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Overlander Falls is a short but wide gushing waterfall on the Fraser River. This was another one of those waterfalls that we hadn't planned on seeing going into our September 2010 trip, but it had a very conspicuous sign that commanded our attention while motoring on Hwy 16. We skipped it on the way to Clearwater, but we did stop for it on the way back to Jasper to stretch our legs and see what the commotion was all about.
It turned out that the falls is said to be 10m tall and 30m wide. I'm sure under sunnier weather, the Fraser River would exhibit that blue-green color so typical of glacier-fed lakes and rivers. However, we happened to show up during a rain storm (it was snowing in Banff and Jasper at the time) so the colors were a bit muted.
The sign at the car park indicated that it was a 3/4-hour (45 minutes) return walk to the falls. It was pretty much a short upside-down excursion (meaning you descend to the falls and ascend back up to the car park). After going past a trail junction (didn't bother to see where that other trail went), the path ended at an overlook area of both the falls as well as a glimpse of the canyon downstream.
Apparently some kayakers do run this waterfall, and from the looks of things, I can kind of see why. Though I'm not certain if the river beyond the plunge pool is very runnable or not (not that I would know since I'm not a kayaker, but it did seem rocky).
Directions: The well-signed and wide car park for Overlander Falls is about 86km west of Jasper along Hwy 16. Or, it's about 16km west of the west-end (mouth) of Moose Lake. The car park is on the south side (left side as you head west) of the highway.
Alternatively, the car park is a little over 14km east of the Rearguard Falls car park. If you're headed east on Hwy 16, then the turnoff is on your right (and is much easier to access as you don't have to cross traffic to get to it).
I was at Rearguard Falls as a tourist in August 2010. I stumbled into rafters who told me I could not go down the path they were on, to the base of the falls...[more]