Hamilton and Webster's Falls

Hamilton, Ontario, lies about 70 km southwest of Toronto at the western end of Lake Ontario and is often called the waterfall capital of Canada because of the many cascades along the Niagara Escarpment. The simplest route is the GO Train Lakeshore West service from Union Station to Hamilton GO Centre at 36 Hunter St E, a ride of about 1 to 1.25 hours at roughly CAD 12 with PRESTO. GO buses from the Union Station Bus Terminal cover the same corridor, and drivers reach the city in about an hour via the QEW. Check gotransit.com for the current timetable.

The city offers a mix of nature, history and arts. Webster's Falls, a broad curtain of water in Dundas, is the best known of the escarpment waterfalls and is reached by trails that can add a couple of hours of walking. The Royal Botanical Gardens in the Hamilton and Burlington area provide gardens and woodland paths. Dundurn Castle, an 1830s mansion, charges about CAD 15 for tours, and the James Street North arts strip holds galleries, cafes and independent shops that come alive on the second-Friday art crawl evenings.

A sensible one-day arc begins in the morning with the waterfalls, since the trails are cooler and quieter early, and uses a taxi or rental car to link the sites because they sit several kilometres apart. Lunch fits on James Street North, where cafes and casual restaurants cluster near the GO station. The afternoon suits Dundurn Castle or the Royal Botanical Gardens, with a return train in the early evening.

The best season runs from April to October. Spring brings the heaviest water flow over the falls, while summer and early autumn offer the best walking conditions and garden displays. Winter can be spectacular when the falls freeze, but trails are icy and some are closed.

Because the falls are outside the compact city core, visitors without a car should plan their transfers in advance and check local transit options. Sturdy footwear is advisable, as escarpment trails include uneven rock, stairs and muddy sections after rain. Basic food is available in downtown Hamilton and in Dundas, which has a small main street with bakeries and cafes.