Birds are the most obvious wildlife at Freshwater Lake. Both the purple-throated Carib hummingbird and the Antillean crested hummingbird are common. The rare blue-headed hummingbird has also been spotted here. An unforgettable sound is the beautiful song of the mountain whistler (Sifle montany).

Take the path past the interpretive signs and wooden shelter to the gully overlooking the lake where the trail splits in two. One is the mountain trail (Chemin d'Etang), an old historic 4-mile trail that descends into the Rosalie Valley to end at the village of Grand Fond.

The walk takes about 2.5 hours. Before roads linked the small agricultural community of Grand Fond with the rest of the island, judges, even doctors and magistrates would ride this trail on horseback, since it was the only access to the village.

The other fork in the trail goes up steps to the ridgetop east of the Freshwater Lake, actually part of a rim of an old volcano.

The ridge offers a splendid panoramic view, one of Dominica's best. It also helps you appreciate the volcanic origins of the island: Morne Micotrine to the west is a young volcanic cone separating Freshwater from Boeri Lake, which also formed on the same crater floor. You'll spot many peaks and ridges created by several volcanic eruptions.

Freshwater Lake Trail Part 1

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