Crooked Slide Park is a quiet nature escape in Ontario with a restored log chute
Crooked Slide Park is named after the reconstructed wooden chute that pours into Byers Creek like a small waterfall, originally used by loggers in the 1900s to deliver logs downstream.
The log chute was first built in 1973, with the Murray Bros. Lumber Company donating the acres it was constructed on. Its purpose was to help logs travel easier through various river bends without jamming up before reaching the river mouth.
Timber would float several hundred feet in the chute before plunging 10 feet back into the creek and carrying onto the Madawaska River. From there, the logs would be processed at the sawmills and sent to market at the height of the lumber industry.
The chute was again restored in 1994 after a few decades of deterioration, and that reconstruction is the one visitors see today.
You'll spot the old logging chute as soon as you pull into the parking lot just outside of Barry's Bay, about four hours away from Toronto. A walking bridge runs adjacent to the chute for a closer view.
There are also several picnic spots on the smooth rocks along the quiet river, and in the warm summer months, you can even take a swim under the falls.
Every season presents a new side to the scenic, historical site. The rushing water freezes over in the winter while it's surrounded by pops of autumn colour in the fall.
Crooked Slide Park is home to one of the last remaining log chutes in the province, with another found in the Hawk Lake Log Chute two hours from here in the Haliburton Highlands.
Make sure to respect the rules of the area during your visit. Pick up your trash to leave the area just as beautiful as you found it.
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