Begbie Falls Recreation Site is located along Highway 23, and is 12 kilometers or 7.5 miles south of Revelstoke, British Columbia.
I believe the primary attraction is hiking to Begbie Falls. But before talking about the waterfall, I must warn about the dirt/gravel road it takes to arrive here...
After making a left hand turn off Highway 23, it's a 2 kilometer drive on a very bumpy and rugged road.
For anyone with a compact/midsize car (or without 4x4 vehicle), I'd suggest slowly riding the break to focus on avoiding big potholes and possibly damaging your tires. I didn't head caution and learned that lesson the hard way a few days later.
Once at the end of the road, there's a sign stating..."Begbie Falls Recreation Site, British Columbia". But...the trailhead for the actual falls is along an unmarked pathway opposite from the actual sign.
This confused me as I began hiking and not making progress, I turned around and had to restart. Things can be tricky as there are multiple options of starting points.
The hike to the falls is about 1 mile each way with the trail descending almost 800 feet lower into the lower bowl of the forest. I'd rate it as moderately easy.
Begbie Falls is a 40 foot waterfall divided into two separate waterfalls rushing down next to each other. You'd think that two waterfalls within one setting can be photogenic, but unfortunately that wasn't the case.
The viewpoint was okay. The branches and natural forest growth over time partially obstructed views of the falls.
I was trying to discover an elevated observation point to better look down upon the falls, but never found anything. Also, I did look for a clearance to get around past the viewpoint area, but it just wasn't possible.
So overall, the pictures weren't as special as I had anticipated them to be. I stopped by around 6:30pm over the summertime and the dense forest obstructed a lot of the day's remaining sunlight casting Begbie Falls from a dark perspective. I believe visiting in the middle of the day would provide more quality moments among nature.
After grabbing a few photos of the falls, I was motivated to return to the trailhead and start driving back over that dreaded rough dirt road. Lol, it was sort of the only thing left on my mind at that point.
Fast forward months later and researching this Begbie Falls Recreation Site, there is more offered here than just hiking to the waterfall...
It's a campground as well. Here are some details...
- $15 per night (Canadian)
- 26 sites
- Vault toilets only
- Open seasonally May 1 - Sep 30
Finally, if you're looking for longer hiking activities, Mount Begbie Summit (10 miles - difficult), Hemlock Grove Look (4.5 miles - moderate), can be better challenges, according to alltrails.com.
Overall, Begbie Falls is good for recreational day use and or simply seeing the waterfall for a brief hour or two.
For those folks looking to explore more waterfalls around the area, Sutherland Falls and Moses Falls can be better visits. read more