McGillivray Falls Self-guiding Trail — Attraction in Unorganized Division No. 1

Visited July 2019 & August 2020 July 2019: Negative first. The problem is that we got to a fork on the trail (left/uphill vs straight), and there were no markings, so we decided to go straight. Wasted several minutes. It turns out there is a trail marker that you would see only if you had turned left. We decided to turn back since we didn't have enough time. It's a shame since the scenery was quite nice, crossing water at the falls and at a rocky overlook with the river and lake in the distance. I also read that the trail back would have been scenic too. We'll just have to come back.

August 2020: There wasn't much rainfall so the falls were quite dry. The confusing fork we encountered previously is unfortunately still unmarked. Many have tied markers on branches at this point to help others but it would be extremely helpful to get a proper marker. After this, there weren't any confusing spots, the trail and markers were more or less obvious. The trail is quite overgrown in parts but nothing too bad. There is a small picnic shack you can optionally go to at the lake but you have to leave the loop for a bit. Bugs were still an issue, but less so this time.

I think the best time to visit would be spring or after some rainfall so that the falls are flowing. There's a nice variety with the falls, the lake, overhead view and the canadian...

I hiked this trail on October 3, 2020. It is a beautiful, scenic and rewarding trail. The hike is a 4.6 km loop. I recommend hiking it backwards (ending with the falls) as the path is easier to follow (there are some offshoot trails that are more confusing if going the other direction).

The trail started off with a steep rocky climb to get the heart pumping before traveling through the rocky terrain of the Canadian Shield and forested sections. It led to McGillivray Lake where there was a wooden shelter and large rocks for sitting on to enjoy the views. The reflections of the colourful trees and clouds on the calm waters were sooo gorgeous!

The trail then led along the shoreline of the lake before re-entering forest. It led to another amazing viewpoint close to the end before reaching the falls which overlooked the entire landscape and lake in the distance. It was amazing. I enjoyed the ups and downs and there were steeper but short climbs and descents. It made the hike interesting and was the perfect amount of challenge! The falls did not have any water running at the moment which was unfortunate. The path then crossed a new bridge before arriving back at the parking lot. This trail was...

It's a beautiful hiking trail with lovely views of the valley and lake. The path is a little over grown. We were pushing through branches often. At one point we even took the wrong dead end path which seemed a common error since the next group behind us ended up doing the same thing. The wooden bridges and ladders are out at the beginning so it's a more difficult trail at the start without those. Be prepared for a real hike not an easy walk. Bring water with you.

The blue berries along the way are less picked over on the way back. I've heard that Thursdays are a good day to pick. We went on a Sunday and still came home with 2 water bottles full of tiny berries.

The lake at the end has a mud/organic matter bottom so the water is a bit brown. Don't jump off the rocks, it's not that deep and you can't see where rocks are in the water. Minnows will come right up...