If you are interested in venturing off the beaten path and into the woods for a pleasant, short hike then I highly recommend a visit to Little Sheephouse Falls Nature Trail. This trail is an easy, well-maintained footpath along Little Sheephouse Brook that leads to the main attraction – Little Sheephouse Falls. The trail is located on Crown Land, northwest of Miramichi, New Brunswick and was developed by Forneau Lumber in 1989. The company has provided excellent signage, viewing platforms, picnic tables, detailed plaques explaining features of the trees, wildlife, and vegetation found in the area as well as new stairway to the bottom of the falls in 2017.

The best way to access the area is to head to Sunny Corner from Miramichi and then travel north along Northwest Road for about 10Km and then turn left onto NB-430 and travel another 4Km before turning left onto the Fraser Burchill Road. Stay on this gravel road for about 10Km until you come to a sign indicating Little Sheephouse Road. Turn left and continue straight ahead, cross the small bridge, and continue about 6Km. The park is on the left side of the road.

The trailhead is clearly indicated at the entrance to the park and the hike to the observation platform takes about five minutes on a well-groomed path surrounded by a mixed forest.

After looking at the falls from the lookout we decided to venture down the long, steep stairway to the base of the falls. It was easy going down the 77 steps to the bottom, but a bit more of a challenge returning to the top.

The falls are about 20 meters high and the water tumbles down a rocky ledge that appears to be cut out to make a cave. However, after a dry and hot summer, the falls were just a trickle and the pool below had very little water.

The two smaller waterfalls (Hopewell and Lamb Brook) located within a hundred meters of the main attraction had almost no water. From here we continued on the path to Caribou Gulch and Devil’s Elbow observation points.

We passed by some large rocks and eventually made our way  to the small covered bridge on the trail. Florian signed the visitor log book located inside and we returned to the parking lot, had a snack at the picnic table, and then prepared to make the journey home again.