About Tews Falls
Tews Falls was a very attractive plunge waterfall dropping about 41m (said to be the tallest in Southern Ontario besides Niagara Falls).
Although we’ve seen in the literature that this waterfall tended to have lower flow given its tiny watershed, we happened to see it in a pleasantly wider and more full state.
We suspect that its flow might have been rejuvenated from the rains of the previous night and early morning prior to our visit.
Meanwhile, beautiful October Autumn colors adorned the cliff near the top of the falls which made the scene more vibrant.
So given all these circumstances around our visit, we also thought of Tews Falls as one of the better waterfalls around the Hamilton area.
Visiting Tews Falls
Visiting Tews Falls was literally a breeze as we walked from its nearest car park (see directions below) along a short path to its overlook.
This short path went past the Webster’s Falls side trail before going past a bridge over East Spencer Creek.
After going past a junction with the Dundas Peak Trail, we ultimately arrived at a lookout affording us the view you see at the top of this page.
The walk only took us less than 5 minutes round trip.
In fact, we easily spent most of our 25 minutes away from the car simply taking waterfall photos as well as basking in the view downstream towards the Greater Hamilton area.
That view hinted at what our view might have been like had we summited Dundas Peak at the end of one of the side trails we didn’t do.
Once A Niagara-like Waterfall?
Contrasting our observations of Tews Falls’ relatively light flow, a sign here suggested that this waterfall was once as large as the Horseshoe Falls segment of Niagara Falls.
Indeed, the explanation of Spencer Gorge’s depth and curved bowl-like depression was that Logie Creek was once a much larger watercourse.
Typically, you get that horseshoe shape at the brinks of wide and powerful waterfalls, and that was the prevailing theory behind Spencer Gorge’s shape.
These days, the Spencer Gorge was now a Y-shaped gorge where the East Spencer Creek was what was left of this ancient flow.
Meanwhile, most of the rest of the gorge and Spencer Creek’s volume occurred at the nearby Webster’s Falls.
It was possible to extend an excursion to Tews Falls by going on the 4.5km Webster’s Falls Side Trail, which connected the two falls.
Of course, we didn’t do that because there was an even shorter path from a separate parking lot, which we detail in our Webster’s Falls write-up.
Tew Falls and the HCA
There was a per-vehicle fee of $10 for our visit in October 2013.
However, this fee also covered the car park for Webster’s Falls so we didn’t have to pay a second time to go over there.
Proceeds from this fee went towards the Hamilton Conservation Authority (HCA) which seemed to be the entity responsible for most of the restoration and conservation work pertaining to the many waterfalls in and around the City of Hamilton.
Unlike many of the other waterfalls we encountered in both the Hamilton and Golden Horseshoe areas, the view of Tews Falls was best seen from the official viewing deck.
Access to its steep gorge to improve the view was not necessary, especially given the danger involved in going down there.
Authorities
Tews Falls resides in the Spencer Gorge / Webster’s Falls Conservation Area in the City of Hamilton in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is administered by the Hamilton Conservation Authority. For information or inquiries as well as current conditions, visit their website.
Related Trip Reports
Related Top 10 Lists
No Posts Found
Related Itineraries
Trip Planning Resources
Nearby Accommodations
This content is for subscribers only. See Membership Options.Featured Images and Nearby Attractions
This content is for subscribers only. See Membership Options.Visitor Comments:
Got something you'd like to share or say to keep the conversation going? Feel free to leave a comment below...No users have replied to the content on this page
Visitor Reviews of this Waterfall:
If you have a waterfall story or write-up that you'd like to share, feel free to click the button below and fill out the form...No users have submitted a write-up/review of this waterfall
Nearest Waterfalls
