Ragged Falls Provincial Park – So beautiful!

On Monday August 24th, my mom and I stopped by to check out one of our favourite places in Algonquin Park, well, just outside of Algonquin Park, called Ragged Falls! Ragged Falls Provincial Park is it’s own separate provincial park, however, if you have a day pass for any provincial park, it can be used for all of them.  Therefore, we didn’t have to pay the parking fee to spend some time there, which is always a bonus in my books!

I have added some of my favourite pictures of Ragged Falls from some of my previous visits. Some are with a bit of fall foliage in September, as this area in the fall is spectacular! I hope you enjoy them!

The day before I had paddled to the falls from Oxtongue Lake and it was a cool experience, seeing the falls from the bottom, instead of the top. I had done it once, in 2001 and loved it and had been wanting to do it again ever since.  But today, I was visiting by land and I loved being here this way as well.  The trail starts off flat and easy and you have 2 options at the end of this section, go straight and then down to see the base of the falls, or go right up the hill to get to the top of the falls. I chose right today but if you want to see the view from the bottom, check out my blog post on Ragged Falls by Kayak found HERE .

You have to pay for parking if you don’t have a valid permit.  There are 3 rates to choose from. An all day pass for $14.25, a 4 hour pass for $7.50 or a 2 hour pass for $5.25. If you are not hiking the trail, the 2 hour pass should suffice.

Part way up the trail there is a chain link fence and you can get a good view of the falls partway up.  The sound of the falls is amazingly loud and wonderful!

After a bit more walking up the trail, you come out at the top of the falls.

It is very pretty here and you can just walk around on the rocks checking things out for a good amount of time. Every area gives you a different vantage point and another cool view of falls. To the left are the actual large falls, I believe they are about 300 metres high. You can even climb down them if you feel you are capable of it.  I have done it a few times and it is a very neat experience, but it is not for everyone!

To the right you will see the rapids coming towards the falls. There are small whirlpools and smaller falls in this area. The first time I was here in 2001, we went swimming in the upper area and sat in the little whirlpools that had formed in the rocks.  It was an awesome experience, one I’ll never forget, but also, not for everyone. The currents are strong and you need to be extremely careful here!

You can get back onto the trail you came in on and proceed along the river towards the rapids. I am unsure what the trail is like in that direction farther than about a kilometre as that is as far as I have ever gone.  I can definitely say it iis very beautiful to that point as I have come here about 15 times and love it every time, just the same, sometimes even more!

Here is a video of the upper rapids that i took in 2013.

Come for a day or a few hours, but make sure you come and visit this lovely Provincial Park! It is well worth the price of parking if you do not have a valid permit and you will definitely enjoy the views and the time you spend here!

I hope you enjoyed reading my post. As always, if you have any comments, questions, criticisms, etc, please do not hesitate to reach out to me!  I love hearing from people!

For more information on Oxtongue River- Ragged Falls Provincial Park, visit Ontario Parks !

Happy Hiking!

Camper Christina