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Sauble Falls

Sauble Falls Provincial Park is located at multiple entrances in North Sauble Beach, Ontario. A small park, it lies upon the sandy banks of the slow-flowing Sauble River - a flow which remains pretty constant until it reaches the park's namesake - a staircase-like, graceful series of waterfalls. These cascades have attracted campers for decades, and when combined with an interesting history, a solid amount of visitor amenities, and close proximity to Sauble/Saugeen Beach, it makes for a great experience. I visited in late August 2025.

What the Park Offers

Sauble Falls includes:
- a registered historic site at the former mill
- a scenic boardwalk surrounding the famed falls
- one-kilometre proximity with Sauble Beach
- tremendous trout fishing in the river
- a playground and playing fields
- basketball, volleyball, and horseshoe facilities
- a picnic shelter in the centre for rent
- swimming in the scenic falls, very photogenic

There are two trails, neither of which are bike-suitable.

Sauble Trail - 2km, easy

Not to be confused with its similarly named and often overshadowing brother trail, the Sauble Trail is easy and scenic, winding alongside the Sauble River. It's just a nice walk through various habitats, including sandy dunes, passing by a coniferous stand, a red pine plantation, and more. A trail guide explains the area's logging history and the natural significance of its features. (no bikes)

Sauble Falls Trail - 0.5km one way, easy

The park's other and more famous trail is the one encircling its namesake feature. On the north side of the river, the trail is a concrete path with a lookout platform, remnants of the historic mill and generation station, and the largest of the cascades, a 1.5m waterfall. If you are to cross the 1930s stone bridge, you'll reach the main side of the park, featuring majority of the amenities. This is where you take a staircase down to the riverbed, and the boardwalk runs alongside the falls. Once it ends, you'll reach a concrete section providing amazing falls viewing. A second staircase brings you back atop the bluff.

Visiting the Park

This park is split into three sections.

West Campground is the main area, featuring the park's main amenities, the boardwalk, sports courts, laundromat, park office, and sites 1-98. It is located off of Sauble Falls ROAD, and is simply set-up; after driving in, the main amenities are straight ahead while the campground is to the left. This section is radio-free.

East Campground is the smaller campground, simply including the Sauble Trail, multiple fishing docks, a playing field, and sites 99-150. Turning in off of Sauble Falls PARKWAY, the campsites are straight and to the left, while the dump station and group camping is to the right.

The Sauble Falls Viewing Area is simply another way to access the falls. It is about 100m up the road from East Campground, and offers the closest parking lot to the falls.

See map below for more detail.

Interesting Species

Note that the photos in this section are not explicitly from this park, they are good photos of species that live here.

One very unique red pine in the plantation section of the Sauble Trail - look out for it.

Purple-stemmed Angelica

Incredibly sandy and deep river habitat ("Sauble" literally means "sand" in French)

Blue herons (finally got a good picture of one)

Riverfront in East Campground.

Tips and Advice

East Campground is my personal favourite, but not for any particular reason. I just like the "vibes" (even though I hate that word).
Take your bikes, because there is great cycling in the town of Sauble Beach.
Speaking of, you should plan a beach day in Sauble Beach. The water is very clear, and the sand is very soft.
Try the 10km Rankin River canoe route, starting under the bridge. Ask park staff for details.
A great day trip or road stop if you're in the area (namely from MacGregor Point).
If you can't get a site here, there's so many campgrounds in the Sauble Beach area to choose from - pick one of them.
If you plan on swimming in the falls (which I recommend), WEAR WATERSHOES, and be weary of where you step.
Go to the beach access at the end of Sauble Falls Road. You can drive and pay the parking fee, or bike the 2.5km from the main entrance.

North Sauble Beach, at the end of Sauble Falls Road. You can access the mouth of the Sauble River here, as well as watch the famous sunsets.

SPOTLIGHT: Swimming in the Falls

This is a justly named park, because the falls are indeed the highlight. Instead of tumbling like a drunk man falling down the stairs, these cascades are graceful. And a byproduct of this grace is the ability to take a dip. Enter the falls from any place seeming fit, and walk straight on in. If there's solid ground and it's not slippery, you can feel free to sit in the falls and get some pictures. But if simple stuff like this isn't for you, you can do what only daredevils try, which is jump off the largest waterfall. I don't recommend this without realizing your risks - I banged my shin off of a rock when attempting, but I had fun regardless. Either way, don't be dumb, know your risks, be careful, and enjoy yourself safely.

Opinions

Nash

Usually when you visit a park as a child and revisit when you're older, you see things smaller than what they are. So when I visited Sauble Falls for the first time since I was 7, I expected the falls to appear like rapids (especially following my Thunder Bay trip). But this was not the case, and they were more impressive than I'd remembered. A nice size, a cool stair-like structure, and a calming/trickling noise. A stark contrast with the Kakabeka, Rainbow, and Pigeon Falls I'd seen a week prior. Anyways, I'm rambling. I like the falls, park's half-decent, location's great. Take that however you'd like.

Map: https://www.ontarioparks.ca/pdf/maps/saublefalls/park_map.pdf
Campground Map: https://www.ontarioparks.ca/pdf/maps/saublefalls/campground_map.pdf

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