• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
  • Baseball ’19
  • Day Zero 3
  • Earl
  • My list
  • Photo Blogging Challenge

A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

On the Trail: Wapta Falls

February 13, 2020

As I start to work on a few of these newer features on my blog, one thing I’ll be doing is occasionally going back in time, so to speak. 

This feature is one that will have that regularly. 

My thought process for this feature will likely be once a month. If I can get into a rhythm and have enough spots for it, then I might go twice. But for now, it’s a once-monthly feature, so I’ll be bringing back past trips and hikes. 

Today it was from the geocaching trip this past fall, which took me throughout the Pacific Northwest – in the United States and Canada. 

One hike I looked into was Wapta Falls, as there was an Earthcache there. Mix that with a waterfall that was supposed to be simply amazing, and it was put on the “must do” list. 

The thing about geocaching trips where there are so many things to see and do, some things get skipped. This trip was no different. While in this part of Canada, we had to skip several things to make sure other things were done. I don’t regret it, but it definitely makes me want to return to explore more. 

Anyway, Wapta Falls. 

Wapta Falls in her glory. Simply amazing!

This hike followed a long day of travel and other stops. This day began in Kamloops, British Columbia and brought us closer to Banff National Park. Several things had to be skipped to give us a remote chance to get into this area, make the hike and see the falls. As we pulled into a drive up spot to get a pass to the park, we asked the girl working if we stood a chance at doing this before dark. 

Absolutely, she said. But bring flashlights – the odds of making it back out in the light would be slim. Excellent advice. 

The hike out was only supposed to be a bit more than a mile (though add more in the winter when the gates on the road are apparent;y closed). And, that’s probably about right. For the most part, the terrain isn’t too bad. But on normal walking, I can do about an 18-minute mile if I am pushing it, but usually I’m in the 20-minute range. 

This took a bit more. 

One thing I realized though, that despite going into a different time zone from where we started the day, there were no issues with daylight. I was actually shocked. Being from upstate New York, when the sun sets at a certain time, it doesn’t take too awful long after to get dark. And despite being in part of the Canadian Rockies, when the sun went down, it remained light for quite a while. 

The hike out wasn’t too bad, with a little incline. When you get to the end and are near the falls, you have a couple of options – stay up top and view the falls in all their glory and call it good, or head down the hill with a few switchbacks to get up close and personal. 

Well, we didn’t come all this way to stay up top and head back. Down we went. There were three others down there and they were indulging in some herbal enjoyment. They waved, but weren’t too close, basically giving us the run of the falls. These were impressive. 

Wapta Falls from above. Really amazing to watch that water flow.

Wapta Falls is situated inside Yoho National Park. Part of the Kicking Horse River, these falls are nearly 100-feet high, and almost 500-feet wide. 

From the top, the falls were amazing. But from the bottom – despite the hill that sits in front of them – they are simply breathtaking. The sound and rush of the water is incredible. The mist that comes off of the falls, too, is powerful. We were going to attempt to get to the left side of the hill as I wanted to try and get a wild photo, but with as slippery as things were, we stayed to the right side. Still, it was pretty amazing to be up that close to these falls. 

The hike back was a bit more difficult. Getting back up to the trail took some work (remember, I’m not in perfect shape), but it wasn’t a bad hike back. And the girl at the booth was fully correct – a flashlight coming back out was smart. In the end, we did about 3.5 miles and it was definitely a good workout.

Final thoughts: 

Positives: The trail isn’t too bad, and it’s quite easy to follow. Hearing the falls as you approach is impressive, though when you get to the end, it’s even more amazing. This is a very remote area, so you likely won’t find a lot of casual onlookers – it’s likely people who really want to see the fall. 

Cons: Depending what you consider a con – but once you get out there, no bathrooms and you are in nature. I find this to be a positive – but some might avoid it because it’s remote. Finding the road in wasn’t easy. 

Overall: If you like a hike in the woods with an amazing payoff at the end… and you are in this area? Make this a must stop. 

Geocaching note: There is one geocache out here – an Earthcache (GC7W35A) with a rating of 1/3.5. This can be your goal as well, but what it brings you to is even more amazing. No traditionals or anything along the trail out or in the parking area. 

To watch a Relive video of this hike, please see below!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Hiking, My world, On the Trail, outdoors, Photography Tagged With: british columbia, Canada National Parks, Canadian National Parks, hiking, nature, On the trail, outdoors, Wapta, Wapta Falls, Wapta Falls British Columbia, Wapta Falls Yoho, Wapta Falls Yoho National Park, water, water fall, water falls, waterfall, waterfalls, waterfalls photography, Yoho National Park

4 Comments

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Paul says

    February 13, 2020

    What amazing water color in those lakes. I need to put this on my bucket list.
    Paul recently posted..Sculpture GardenMy Profile

    Reply
    • P.J. says

      February 20, 2020

      I need to get back to that area for an extended time. There was so much there I missed because of time constraints.

      Reply
  2. Mrs GeoK / Denise says

    February 14, 2020

    Ashamed to say that as a “local” I haven’t yet been to Wapta Falls. Definitely one for the “must do” list.

    Reply
    • P.J. says

      February 20, 2020

      Put it high on the list!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

Primary Sidebar

Welcome

Welcome to A 'lil HooHaa!

This is a personal website covering many topics! We host a monthly photo blogging challenge, and then every January hold a fun writing challenge.

Thank you for stopping by and hope this becomes a stop for you!

Connect

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Follow

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 882 other subscribers

Instagram

hoohaa29

Writer who loves images just as much as words! In search of perfectly poured pints of Guinness and great hot dogs. Find me on twitter @softball29.

Couldn’t resist stopping on the way to work too Couldn’t resist stopping on the way to work too quickly snap some photos of this scene. Hamden Covered Bridge. #bridge #coveredbridge #hamden #snow #winter #instagood #photooftheday #happy #picoftheday #fun #igers #bestoftheday #life #photo #iphonesia #igdaily #iphoneonly #love #beautiful #photography
A nice day to get out for a hike, grab a #geocache A nice day to get out for a hike, grab a #geocache and place a few. Felt good abs here’s hoping for a much better year!
Thought this wax seal came out pretty well! #waxse Thought this wax seal came out pretty well! #waxsealstamp #waxseal #waxseals #card #mail #snailmail
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Twitter

P.J.Follow

P.J.
Retweet on TwitterP.J. Retweeted
QU_MIHQuinnipiac Men's Ice Hockey@QU_MIH·
11 Jan

Our stock is 📈 #BobcatNation

Reply on Twitter 1348721955793489920Retweet on Twitter 13487219557934899202Like on Twitter 134872195579348992060Twitter 1348721955793489920
softball29P.J.@softball29·
15 Jan

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Shut up, Meg@MMMac88

Karma's a bitch. Thanks for the assist @GarlandTMI ✌💙

Reply on Twitter 1349975081716486149Retweet on Twitter 1349975081716486149Like on Twitter 1349975081716486149Twitter 1349975081716486149
Retweet on TwitterP.J. Retweeted
NYIslandersNew York Islanders@NYIslanders·
15 Jan

FIRST GAME OF THE SEASON
FIRST #ISLES WIN OF THE SEASON
FIRST SHUTOUT OF THE SEASON
🦞🦞🦞🦞🦞🦞

Reply on Twitter 1349910557365858308Retweet on Twitter 13499105573658583081027Like on Twitter 13499105573658583083674Twitter 1349910557365858308
Load More...

Archives

Categories

Calendar

January 2021
S M T W T F S
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31  
« Dec    

Search The Site

Site Information

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

A 'lil HooHaa © 2021 · Created By Coded Creative

Copyright © 2021 · Ava Mae on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in