Very beautiful park away from the hustle and bustle of Niagara Falls. Went here for the Thanksgiving Festival, very fun. Also took engaement photos here by the waterfall. Pictures turned out beautifully with the changing leaves. Nice family or romantic outing.
Ball's Falls, originally known as Ball's Mills, is now a conservation area on the Niagara Escarpment in Jordan/Lincoln, Ontario. It has been designated a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. Full of hiking trails, wildlife, flora and fauna, breath taking views, and the second largest cut in the Escarpment, Twenty Mile Creek, which is sometimes called Niagara's Other Falls. There are also several historical buildings such as the original home (1846) of the Ball family, a grist mill, a church, barns etc. all available for tours. And, there is a fabulous Centre for Conservation complete with interesting interactive exhibits. Ideal for all ages. Because the area is heavily forested, do take appropriate hiking footwear, can be a bit muddy at certain times of the year. Even though Ball's Falls is a conservation site, the facilities are available for rent. You can rent the barn, church, picnic pavillion, open fields and the Centre for Conservation. The rental fee is dependant on type of use, e.g. wedding, licenced or not, other group functions etc. The NPC facility also does arranged group tours for a fee. There is an admittance fee and you can buy membership passes. Check their website before you go as the Falls do have special public events such as their Thanksgiving Festival.
Ball's Falls Conservation Area is a great place for a day trip.The "Historic Village" is interesting.The trails are well maintained and well signposted.The two falls are both really impressive, the upper falls more so (IMO) as you can get much nearer to it.The visitors center has all the amenities you'd expect.There are several picnic areas, all well maintained.Well worth the admission fee.
This venue was just perfect. Surrounded by trees, lots of parking (in a gated lot), beautiful barn. It was just great!! Unfortunately, they book up very quickly!
Balls Falls has great buildings that have been preserved and wonderful paths to hike. The hikes are not too strenuous and worth the walk. This is part of the Bruce Trail, so you can tell everyone that you hiked part of the Bruce Trail!
Worth the detour if touring the bench wine area. Super easy hike to Upper Falls and the Lower Falls/historic village is great for those who aren't nature lovers (ahem - my husband) and lots of nice areas for a picnic if you have spoils from your food and wine touring. The Conservation Centre has good clean bathrooms and a small museum/gallery area. There is a more challenging hike option if that's your thing and you can connect from the Bruce Trail to the 20 Valley Trail which is just over 2kms one way and will take you to the village of Jordan. Lots of families with smaller kids (I think because of the ease of the Upper/Lower Falls walks) and overall the park is well signed and very clean - garbage pails along the paths and people are very respectful of this. Would be gorgeous in the fall when the leaves are changing - we will come back then for sure! Some other reviews mentioned that the falls were unimpressive - sigh. It's the end of the summer and the creek is almost dry - darn that nature! The waterfalls and gorges are still beautiful.
This is a secluded beauty. It is set in a beautiful landscape in an original colonial town. The walks are great, not too strenuous and very enjoyable. Luckily, nobody was there when I visited so I had the whole place to myself. It is a short hike for all amongst a beautiful landscape of waterfalls, trees and meadows. Great opportunity for photos, especially in the fall.
This is about 30 minutes from the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. We appreciated the welcome center and staff, the well-marked trails, the information signs along the trails, and the views at the upper and lower falls, and along the way. The historical buildings and their information signs were great for context, as well. We were able to take in all of the above in about 90 minutes. We would like to come back and have more time for a more lengthy hike along the difficult trails (we only walked the easy trails). Incidentally, there is a great local cheese store along the way.
We loved visiting and taking a walk through the conservation area. It is so beautiful. We happened to be visiting for the Thanksgiving Fair and we had so much fun!
We enjoyed the little hike to the upper and lower falls. The falls themselves were unimpressive, with just a trickle of water. . .I guess in the spring it would be more interesting! The historic village was very well-kept and pretty. . .would be perfect for outdoor wedding photos! There was a wedding happening in the little white church while we were there.