WATERFALLS OF NOVA SCOTIA

BOURINOT FALLS
Rear Boisdale, Cape Breton Regional Municipality
N 46° 03.198 W 060° 29.497 
UTM: 20T E 694041 N 5103029

RIVER: McLoed Brook
CLASS: steep cascade (tiered)
SIZE: 15ft (1st pitch) 20ft (second pitch)   

PITCH: 60deg (1st pitch) 80deg (2nd pitch)

RATING: excellent (****)

PK: 46 N 03.190  60 W 29.530 
TRAIL: woods trail
DISTANCE: 50m
HIKING TIME: 5 minutes
CONDITIONS: moderate (steep areas)

Geocache: GC1XEM5 (300m NW)

NS Atlas Page: 14/V4
NS topo map: 011K01 (Sydney)

DRIVING DIRECTIONS: from Sydney, follow HWY4 southwest (towards St.Peter's) for approximately 13km, and turn right onto HWY 216E (signed for Eskasoni, Grand Narrows, Iona). Follow this highway 4.8km and turn right onto Bourinot Rd. Continue along this road for 7.2km and then make a left onto Frenchvale Rd. A short 30m jog and a slight right gets you back onto Bourinot Rd. Continue on this road for 1.4km, parking where the stream flows beneath the road. 

TRAIL DESCRIPTION: Follow the right side of the brook (facing downstream) along a high cliff above the falls and come down to the base by continuing downstream and hiking back up into this small (nearly) roadside canyon. A long steep cascade leads into a steeper plunge with an overhanging cliff at its base (around the foreground outcropping on the left side of the photo above). This is not a long hike by any means, but the trail here is less than establkished and the cliffs are quite high, the stream quite shallow. 

(upper cascade)

My search for these falls had me go down the wrong tributary off of Bourinot Rd, and the discovery of a very intesting geological formation that I've tentatively named "The Pillar", a tall monolithic outcropping, which stands a good forty feet above the end of a short deep tributary valley. If you have the extra half hour, it is really worth the visit. (A prime place, really, for a geocache to be hidden... perhaps on my next trip thru the area....)The Pillar is located at 46N03.275 60W29.268