Johnston Canyon Waterfalls

Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

About Johnston Canyon Waterfalls


Hiking Distance: 4.8km round trip
Suggested Time: 2 hours

Date first visited: 2010-09-16
Date last visited: 2010-09-16

Waterfall Latitude: 51.25473
Waterfall Longitude: -115.83748

Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

The Johnston Canyon Waterfalls are what I’m designating to be the many waterfalls found within the scenic Johnston Canyon itself.

Even though the signage here indicated that there were two main waterfalls known as the “Lower Waterfall” and the “Upper Waterfall,” we did see a handful more.

Johnston_Canyon_094_09162010 - The Lower Falls, which was one of the Johnston Canyon Waterfalls
The Lower Falls, which was one of the Johnston Canyon Waterfalls

Some of those other ones were somewhat significant and pretty while others were more like mini-cascades or rapids.

Nonetheless, the gorge geology combined with being able to walk in what would otherwise be inaccessible terrain were what made this excursion stand out.

Indeed, this walk in Johnston Canyon was more than just the waterfalls.

The walkway itself was well-developed as it was mostly paved, flat, or on elevated catwalks.

Thus, it was fairly straightforward to enjoy and take photos without some of the other worries and precautions necessary when on a more primitive trail within a narrow gorge like this.

Johnston_Canyon_084_09162010 - The Upper Falls in Johnston Canyon
The Upper Falls in Johnston Canyon

Moreover, we could also attest to the claim that this walk was a good bad-weather excursion because we happened to do it during a rainy and snowy mid-September trip in 2010.

Yet the weather didn’t seem to adversely impact our experience here very much (though it did prevent us from doubling our hike and going all the way to the Ink Pots).

In terms of walking distances, it was said to be about 0.5 miles one-way to get to the Lower Waterfall and 1.5 miles one-way to get to the Upper Waterfall.

We went all the way to the bottom of the Upper Waterfall so it was 3 miles round trip for us.

Experiencing the Johnston Canyon and its waterfalls

Johnston_Canyon_005_09162010 - Elevated catwalks made Johnston Canyon a very leisurely excursion
Elevated catwalks made Johnston Canyon a very leisurely excursion

The walk to the Lower Johnston Canyon Waterfall was mostly flat with a slight uphill grade.

The climb was not very noticeable, however, since it was mostly spread out over the half-mile it took to get here.

It seemed like most of the visitors to Johnston Canyon use this waterfall as the turnaround point.

Once we were at the Lower Waterfall, we crossed a bridge over the stream responsible for carving out Johnston Canyon.

That bridge provided us with not only frontal views of this attractive waterfall, but it also provided access to a tunnel where its other end yielded an in-your-face look at the main plunge of the Lower Waterfall.

Johnston_Canyon_009_jx_09162010 - Context of the walkway within the steep Johnston Canyon
Context of the walkway within the steep Johnston Canyon

Beyond the Lower Waterfall turnoff, the main walkway climbed in earnest.

On one of the switchbacks, I was able to get a nice view of both the Lower Waterfall and the bridge (see photo at the top of this page).

The trail continued to ascend some more as it momentarily left the gorge and meandered through a well-forested area.

It was during this stretch that I was able to see a handful of more waterfalls in Johnston Canyon.

Johnston_Canyon_051_09162010 - One of several Johnston Canyon Waterfalls not named Lower Falls or Upper Falls
One of several Johnston Canyon Waterfalls not named Lower Falls or Upper Falls

I think one of them was supposed to be called Stella Falls, which was the only one I noticed with an official name thanks to a sign with a drawing of it along the trail.

Nonetheless, these waterfalls helped us take our time as we would frequently stop to take photos or try to channel the inner Ansel Adams in us for some landscape art photographs involving these falls.

After about a mile beyond the Lower Waterfall and some additional uphill walking, the trail reached a fork.

Going left at this fork would’ve continued ascending towards the top of the Upper Waterfall while going right led onto a catwalk.

Johnston_Canyon_071_09162010 - Walking along the attractive yellowish walls leading up to the Upper Falls in Johnston Canyon
Walking along the attractive yellowish walls leading up to the Upper Falls in Johnston Canyon

We took the catwalk which ultimately brought us face-to-face with a stretch of colorful walls as a result of algae and their byproducts.

It also ended with a more frontal view of the Upper Waterfall.

With this being the turnaround point of our visit, we ended up spending 2 hours away from the car by the time we had returned to the car park.

In hindsight, we probably should’ve continued going uphill to the top of the Upper Waterfall.

Johnston_Canyon_077_09162010 - Looking down towards the end of the colorful walls near the Upper Waterfall as we started to head back to the trailhead of Johnston Canyon
Looking down towards the end of the colorful walls near the Upper Waterfall as we started to head back to the trailhead of Johnston Canyon

It would’ve been interesting to see what kind of a view we would’ve gotten up there.

But alas, that’ll have to wait until the next time we’re here.

Authorities

The Johnston Canyon Waterfalls reside in Banff National Park near Banff in the province of Alberta, Canada. It is administered by Parks Canada. For information or inquiries as well as current conditions, visit their website.

Johnston_Canyon_002_09162010 - Julie on the walk to Johnston Canyon while fending off the rain, which started off in a forested setting
Johnston_Canyon_005_jx_09162010 - The official start of the Johnston Canyon walk
Johnston_Canyon_009_09162010 - Sometimes there were tiny waterfalls in the watercourse below the catwalk in Johnston Canyon
Johnston_Canyon_016_09162010 - The Johnston Canyon walkway was often surrounded by interesting geology punctuated with the clear and colored watercourse responsible for the gorge
Johnston_Canyon_008_jx_09162010 - The Johnston Canyon catwalk was often perched high above the base of the gorge
Johnston_Canyon_018_09162010 - The Lower Waterfall as seen from the bridge crossing in front of it
Johnston_Canyon_014_jx_09162010 - Beyond the Lower Johnston Canyon Waterfall on the main trail, we briefly followed along the creek within the bottom of the gorge before the trail started climbing in earnest
Johnston_Canyon_018_jx_09162010 - The walkway continued to follow the Johnston Canyon gorge passing by more small waterfalls along the way
Johnston_Canyon_041_09162010 - Beyond the Lower Waterfall turnoff, we caught this view of that waterfall and the bridge, which allowed access to a tunnel for an even closer look of it
Johnston_Canyon_047_09162010 - Sometimes the walkway elevates above the watercourse as it hugs the gorge walls of Johnston Canyon
Johnston_Canyon_053_09162010 - Colorful leaves near the beginning of Autumn starting to change color in Johnston Canyon
Johnston_Canyon_059_09162010 - This modest-sized waterfall is what I believe to be Stella Falls
Johnston_Canyon_065_09162010 - Looking down along the Johnston Canyon Trail at another attractive waterfall on the way up to the Upper Waterfall
Johnston_Canyon_073_09162010 - Finally making it up to the Upper Johnston Canyon Waterfall
Johnston_Canyon_086_09162010 - This was the dead-end that not only gave us a frontal look at the Upper Johnston Canyon Waterfall, but it also brought us right up to the colorful wall across from it
Johnston_Canyon_090_09162010 - We got to experience the gorge scenery of Johnston Canyon all over again on the return hike


There are a couple of approaches to reach Johnston Canyon depending on whether you’re heading north or heading south.

Heading South from Icefields Parkway

On Hwy 1 going south from its junction with the Icefields Parkway (Hwy 93) just north of Lake Louise, we drove for about 28km (30 minutes) until we exited at a ramp connecting with Hwy 1A and Hwy 93 (I believe it’s called the Banff Windermere Parkway).

We turned left at the exit to take Hwy 1A after crossing over a couple bridges as well as a railroad.

Johnston_Canyon_001_jx_09162010 - The busy car park for Johnston Canyon despite the bad weather
The busy car park for Johnston Canyon despite the bad weather

When we reached a three-way junction, we turned right to continue going southeast onto Hwy 1A and shortly thereafter, we turned left onto the signposted car park for Johnston Canyon a little over 6km further to the south.

In total, this drive was said to be about 36km (taking over 30 minutes).

Heading North from Banff

Alternatively if we had come from Banff, we could drive north on Trans-Canada Hwy 1 from town to the Hwy 1A exit just about 5 minutes later.

Then, we’d follow the Hwy 1A exit for the next 16km to the Johnston Canyon car park on our right.

Going about it in this way would be about 25km total and is said to take around 30 minutes.

However, we think it would probably take longer than that due to the slower speed limit and the increased likelihood of wildlife crossings on this route.

Finally, for some context, Banff Town was 57km (45 minutes drive) south of Lake Louise, 127km (90 minutes drive) west of Calgary, 288km (over 3.5 hours drive) south of Jasper, and 413km (4 hours drive) southwest of Edmonton.

Find A Place To Stay

L-shaped sweep following the rushing waters until it disappears deeper into the canyon


Bottom up sweep looking directly at the lower falls from the other side of the tunnel


Bottom up sweep of one of the many waterfalls between the lower and upper main waterfalls


Distant bottom up sweep of what I believe is Stella Falls


L-shaped sweep starting from the upper main waterfall and ending downstream alongside the algae wall


Bottom up sweep of the lower waterfall fronted by a bridge from a higher vantage point

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Tagged with: banff, national park, silverton, canadian rockies, canada, waterfall, alberta, johnston canyon



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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
Read More About Johnny | A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls.