Eugenia Falls is the star of this part of the escarpment, a thirty-metre plunge of the Beaver River over the edge of the dolomite into a gorge. It is a powerful, rather sudden piece of scenery in a country otherwise made of gentle farmland, and in spring, when the snow melts, the volume is impressive and the sound reaches you well before the view does. In a dry late summer it thins to a ribbon. Either way, the viewing platforms are a short walk from the car park, and the conservation area around it is tidy and well kept.
The village is a small, quiet place with the usual scatter of old houses and a church. What makes it unusual is the lake behind the falls. In the early twentieth century the river was dammed to drive a hydroelectric station, creating Lake Eugenia, a long reservoir that now supports cottages and fishing. The generating station is one of those relics of the early Ontario power system, built when electricity was a novelty and the province was working out how to get it to the cities. There is a quiet pleasure in seeing a bit of old industry still operating on the edge of a village.
The roads around here are some of the best of the region. Grey County roads run across the plateau and drop into the valley through a run of bends, with good views and sensible gradients, and the tarmac is often smooth. On weekends, the Beaver Valley attracts a lot of drivers and cyclists, so you will want to be on the road early; by midday the car parks at the falls are full. Watch for farm vehicles on the narrower roads, and for horse-drawn buggies, which you will see in the farming country nearby.
Fuel is another matter. Eugenia has none, and Markdale, about ten kilometres away, is the nearest town with services, though it is small, so check your gauge. Flesherton, a little to the north-east, is another place to try. Collingwood and Meaford are much larger and further. Bring some food or plan to eat in Markdale or Flesherton, because the village has little beyond the falls. October brings colour, but spring, with the water high and the woods still bare, is just as good for the falls themselves.