Website:	www.ontarioparks.ca

 

Rainbow Falls Provincial Park has beautiful cascading waters which plunge over the rock ledges of the falls on their way to Lake Superior.  Trails, including the Casque-Isles section of the Voyageur Trail, lead to panoramic views.  You can choose to camp near the beaches of Whitesand Lake or along the rugged shore of Lake Superior at the Rossport Campground.

The park has two campgrounds, each several kilometres apart.  One section is the Whitesand Lake Campgrounds, the central feature of which is the sparkling cascade of the Whitesand River.  The falls tumble dramatically over the multi-ledged granite bedrock.  The large vertical cracks or joints of underlying bedrock, have determined the course of the river and falls.  

Their varied shapes and positions cause the river to zigzag and flow over a series of ledges, making the water fall in cascades rather than one steep drop. 

 When the sun shines, a rainbow is sometimes visible in the mist, viewed from the walking bridge over the gorge.

Plants and Wildlife

Forest fires raged through the area after the construction of the railroad.  The young, mixed forest now prevalent is full of black and white spruce, balsam fir, white birch, and trembling aspen.  Although healthy looking, most of the trees are somewhat stunted due to the thin layer of soil.  

The forest floor is covered with clubmoss and alive with colour.  In summer you will find bright scarlet bunchberries and yellow clintonea, whose springtime yellow-green flowers are followed by metallic blue berries in late August.  Long beech, oak, and spinulose wood ferns also grow beneath the cool shelter of the trees.

While small mammals are common, larger animals such as moose, deer, and black bear are also occasionally seen.