Burk’s Falls is a nice village of about 1000 on Highway 11 between Huntsville and North Bay.  It was first settled by loggers in the 1860s.  Eventually the village was built on the banks of the Magnetawan river in 1890.  Burk’s Falls is pretty small and pretty quiet.  They host an annual fall fair on Labour Day weekend, which pretty much coincides with all the other local fall fairs as well.  (You’d think someone would stagger these on the schedule.)  The village hosts Towne Theatre during the summer and there is also Winterfest held during the second week of January.

Burk’s Falls has heritage river walk, a little art gallery, and a pioneer museum which is housed in an 1893 one-room schoolhouse.  There is also Stan Darling Park on the Magnetawan River.  And according to one website, you should visit the post office to start your visit, because “the girls there are quite wonderful.”  (Don’t ask.  I have no idea.  The best I can say is that sometimes when you’re scouring google for info on a relatively small place the comments get a bit more interesting than your usual big-city reviews or complaints.)

Bridge in Burk’s Falls over the Magnetawan River

Burk’s Falls is home to a former Arm Wrestling Champ of the World.  This is awesome.

The bridge over the Magnetawan River at the dam is nice and provides for some nice views of the river and the town. Burk’s Falls also has a boat launch, and a little tourist info centre that serves cappuccino.

In town there’s a Royal Bank, a credit union, a bowling alley, a Tim-BR Mart, a curling rink, and an LCBO. Be warned though, that this LCBO stocks beer almost exclusively in two-fours, and almost exclusively in run-of-the-mill brands like Wildcat, Carling, and Molson’s Ex. I went in looking for six-pack of middle-of-the-road quality, and there was nothing. Not even Lakeport. The only sixes they had were Heineken. Everything else was a huge case, and not-so-great.  Local industry in Burk’s Falls includes a window factory and a muffler plant.

Burk’s Falls was very small, so I felt a bit conspicuous taking photos of the town’s main street. I managed to take a photo from across the river.  True to form, it is a terrible photo so it is followed by one from User P199 at Wikimedia Commons.

My photo:  View of Burk’s Falls, Ontario from across the water

I spent about ten minutes trying to get a decent photo of Burk’s Falls.  I bet this photo took P199 of Wiki Commons all of five seconds to take.

Hydro Dam on the Magnetawan River in Burk’s Falls

Magnetawan River in Burk’s Falls, near the picnic area in town.