Places to hike in Trinidad: Edith Falls
I ain't gonna lie y'all. Edith Falls has been my least favorite hike to date. I've been there a few times before and I was disappointed every single time.
The waterfall is situated near the Chaguaramas golf course, on Bellerand Road off Tucker Valley Road - the road you take to get to Macqueripe beach.
Don't get me wrong, the hike itself is great...it's a lovely trail, probably one of the most well-maintained ones there are in Trinidad.
This is probably because it falls under the purview of the Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA) and there is routine clearing of the trail and clean ups.
So you won't find heaps of rubbish like I encountered on the Maracas waterfall trail, or overgrown areas. Good job, CDA.
The trail is pretty wide and easy to navigate.
There are some fallen trees and branches to climb over, but I've yet to discover a hike where this wasn't the case so no big deal there.
There's a sign at the start of the trail saying the trail is closed. Ignore that sign. It's been there for years. I think the CDA erected it while they did their routine clearing and just never bothered to remove it. I called them myself and they confirmed that the trail was not closed to the public.
The Edith Falls trail is one of those where you may be lucky to spot different wildlife like the red howler monkey. I didn't see any today, possibly because it was raining pretty heavily, but I've always seen them every time I've done this trail.
Today I saw lots and lots of crabs scurrying over the rocks or peeking out of holes. I named this one Chipper. Don't ask me why. I just did, ok?
But why I say this is a disappointing hike is because the waterfall can be pretty underwhelming depending on the time of year you visit.
Every time I went, it seemed the waterfall had dried up. There was either no water at all, or just a trickle like a mist, sprinkling over the cliff.
So imagine my disappointment the first time I went and there was nowhere to bathe, to dive, to soak. Hell, I couldn't even wash the sweat off my face! This is me standing under the non-existent waterfall in April, 2017. Not a drop of water to be seen. I'm even looking up the cliff like wtf, Edith? Where you at?
I swore I'd never go back...but it is one of the closest places to hike from where I live and the beauty of the trail makes up for the waterless waterfall, so I always go back when I feel for a quick hike.
Today was one of those days.
I had planned to storm the Run Arima 5k race but woke up too late so I had to find something else to do. Something not too lengthy, but still long enough to give me an actual workout.
Now the Edith Falls trail is short...just about a mile each way. So I decided to start from the top of Bellerand Road, to add another couple miles to my trek. It's a completely flat stretch so it was easy to run/jog it. You can't miss the turn off, there's a sign there.
The cool thing about Bellerand Road is that the CDA recognized that the stretch is popular with runners and joggers so they installed some fitness 'equipment' along the road, with signs telling you how to use them and what challenges you can do.
Mind you, these things are made out of wood and have become quite rickety.
It was at one of these stations that I discovered I have the upper body strength of an earthworm.
From the start of Bellerand Road, it's just about a mile to the Chaguaramas golf course, where you must pay $20 to use their parking facility if you drive in. If you walk in, you can park along Tucker Valley Road, but this is less secure.
The Edith Falls trail starts a few meters before the parking facility. You can't miss it. There's a huge sign.
You can see the fall in the distance from the road, too! This is the view of the fall from the road. The second photo is zoomed in a bit.
It looks really close, but it will still take a bit of work to get to it. It's about a 30-40 minute trek.
This trail is great for beginner hikers as it's relatively short, and is mostly wide. There are two areas where you have to cross the river bed and you must do so by balancing precariously and hopping from rock to rock. There's two areas where the trail gets steep, the steepest section is nearing the top. And because it was raining and the trail was slippery, I had to go up this section on all fours.
But the waterfall was well worth it today.
And now I know the best time to visit Edith Falls is in the rainy season. There was water, actual water cascading off the cliff and pounding on the rocks below! What a sight!
It was only today I even realised there were two waterfalls. A smaller one can be seen nearby, it must have been invisible before because the water flow was so low. You can see them both in this photo.
I bathed, I soaked, I splashed. I washed the sweat off my face! I was so happy, I even twerked a bit.
It was awesome! I will return in the rainy season again.
Length: 4.13 miles (6.6 km) from top of Bellerand Road to Edith Falls and back.
Terrain: Paved flat road leading to dirt trail. Very rocky in certain areas and steep in a couple areas.
Time: It took me close to two hours however this included the time spent frolicking in the water (about 20 minutes or so.)
Level: 2-3 moderate hike
Got any ideas of scenic places to walk or hike to? Comment any suggestions down below!
The waterfall is situated near the Chaguaramas golf course, on Bellerand Road off Tucker Valley Road - the road you take to get to Macqueripe beach.
Don't get me wrong, the hike itself is great...it's a lovely trail, probably one of the most well-maintained ones there are in Trinidad.
This is probably because it falls under the purview of the Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA) and there is routine clearing of the trail and clean ups.
So you won't find heaps of rubbish like I encountered on the Maracas waterfall trail, or overgrown areas. Good job, CDA.
The trail is pretty wide and easy to navigate.
There are some fallen trees and branches to climb over, but I've yet to discover a hike where this wasn't the case so no big deal there.
There's a sign at the start of the trail saying the trail is closed. Ignore that sign. It's been there for years. I think the CDA erected it while they did their routine clearing and just never bothered to remove it. I called them myself and they confirmed that the trail was not closed to the public.
The Edith Falls trail is one of those where you may be lucky to spot different wildlife like the red howler monkey. I didn't see any today, possibly because it was raining pretty heavily, but I've always seen them every time I've done this trail.
Today I saw lots and lots of crabs scurrying over the rocks or peeking out of holes. I named this one Chipper. Don't ask me why. I just did, ok?
But why I say this is a disappointing hike is because the waterfall can be pretty underwhelming depending on the time of year you visit.
Every time I went, it seemed the waterfall had dried up. There was either no water at all, or just a trickle like a mist, sprinkling over the cliff.
So imagine my disappointment the first time I went and there was nowhere to bathe, to dive, to soak. Hell, I couldn't even wash the sweat off my face! This is me standing under the non-existent waterfall in April, 2017. Not a drop of water to be seen. I'm even looking up the cliff like wtf, Edith? Where you at?
I swore I'd never go back...but it is one of the closest places to hike from where I live and the beauty of the trail makes up for the waterless waterfall, so I always go back when I feel for a quick hike.
Today was one of those days.
I had planned to storm the Run Arima 5k race but woke up too late so I had to find something else to do. Something not too lengthy, but still long enough to give me an actual workout.
Now the Edith Falls trail is short...just about a mile each way. So I decided to start from the top of Bellerand Road, to add another couple miles to my trek. It's a completely flat stretch so it was easy to run/jog it. You can't miss the turn off, there's a sign there.
The cool thing about Bellerand Road is that the CDA recognized that the stretch is popular with runners and joggers so they installed some fitness 'equipment' along the road, with signs telling you how to use them and what challenges you can do.
Mind you, these things are made out of wood and have become quite rickety.
It was at one of these stations that I discovered I have the upper body strength of an earthworm.
From the start of Bellerand Road, it's just about a mile to the Chaguaramas golf course, where you must pay $20 to use their parking facility if you drive in. If you walk in, you can park along Tucker Valley Road, but this is less secure.
The Edith Falls trail starts a few meters before the parking facility. You can't miss it. There's a huge sign.
You can see the fall in the distance from the road, too! This is the view of the fall from the road. The second photo is zoomed in a bit.
It looks really close, but it will still take a bit of work to get to it. It's about a 30-40 minute trek.
This trail is great for beginner hikers as it's relatively short, and is mostly wide. There are two areas where you have to cross the river bed and you must do so by balancing precariously and hopping from rock to rock. There's two areas where the trail gets steep, the steepest section is nearing the top. And because it was raining and the trail was slippery, I had to go up this section on all fours.
But the waterfall was well worth it today.
And now I know the best time to visit Edith Falls is in the rainy season. There was water, actual water cascading off the cliff and pounding on the rocks below! What a sight!
It was only today I even realised there were two waterfalls. A smaller one can be seen nearby, it must have been invisible before because the water flow was so low. You can see them both in this photo.
I bathed, I soaked, I splashed. I washed the sweat off my face! I was so happy, I even twerked a bit.
It was awesome! I will return in the rainy season again.
Length: 4.13 miles (6.6 km) from top of Bellerand Road to Edith Falls and back.
Terrain: Paved flat road leading to dirt trail. Very rocky in certain areas and steep in a couple areas.
Time: It took me close to two hours however this included the time spent frolicking in the water (about 20 minutes or so.)
Level: 2-3 moderate hike
Got any ideas of scenic places to walk or hike to? Comment any suggestions down below!
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