from our trip to Cataracts Provincial Park:
Here are some more pictures from our trip to Cataracts Provincial Park:
