Falls Reserve Conservation Area is located just east of Goderich, Ontario. We have often driven past the signs for the park but this was our first trip specifically to check it out.
The conservation area covers 230 acres of land and features camping, hiking and fishing. For swimming, visitors can take a short drive into Goderich which has excellent beaches and boardwalks along the shore. There are even pet-friendly spots!
In mid-April the park was still closed for camping, so we parked at the gate house, paid our minimal entry fee and headed in to follow one of the trails down to the Maitland River to see the water level at the river (which was very high and didn’t resemble waterfalls at all).
We only saw a few other people during our hike but we did spot a Bufflehead, which is a small diving duck, and lots of salmon heading up stream to spawn.
There were several trails and they were all nicely marked and easy to follow. We took the blue trail toward the river and it did have at least one fairly steep area which required us to be a bit careful due to erosion and small rocks.
The park would be a great base camp for visitors wishing to explore the area, including Goderich, Bayfield and other small towns in the area. For hikers and anglers, there are lots of locations to explore within the area.
