Helmcken Falls

Helmcken Falls is probably the most famous of the waterfalls we've seen in the Wells Gray Provincial Park. It seemed like tour buses would routinely stop here and off load their busloads of people thereby crowding the viewing deck and picnic area. I guess the reason for its popularity is that it has a 141m cumulative drop over two distinct tiers (I read somewhere that this is the 4th tallest waterfall in

Since it's on the Murtle River, it also flows year-round with a high flow that you don't often see with waterfalls this tall. Just imagine Dawson Falls squeezed into a chute before ejecting it over the long drop and you can appreciate its volume.

During our visit in September 2010, we had to contend with bad weather. At least the heavy rains were sort of off-and-on at the time so we could linger at the viewing deck without getting drenched.

However, the thing that really tested our patience was the relentless fog that stubbornly stayed around the gorge between the viewing deck and the falls itself. In fact, the first time we saw it at mid-morning, it was totally foggy. But after an hour or so later, the falls started showing itself albeit grudgingly (as evidenced by the photo you see at the top of this page).

The walk to the falls is practically negligible as it's perhaps less than five minutes from the official car park. Sometimes, tour buses drop off their folks at a pullout that's even closer to the picnic area and viewing deck.

To my knowledge, there's no official way to get closer and to the bottom of Helmcken Falls. However, we did notice a signpost on the drive to the overlook indicating a Helmcken Rim Trail. Since we didn't do it, we can't really say where it goes and whether it provides a different yet worthwhile viewing experience altogether.

To give you an idea of where Clearwater is, it's about 320km west-southwest of Jasper. It took us roughly four hours (each way) to do this drive. We headed west on Hwy 16 into British Columbia (you do have to move the clock back by an hour since BC is on Pacific Standard Time and not on Mountain Time like Alberta), then head south on Hwy 5 which ultimately reaches Clearwater.

If you're not coming from Jasper but Lake Louise instead, it's a pretty arduous 568km drive between Clearwater and Lake Louise (if you're choosing to take Hwy 1 before deviating from it and heading north on the Hwy 5.

Indeed, it's a non-trivial drive, but in a way, this break from the touristy part of the Canadian Rockies kind of helped us avoid the difficulties of a snow storm (it tends to be warmer in BC) while chilling us out a bit since the experience was more tranquil (despite the tour buses that would come here).

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I wonder if those folks were happy with their viewing experience.

When the fog wasn't playing hide-and-seek with us

Picnic area before the viewing deck

The viewing deck and Helmcken Falls context

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Full right to left sweep starting at the gorge and ending at the fog-obscured waterfall

Top down sweep of the falls with the fog rolling in

V-shaped sweep starting with a top down sweep of the falls and ending at the overlook opposite the falls

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TRIP REPORTS

• September 19, 2010

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NEARBY WATERFALLS

• Dawson Falls
• Moul Falls
• Spahats Falls

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