So....we found the Grotto

There have been many articles floating around lately about this "INSANE GROTTO" only an hour from Ottawa. SEE HERE. Being the adventurous type, I loaded up the car and off we went. The drive there is very straight forward and we arrive with ease. As we drove down the winding dirt road towards the mine, I found the roads getting worse and worse. At one point there were many people walking down. After seeking some friendly advice, we were told we could park about 1km back at a side road, as all the main roads say no parking due to work vehicles.

                              

 

                                       

Well 1km back I parked and began the walk down.I kept thinking that it can't be much furthur, the day happen to be 35 degrees and I was babywearing my youngest and the 2 year old was walking. 30 mins later we arrived at the bottom of the mine. (There were one or two cars down there, but they must have bottomed out if my SUV couldn't make it). We admired the waters and then began the trek to the top to see the view. 15 mins later we arrived and found a small hole in the fence. The view was gorgeous, and something I've never seen before. Once at the top the trek down was very steep but doable (less so with young children), however the water was EXTREMELY COLD and unfortuantely there was a lot of garbage floating around and the mine itself was also full of garbage and spray paint.




All in all, beautiful view and I would like to return with a canoe/kayak at some point to explore the caves better. However, it seems as though tourists have ruined this beautiful attraction, and it wouldn't surprise me if this was cut off to visitors due to the garbage and vandalism. I believe the long walk and parking issues may have been due to heavy rain fall washing away the gravel road so closer parking may be available at a different time.