I went to Hamilton to spend a day chasing waterfalls, but instead torrential rain chased me.

Summer 2017, everybody.

My feet slipped back and forth in my sneakers as I pedalled my bike along the city’s Escarpment Rail Trail getting pelted by heavy rain drops. The less-than-ideal weather meant this path was pretty much exclusively mine, which wasn’t a bad trade off for getting soaked.

The unforgiving downpour — like the ones we’ve become accustomed to this season — encouraged me to morph the remainder of my outdoor plans into an afternoon of snack and store hopping around Hamilton’s downtown.

A bad weather contingency plan doesn’t have to be a loss. Here’s how to enjoy a day cycling in and around Hamilton, rain or shine.

Getting There

I started my morning with a backpack, a book and a bike.

After an early morning 20-minute ride from my place to the Union Station Bus Terminal in Toronto, I hopped the GO Bus to Hamilton, securing my bike to the rack in front of the bus. For anyone who has never done this, no sweat. It doesn’t cost extra and there are clearly marked instructions on the rack.

Fuel for the ride

About an hour later, I hopped off the bus in Hamilton, Googled my whereabouts and immediately began my quest for some coffee.

It took about five minutes to ride to the Mulberry Coffeehouse. I knew this was going to be a good place because it had a sweet patio and a water bowl left out for dogs.

Once caffeinated, I backtracked to the Hamilton Farmers’ Market, an all-seasons indoor spot — open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. — with dozens of vendors.

Pleasantly overwhelmed, I loaded up my backpack with a loaf of fresh bread, a wedge of brie, a jar of hot red pepper jelly and some locally-grown veggies to make myself a sandwich later.

To the Trail

From the market, I rode towards Corktown Park (less than 10 minutes by bike) to enter the Escarpment Rail Trail. You can pick up this path from the corner of Ferguson Ave. and Young St., heading through the park.

At this point there were obvious signs of impending rain, but I embarked on the car-less climb towards Albion Falls nonetheless. The trail was quiet (maybe courtesy of the incoming storm) and easy to ride, even with my cheap craigslist-bought road bike. The surroundings were exceptionally green, and it felt like I was back in the Netherlands on a Dutch bike path.

I rode the 8 kilometres, gentle uphill journey, arriving in the Albion Falls parking lot (just off of Arbour Rd. near the intersection with Mountain Brow Blvd.) about half an hour later. There are a few picnic tables here that can work great for lunch if you’re ravenous or don’t want to eat on the ground — but I opted to venture into the woods, away from the cars.

The Falls

The parking lot is less than a five-minute walk from a spot where you can see Albion Falls — an almost 20-metre high cascade. (I walked my bike on the trail.)

This was supposed to be the first of several falls I’d see on my day trip to Hamilton — the city has deemed it “waterfall capital of the world” and says the area is home to more than a hundred of them — but it ended up being the only one.

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The city has bolstered security at the falls after series of injuries and rescue-requiring incidents including a recent death. So I observed the cascading water behind a fence at a viewpoint directly across. City staffers were on site when I visited, so attempting to enter the falls would have made my excursion much pricier — trespassers can be hit with $105 tickets.

From there, I continued down a nearby trail and within 10 minutes I found a toppled tree, an ideal place to set up my farmer’s market feast.

I could hear some water in the background, but couldn’t see much through the foliage. It seemed crazy that half an hour ago I was in the middle of the city perusing a booth of artisanal pastries — waterfall or not, this peaceful mini-escape was worth the ride.

Bailing and the quest for cosy hideaways

The raindrops quickly went from sparse to intense and I made the call to swap my waterfall trek for a tour of indoor spots in town.

By the time I started pedalling towards the city, I was drenched but still enjoying the whole trail-to-myself riding experience.

My first place of refuge was Smalls, a tiny take out café that alternates between serving beans from Burlington, Ont. roaster Detour and Toronto-based De Mello Palheta. The spot is quaint enough that it doesn’t have a landline but does have bike tools and a tire pump available to anyone in need.

I stopped into Hamilton’s Central Library, renovated in 2010, and found a great spot to ride out the storm. The building has a bright “community living room.” It’s a lovely place to breeze through some reading.

Not far from there is the Hamilton Artists Inc, a contemporary art gallery founded in the 1970s by a group of local artists. A stop here brings me deeper into the city’s art scene — monthly art crawls take place the second Friday of every month.

Before hopping the bus back to Toronto, I walked to Work Progress (formerly Work), a cosy bar and restaurant that, after being closed for renovations for most of July, had reopened, revamped.

Fading a bit and my shoes still damp, I opted for what is pretty much my dream comfort food — a bowl of crispy avocado fries (literally, pieces of fried avocado) and a glass of Gamay. A delicious way to end the day.

Hamilton: The city of waterfalls with a growing art scene

CN Tower to Hamilton: 82.5 kilometres

Alternative Transportation: Ditch the wheels altogether and explore on foot (with the help of a bus or train to get you to Hamilton from T.O.). For runners, the Escarpment Rail Trailis a beauty of a route.

Budget: $24.20 for an adult round trip bus ticket from Toronto to Hamilton. I spent a bit less than $20 on picnic supplies (some of the leftovers got a bit wet, unfortunately). And about $40 for coffees, avocado fries and wine, with tax and tip.

Souvenir: A Hamilton café postcard from Mixed Media ($2.25) and a mostly full jar roasted red pepper jelly ($5), leftover from my picnic.

Required: A bike, good shoes, a backpack, utensils (if you want to make your picnic more elegant) and a water bottle. If you expect rain, an extra set of clothes and a plastic bag could be worth it.