The Gut Description
The Gut Conservation Area is a 162 ha site located approximately 11 kilometers from Apsley on concession 1 in Lake Township.
The Crowe Valley Conservation Authority purchased the land in 1976 with the co-operation of the Ministry of Natural Resources and The Nature Conservancy of Canada.
The property is rugged and rocky with dense bush and a mixed hardwood forest.
It encompasses a prominent geological feature known locally as the "Gut". The Gut is a gorge through which the Crowe River flows through for 230 meters.
The fissure that forms the Gut is over 30 meters high and the width varies from 5 to 10 meters. The gorge is has a breath taking view of this unique terrain.
History
There have been some Indian artifacts found at The Gut Conservation Area. These artifacts indicate that the area was used by natives as a battlefield.
More recently the area was owned by lumber companies who used the Crowe River to transport their logs to the market. Local residents might remember the Pearcew Lumber Co. (1850-1950) and the Armstrong Lumber Co. (1950-1976) as the previous owners of the property.
The loggers left their mark on this land by reducing the size of the waterfalls to minimize the damage done to the logs.
| Ferns & Mosses | Trees & Shrubs |
|---|---|
| Wood Ferns | Oak |
| Polypody Fern | Beech Tree |
| Broom Moss | Yellow Birch |
| Lawn Moss | White Birch |
| Pixie Cups | White Cedar |
| British Soldiers | Spruce |
| Waxpaper Lichens | Hemlock |
| Large Tooth Aspen | |
| Red Maple | |
| White Pine | |
| Red Pine |
The Gut is gorge-ous
Magazine Article Published in Country Cottage, By Cindy Rennie
Named by Loggers, conservation area has dramatic view.
Falls worth the trip to river northeast of Peterborough.
They left no explanation but somehow the name stuck.
That mysterious past is apropos for one of the cottage country's hidden gems, an inspiring place witnessed by a lucky few.
For Years, a rustic hand painted sign on Highway 620 that read The Gut was the only thing that marked it as a possible destination.
Whether it was the nondescript sign of the remoteness of the location, this area has remained pristine and unspoiled.
The subdued sign has been updated to show it's a conservation area but there are no mileage markers to indicate how far you must travel to reach the gorge.
Rest assured. It's worth the trip.
The gorge is just outside the Kawarthas, about an hour's drive northeast of Peterborough.
On 620 approximately Coe Hill, watch closely for a small brown and yellow sign. Twelve Kilometers along South Lake Rd., you'll find the 2-kilometer entrance. It's single lane and it's rugged.
The moment you leave your car you're drawn by the sound of the rumble of The Gut.
Rustic stairs lead you gently down through deciduous forest, which gives way to Precambrian outcroppings. Majestic white pines towering above you seem magically rooted in the pink and grey granite underfoot. Long delicate needles filter the sun's radiance.
A barrier of cedar rails separates visitors from the 30-meter drop to the Crowe River just below the falls. And this is why you come tothe falls.
Spring finds them full of fury and fear keeps you back form the power of the rushing water tumbling over 7 to 9 meters of black rock.
Once spring runoff is over, the river settles down. Summer provides lush foliage along the shoreline and gentle waters. Autumn's palette only enhances the panorama.
Unlike so many public places this one is a photographer's dream. Totally accessible. There are no fences or walls to keep you out. When conditions allow, you're free to venture down to the bottom of the falls or wade into the river above them and capture incredible images.
There's a serenity here that's hard to describe. Perhaps it's the quite seclusion, the sound of water that's alive or the spirit of the people past. It's a place that rejuvenates the soul.
"People compare it to the Eloa Gorge but it's better," says Ken Phillips, general manager of the Crowe Valley Conservation Authority, who grew up in Hamilton, and believes the name could be related to the small waterfall created by the bulge of the rock in the river.
Phillips says local lore has The Gut as the site of a bloody battle between Iroquois and Huron's in 1650, Iroquois arrowheads have been found in the area. It's believed the present-day waterfall was once much higher but blasted away by loggers in the mid-1800s to allow logs to travel the Crowe.
Pearce Lumber Company owned the property from 1850-1950 before selling to Armstrong Lumber Company. The Crowe Valley Conservation Authority bought it in 1976 for $28,000 and has managed it ever since.
They don't get much of a budget, hence the lack of signage. Recognizing, "It really is in the middle of nowhere", he estimates, at the height of the tourism season it draws 10-20 visitors a day.