Devil’s Hill Falls
Waterfall, Woodland
Cape Breton
3/5
75m
Activities: Explore • Hike
Devil’s hills falls is one of the few trails I know of where the falls are near the beginning of the hike.
The trail, part of the old Devil’s Hill Road, which connected Louisbourg to the Mira River got it’s name from a tale of a man who was coming home from a dance one night and met up with the Devil. Whether fact or a tale to explain the man’s tardiness and drunken state to his angry wife, the name has stuck for over 100 years.
The trail starts as a slow climb on a sheltered woodland road. About 1/4km in you will start to hear the low rumble of the falls. There are a few small trails you can follow to the base of the 5m falls and the most quaint little brook you will ever find. You can sit here for hours or continue on.
Although you may believe the falls are the highlight of this hike you will be surprisingly proven wrong if you continue on. About 1/4k further up the old road you will emerge from the woods into an old clear-cut and the most wondrous sight of the New Boston area, MacDonald Lake, and a distant view of Mira Gut. This rout was once filled with activity, farms, forges, and even a monastery once called the Devil’s Hill area home but now leave nothing but a memory.
You may turn back at any point or continue on into the woodland road which will take you all the way to Terra Nova Road 3km from where you first emerged from the woods.
From Sydney
- Head South on George St/NS-22 S (22 km)
- Turn right onto New Boston Rd (4.2 km)
- Entrance is on the Left marked with a “Devil’s Hill Rd Waterfall” sign
From Canso Causeway
- At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Trans-Canada Hwy/NS-4 Trunk E
- Continue to follow NS-4 Trunk E (6.3 km)
- Turn left to stay on NS-4 Trunk E (signs for NS-4 E/NS-104/Saint Peters/Sydney) (1.8 km)
- Take the exit toward NS-104 E
Continue straight onto NS-4 Trunk E (signs for Nova Scotia 4 Trunk E/Saint Peters/Sydney/Fleur de Lis Trail E) (85.0 km)
- Merge onto Peacekeepers Way/NS-125 E via the ramp to Glace Bay/New Waterford/Louisbourg (4.5 km)
- Take exit 8 for NS-22 toward Sydney/Louisbourg/George Street
- Turn right at NS-22 S (signs for Louisbourg) (22 km)
- Turn right onto New Boston Rd (4.2 km)
- Entrance is on the Left marked with a “Devil’s Hill Rd Waterfall” sign
From the Sydney Bypass (route 125) take exit 8 toward Louisbourg. Drive about fifteen minutes until you come to the second turn-off for the New Boston Road (just before Catalone). Turn right onto the New Boston Road and drive for about 5 minutes untill you pass a group of homes and an auto salvage yard. Shortly past this you will see a small woodland road to your left marked with a sign reading “Devil’s Hill Rd Waterfall”. This is the trail-head
Hello Again,
I have done the path up to the first waterfall(you can see a second one off in the distance) it is not recommended to go near the second one as there are a great deal of tracks around this area, Coyotes most likely.
That being said, I only did the hike to the falls with my girlfriend and it was rather enjoyable, it was a short walk, but there are so many ATV’s which are on the path that it was a well traveled path. The directions were spot on and we were able to find it without any trouble.
It was a nice small hike, but we plan on doing the full thing again soon, the snow still sinks in spots and it is really something that should be done in the spring. There is a rope that is around tree’s allowing you to make it all the way down to the falls, it’s a steep climb, but nothing too bad.
If you’re going there highly recommend snow shoes as they will come in handy on this journey.
Thanks for putting this up!
Regards,
Shaun MacKinnon