SUMMER '06: Day 2-Part 3: Kagawong
With the excitement of exploring Manitoulin Island, we set up camp quickly and headed off to the little port town of Kagawong, which is a small hamlet located on the north shore of Manitoulin Island. In Ojibwa, Kagawong means "Where mists fall from falling waters". Named from the nearby Kagawong Bridal Veil Falls, which we will get to in the next few paragraphs.
The little rustic town of Kagawong which has been designated as "Ontario's Prettiest Village" is nestled between the cliffs surrounding Mudge Bay off the North Channel of Lake Huron.
We parked next to the Kagawong Lighthouse,
and walked across to the Pier at the Austin H. Hunt Marina.
The boathouse had a striking red roof, and open-air interior, with it's walls lined with fishing gear, adventure sports equipment, and anything else aquatic that one wouldn't think a small town would carry.
The marina outside was packed full of leisure sailboats, and various other small-sized fishing craft.
For a busy place, the overall feel was quiet, and very warm welcoming.
And what really stuck out for us was the old gas tank outside on the dock. ]
Rustic, an antique, and still pumping gas for those visitors who arrive by watercraft.
Ice cream was being sold inside, however we passed it up for a lunch within the hour or so.
We took in some of the fresh Manitoulin air at the marina, and then took a quick walk through the small town for some views of the old town and it's architecture.
Such a neat little place.
An old Episcopal Church,
the old lighthouse, old homes up on tall hills overlooking the bay. 
Store fronts with the old 1800's look, along with the shopkeepers washing their windows. We felt like this was a scene out of an old movie, and we were walking through the set. Aside from the vehicles, one would think that they stepped back in time!
Being that this was my third time to the island, I had to experience this neat little town another time! Well worth the stop and for next visit, I will have the ice cream cone along with the sights!
We continued back up the road to Kagawong Bridal Veil Falls
which is an approximate 12m high waterfall, plunging the waters of Kagawong River over the escarpment to a calm pool below.
Before we stopped at the falls, we decided to go for a hike to explore the trails around Kagawong through River Valley Park. The trail took us by numerous natural springs with tiny waterfalls nestled into the escarpment, following natural runoff paths below the path that we followed.
There were pretty little boardwalk bridges,
followed by old steel logging bridges that didn't seem the sturdiest.
A fun little trail to enjoy some nature and get heated up for the falls awaiting for us at trail's head.
We just had to be careful of where we stepped as there were many frogs on the path
It was a warm day, as the mist from the waterfall cooled us off. Many people were in the water, in and around the falls, as well as others who were braving to walk in behind the waterfall.
We decided to folllow. It was vacation..best time to be brave!
Luckily we had a change of clothes in the car, as we took turns at first standing beside the runoff-waterfall just to the right of the main falls. The water coming down stung a bit on the back, however was so refreshing, our bodies adapted to the water pressure immediately.
We then walked around in behind the hollowed-out escarpment, and walked into the water just below the falls and then through the main falls! We had to hang our heads low, so that the water crashing down didn't hurt our heads..the water pressure was very strong and persistent as we walked through the waterfall..however the experience was amazing! We spent nearly an hour swimming around the bottom of the waterfall. The feeling of outstretching your arms, you can only hear the thundering of water around your head, you feel water crashing on your body and around you...gives you this rejuvenating rush of adrenaline that seems to last forever.
I will never forget the feeling of standing inside Kagawong Falls.
Unfortunately due to lack of underwater-friendly camera equipment, we don't have any photographs to depict our adventure IN the waterfall..however here are some of the shots from this beautiful place:
The little rustic town of Kagawong which has been designated as "Ontario's Prettiest Village" is nestled between the cliffs surrounding Mudge Bay off the North Channel of Lake Huron.
We parked next to the Kagawong Lighthouse,
and walked across to the Pier at the Austin H. Hunt Marina.
The boathouse had a striking red roof, and open-air interior, with it's walls lined with fishing gear, adventure sports equipment, and anything else aquatic that one wouldn't think a small town would carry.
The marina outside was packed full of leisure sailboats, and various other small-sized fishing craft.
For a busy place, the overall feel was quiet, and very warm welcoming.
And what really stuck out for us was the old gas tank outside on the dock. ]
Rustic, an antique, and still pumping gas for those visitors who arrive by watercraft.
Ice cream was being sold inside, however we passed it up for a lunch within the hour or so.
We took in some of the fresh Manitoulin air at the marina, and then took a quick walk through the small town for some views of the old town and it's architecture.
Such a neat little place.
An old Episcopal Church,
the old lighthouse, old homes up on tall hills overlooking the bay. 
Store fronts with the old 1800's look, along with the shopkeepers washing their windows. We felt like this was a scene out of an old movie, and we were walking through the set. Aside from the vehicles, one would think that they stepped back in time!Being that this was my third time to the island, I had to experience this neat little town another time! Well worth the stop and for next visit, I will have the ice cream cone along with the sights!
We continued back up the road to Kagawong Bridal Veil Falls
which is an approximate 12m high waterfall, plunging the waters of Kagawong River over the escarpment to a calm pool below.
Before we stopped at the falls, we decided to go for a hike to explore the trails around Kagawong through River Valley Park. The trail took us by numerous natural springs with tiny waterfalls nestled into the escarpment, following natural runoff paths below the path that we followed.
There were pretty little boardwalk bridges,
followed by old steel logging bridges that didn't seem the sturdiest.
A fun little trail to enjoy some nature and get heated up for the falls awaiting for us at trail's head.
We just had to be careful of where we stepped as there were many frogs on the path
It was a warm day, as the mist from the waterfall cooled us off. Many people were in the water, in and around the falls, as well as others who were braving to walk in behind the waterfall.
We decided to folllow. It was vacation..best time to be brave!
Luckily we had a change of clothes in the car, as we took turns at first standing beside the runoff-waterfall just to the right of the main falls. The water coming down stung a bit on the back, however was so refreshing, our bodies adapted to the water pressure immediately.
We then walked around in behind the hollowed-out escarpment, and walked into the water just below the falls and then through the main falls! We had to hang our heads low, so that the water crashing down didn't hurt our heads..the water pressure was very strong and persistent as we walked through the waterfall..however the experience was amazing! We spent nearly an hour swimming around the bottom of the waterfall. The feeling of outstretching your arms, you can only hear the thundering of water around your head, you feel water crashing on your body and around you...gives you this rejuvenating rush of adrenaline that seems to last forever.
I will never forget the feeling of standing inside Kagawong Falls.
Unfortunately due to lack of underwater-friendly camera equipment, we don't have any photographs to depict our adventure IN the waterfall..however here are some of the shots from this beautiful place:
We continued on after enjoying our swim, stopping a few times on the observation stairs installed to the right of the falls, to enjoy some last views of the gorge, and then headed back to our car in order to change out of our wet clothes. The park at Kagawong provides washrooms in order to use for changing purposes.
After this we walked across the road to "Riverside Take Out Stand", which offers everything that you see on it's sign. We enjoyed a good old hamburger and french fries. A prime place for a business of the such. Best burger in town we would say!
After an enjoyable afternoon in Kagawong, we decided to head back to the campsite. We still needed to organize the site a bit for the evening, and get prepared for dinner, our campfire, and the evening's sunset. Providence Bay always has amazing sunsets. We were excited!
Up Next! Part 4-Providence Bay Evening, Hawberry House Dolls
posted by Tom at 12:48 PM
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