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Elk Falls dropping through a dark rock canyon with cedar forest on both rims

Elk Falls: A 25-Metre Drop, a Free Suspension Bridge, and a Campbell River Stop

The north Island's honest short waterfall stop - a free 60-metre span over a real canyon, a 25-metre drop, and a gravel walk that is over in twenty minutes. Worth the pull-off if you are already in Campbell River. Stay on the designated decks.

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Quick facts

Distance
1.6 km
Elevation gain
40 m
Highest point
150 m
Difficulty
Easy
Time needed
0.5-1.5 hours
Route type
Out and back
Season
Year-round at this elevation. Volume tracks rain and dam release as much as the calendar. Summer weekends fill the lot. The stairs ice before the pavement does.
Drive from Vancouver
6 h
Transit accessible
No
Dog friendly
Yes
Pass or permit
No pass requiredNo day-use pass and no admission. Dogs on leash. Stay on designated trails and viewing areas. The campground at Quinsam is a separate reservation and a different entrance.
Last hiked
Traditional territory
Wei Wai Kai and Wei Wai Kum territory, Laich-Kwil-Tach peoples of the Campbell River, on the river that still carries their name
On this page3 sections

Campbell River has a waterfall with a free suspension bridge over it, and most people from Vancouver never hear about it because it sits two hours north of Nanaimo. If you are already this far up the Island, missing it is the mistake.

I walked it on 30 September 2023. Sun in the canopy, the canyon in shade, the drop running. That is the water in these pictures.

What you get: about 800 m of wide gravel from the upper day-use lot, then stairs down to a 60-metre span hung 64 m above the canyon, and fenced decks looking at a 25-metre fall. Most people are on the bridge in fifteen minutes. It is not a hike. It is a very good fifteen minutes.

Getting there

Ferry to Nanaimo, Island Highway to Campbell River, Highway 28 west toward Gold River. Elk Falls Park Road is signed. From Vancouver that is a sailing plus most of a day of Island pavement. Pair it with Nymph Falls on the same Campbell River day. Do not treat it as a Vancouver evening.

Welcome to Elk Falls trailhead sign on a gravel path through tall second-growth forest
The board at the lot. Viewing area 1.2 km. The stairs start after the easy gravel.

Quinsam Campground is 3 km back toward town. Different entrance, different problem.

The walk

Leave the lot on the gravel. Stay on designated trails. The first opening through the trees is a rim view, not the bridge. Keep walking.

Looking down the Elk Falls canyon, white water in a dark rock slot under sunlit cedar
From the rim before the bridge. The river is the bright line. Everything else should stay dark.

Stairs down to the decks and the span. The bridge is the photograph that is actually of this park. A 25-metre fall from the far deck is the other one.

Elk Falls plunging as a white column through a rock cleft with forest on both sides
The drop itself. A 25-metre fall wants a vertical frame. Landscape crops it into a white thread.
Close view of Elk Falls splitting into two white columns against dark wet rock
Tight on the plunge. Polariser, and a shutter that still shows the water rather than fog.

Stay on the decks. The rock is wet, the drop is real, and the river does not care that the walk in felt easy.

The photograph

Overcast is the correct light. I shot it in sun and paid for it in the water. Polariser, vertical frames, a quarter-second to one second from a deck that is not bouncing. The span flexes. Wait.

Dogs on leash. Drones off. This is a provincial park, not a set.

Hiked it myself

Sun in the treetops, canyon in shade, drop running. Walked the gravel, the stairs, the bridge, and the viewpoints. Stay on the decks.

Reported by Parveen Singh

Trail notes from the field

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Shooting this trail

Photography notes

Best light
Overcast for the canyon. Sun on 30 September put gold in the treetops and a hole in the water. A grey Campbell River morning is the correct light.
Best season
October through June for volume. Late September can still look good after rain. A dry August is a thinner column and a long drive for it.
Compositions
  • From the suspension bridge looking down the canyon at 24-35mm. Cable in the corner is honest. Climbing the rail is not.
  • The drop as a vertical from a fenced deck at 50-85mm. Isolate the water and the wet rock.
  • Long exposure 1/4 to 1 second from a stable deck. The span flexes when people walk. Timer, pause in foot traffic.
Gear
Polariser for wet rock and wet cedar. Compact kit. The gravel approach is easy. The photographs get better once you commit to the stairs. Stay on the built viewpoints. Drones are prohibited.