Place Description:
Helmcken Falls is Canada's fourth highest waterfall, and one of it's best-kept secrets. Plunging 141 metres (463 ft!) in a straight drop, this waterfall is about three times higher than Niagara Falls! But while Niagara is plagued with gift shops and tourists, on a quiet day you might arrive at the modest viewing platform for Helmcken Falls and find nobody else there.
There are a few ways to view the falls. The first is from the viewing platform, which you can drive to, and which arguably offers the best uninterrupted view of the falls. The second is to hike a trail which follows the course of the Murtle River to the the very top of the falls.
In winter Helmcken Falls develops a bizarre ice cone at its base. It looks a bit like a volcano is swallowing the Murtle River. The ice cone forms over the whole winter as progressive snow and ice layers build up, and by the end of the winter it can be up to 20 stories (~70 metres) high.
The road to Helmcken Falls is good, and is kept clear through the winter, although if it is snowy or icy, don't go. Roads further into Wells Gray Park are closed for the winter.
WARNING MOSQUITOES
Do not venture in Wells Gray Park without protection against mosquitoes. And please no shorts even if its 120F outside. Don't tell me I didn't warn you.
Individual View Descriptions:HelmckenFalls1, facing South:
- See the walls of the canyon. This place is created by volcano and glaciers over 4 million years.
Other Places to Visit:Click to Visit:
ken/BishopMuseumClick to Visit:
ken/DecaturHouse2Click to Visit:
ken/FortStreetMallClick to Visit:
ken/HalonaBlowhole
Use this link for email or IM:
20 (3 New)