July 11, 2016 This is one of New Brunswick's best kept secrets. If you didn't know a local, or have a NB hiking guidebook, you would never know about this place. The Walton Glen Gorge is called the "Grand Canyon of New Brunswick". I took it upon myself to check out, for myself, how amazing this gorge really is. The trail is a day hike, however getting to the trail could take the better part of a day if you don't know where you are going. There are a lot of back roads, and don't expect your cell phone to have service to help you find your way. You lose cell coverage about half way to the gorge. Don't fret! If you are lost simply ask a friendly NB-er, or follow the mass amount of 4x4's and dirt bikes headed that way.
Once you get to the trail head it is about a 5km walk out to the gorge. Before you head out don't forget some sun screen (always a must) and bug spray! The bugs weren't terrible, but they were around. There is a lot of swampy still ponds which are breeding grounds for mosquitos. Save yourself some bites and spray some Off bug spray before you head off on the trail. Also don't forget your snacks - we had planned to spend 2-3 hours there and ended up spending 6. It's a beautiful area and it's hard to leave!
Along the way to the gorge you'll pass three bridges (including one that is almost totally fallen apart) and a beautiful short walk off the trail to get to a waterfall. The hike back up can be tiring, so keep that in mind! But hey, this is a day hike, so no need to worry since you'll be sleeping comfy in your bed later that night anyways. Also, keep in mind if you're a fan of geocaching, there are some great geocaches along the way. I'll post a picture of the one that we found. We couldn't find another - they can be quite tricky to find. If you aren't sure what geocaching is I'd recommend that you check it out. It's a lot of fun! You don't need to be in the wilderness to do a geocache. There are some that are located in cities too. Either way, it is a fun way to pass an afternoon.
We continued our walk down to the gorge. The 5km can seem long when you're excited to see what this place is all about. The walk is worth the wait (although I did want to catch a ride a few times with some of the passing bikers). The trail isn't too difficult to follow. Head into the woods via the trail head at the side of the road. If you are ever getting a bit turned around continue to follow the wheel tracks in the ground. You're essentially following the ATV trail. You will continue to follow the trail to where the ATVs cannot go. Then the trail will fork left or right. If you want to go to the gorge you go right. If you want to go down into the gorge you go left. Once you go right the gorge doesn't take too long to get to.
The gorge is beautiful. The pictures posted below don't do the place justice. The gorge is deep, the cliffs are steep and there are trees everywhere. It is a beautiful sight to see. I sat close to the edge and stared at how beautiful the view was. It is difficult to comprehend because the drop is so steep. Once we got to the gorge there was no one else there, and so we had the place to ourselves. We sat down and drank in the sight.
I will state a quick warning here: there is no fence so be careful! You won't accidentally walk off the edge of the cliff coming off the trial, but it is easy to get close to the edge. There are areas where the edge is spongy and soft, so while it may look sturdy just use your common sense to stay safe. If you get vertigo, like I did, sit down if you want to sit closer to the edge to get a good view.
Once you've drank in the beauty of the gorge from above you can walk down into the gorge. The walk down takes a while and the initial descent is a bit steep. It isn't unwalkable, but make sure of your footing. Now that you are at the bottom of the trail continue to follow the markers (ribbons tied around the trees) down further into the gorge. The trail isn't as well kept down here and you will have to scramble around rocks and possibly across the river depending on which way you'd like to go. There are handy ropes tied along the trail which are helpful for navigating around. It takes an hour to two hours to fully get down to where you were previously looking out before. Take your time and enjoy the challenging hike down.
Unfortunately, we weren't able to go all the way down. We had run out of food, and we were getting tired. We had only planned on spending a few hours, and we were getting hungry. We built a trail marker to show where we had been, and we turned back around. I'm happy that we were able to spend the day in such a beautiful area. If you are around southern NB check this place out! It's a great way to spend a day!