Elk Falls - Campbell River, British Columbia

Elk Falls

About the Hike: Elk Falls is located in Campbell River on Vancouver Island. The trail is accessed at the top of the hill on HWY 28. There are a number of loop trails throughout the park, with the easiest one being an 800-meter trail to the suspension bridge that offers beautiful views of the waterfall.

Today was our first time at Elk Falls Provincial Park, so we focused on hiking the 2.5 km Millennium Trail, which runs between the suspension bridge and the Canyon View Loop Trail. The trail parallels the Campbell River along the canyon route, offering excellent views of the waterfall and the mature forest, containing some old-growth Douglas fir.

The hike starts next to a BC Hydro construction zone on the left side of the trail. After traveling a short distance, you'll cross a bridge, leaving the construction area and entering the forest.

A few feet into the forest, you'll find yourself sheltered by the western cedars towering overhead. We even saw where huge logs seem to be cut and placed onto the forest floor, forming a bridge through the thick undergrowth.

Along the trail, there were benches at intervals where you could take a break from hiking and let the forest's tranquility rejuvenate your soul.

We proceeded with our exploration, venturing further into the forest, attracted by the sound of the waterfall's rushing water. Through the tree canopy, we noticed a large staircase that guided us nearer to the falls and the suspension bridge.

The stairway leads you to either a viewing platform of the falls or the entrance to the suspension bridge. We opted to climb down a few more steps to get a close-up view of the waterfalls.

After spending some time observing and photographing the falls, we climbed back up to cross the suspension bridge. I must confess, I felt anxious as I crossed the bridge since it swayed due to the pressure of several people walking on it.

We took some time to view the falls from various perspectives on the platform across the bridge, and then we returned to proceed down the Millennium Trail.

We climbed up the stairs to start the Millennium trail. As we hiked we saw intermittent views of the falls.

Sprinkled throughout the forest were decaying western cedars. A perfect opportunity for the curious explorer to analyze the composition of the tree to fully appreciate its brilliant colors.

You truly can't appreciate the massive circumference of the trees until you stand upon one of the tree's stumps.

The trail deviates off to the right, leading you down to the Canyon river, where we continued straight to another platform for a closer look at the falls tumbling over the rocks.

You could see the suspension bridge in the distance. The clouds moved across the sky allowing the sun to reflect against the falling water creating a rainbow.

We left the platform heading back the way we came taking the left side of the trail running along the Canyon River.

The pathway twisted and turned along the river until it opened up to a magical emerald-green pool.

Higher up, you could observe the water cascading over the boulder rocks embedded in the riverbed.

After spending some time daydreaming about swimming in the inviting water, we headed back to the trail. A short distance along the path, we found ourselves surrounded by a magical world of lush greenery bursting forth in the forest.

The dam was a little way up the trail, but much to my husband's disappointment, there was no access to the top.

Instead of climbing to the top of the dam we turned left heading back along the Canyon View trail. To our surprise we found a very nice picnic area.

As we hiked today, I kept my eyes open for potential bear dens located at the base of the largest western cedars. All in all, I counted four. I stopped to peek inside this tree, and to my relief, there wasn't a bear residing inside. Instead, the floor was full of cedar chips and looked like the perfect spot for our furry friend to take a long winter nap.

After finishing the hike we headed to Campbell River. We walked along the boardwalk looking for the the perfect restaurant for fish and chips.