Hiking Gold Creek Falls in Golden Ears Provincial Park
Contents
Gold Creek Falls Hike Information
Difficulty: Very Easy
Distance: 5.8Km
Elevation Gain: 165m
Highest Elevation: 294m
Average Gradient: 5.69%
Effort/Reward Ratio: Very Easy / Low
Time Needed:
– Slow: 3 – 4 Hours
– Moderate: 2 – 3 Hours
– Fast: 1.5 – 2 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: Yes
Season: Year-Round
4×4 / High Clearance Required? No
Scrambling / Exposure: None
Gold Creek Falls Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 49°20’01.8″N 122°27’26.8″W
Gold Creek Falls Overview
One of the best things about Golden Ears, other than it’s general stunning scenery, is that it’s a year-round accessible park for all abilities. There are many simple trails in the area, such as this hike to Gold Creek Falls, all the way up to massive all day affairs such as a hike to the Golden Ears Summit.
The hike to the lower falls of Gold Creek is likely one of the most popular options in the park since it is so accessible to all abilities, and features many of the park’s trademark offerings in a simple outing. A hike to Gold Creek Falls includes the lush green forest that Golden Ears is famous for, as well as the meandering Gold Creek, culminating with a beautiful view of the waterfall.
If you want a really simple outing you can simply walk the (flat) trail to the falls and then head back the way you came to your car, but since this is a hiking website it would be remiss not to include some elevation. Rather than simply returning along the Lower Falls trail to the car, this route climbs up a steep but short hill, connecting the Lower Falls trail to the East Canyon trail, turning what would be a simple out-and-back stroll in the park into a looped adventure. Let’s face it, loops are always better than out-and-backs anyway.
If you are looking more of an adventure in the same area I strongly suggest checking out the entire canyon loop, hitting many of the best spots in the Gold Creek area.
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Is Gold Creek Falls worthwhile?
If you are looking for something short and sweet, this little loop to Gold Creek Falls is certainly worth a stop. Personally I’d find this a little too short and I’d extend the hike to include the canyon loop as well, but that’s just me. This is certainly a good option on those overcast days where you just want to get out for some fresh air. Overall, this hike is worth it.
How difficult is the hike to Gold Creek Falls?
This is about as easy as any hike will get on Best Hikes BC, with a very low average gradient and less than 6km in distance. Most of the hike is flat except for the short, steep section that connects the Lower Falls trail with the East Canyon trail.
Technically this hike is also very straightforward and is mostly on gravel. Again the section between Lower Falls and the East Canyon is rocky, rooty and slippery so care should be taken here especially.
Gold Creek Falls Route Information
The hike begins at the Gold Creek Parking lot at the very end of the Golden Ears Parkway. Parking fills up very quickly here, especially on a sunny weekend, so I strongly advise an early start for any hike beginning from this parking lot. The trailhead is at the northwest end of the parking lot with ample signage pointing to the Lower Falls trail.
The Lower Falls trail begins as an extremely wide and flat gravel path, and honestly stays much the same the entire way to Gold Creek Falls. As you work your way along the trail you’ll immediately notice just how green everything is. This whole landscape is simply drenched in moss, turning all the branches and trunks of the trees in the area entirely various shades of green. It’s really stunning.
The trail will continue meandering alongside Gold Creek until around the 1.3km mark where you will be able to access a pebble beach area. This is a great spot for dogs or children to play and the views here are pretty nice as well. Unfortunately it was too cloudy for any real views for me but on a clear day it’s nice.
Back on the trail you’ll almost immediately reach a point with a nice little overlook over Gold Creek and the beach you just left, again making a nice spot for some photos above the creek. Continuing along the trail remains much the same the whole way to the lower falls. You’ll cross a few bridges over creeks along the way but the trail remains flat and gravely.
Just before you reach the Gold Creek Falls viewpoint, you’ll reach another little opening beside the creek, with a bench to enjoy the views. The viewpoint is just a hundred meters or so more now, providing a great view of the falls behind a fence. This is where some people choose to turn back and head to their car if they want a really simple outing, but in order for this to classify as a hike and not a walk, you have to add some elevation!
Just by this viewpoint you’ll see the trail continues with a switchback going uphill behind you. You can follow this all the way and reach another viewpoint, this time above the falls looking back down at Gold Creek below. This involves some tricky footwork on a slippery rock right above the falls, so some people may choose to avoid going here. The views here are decent but not as good as the first viewpoint so don’t worry if you skip it.
Back on the trail it’s time to pay attention as the Connector trail between the Lower Falls trail and the East Canyon trail is very easy to miss. Ideally, you’ll have a map, but otherwise just near the fence you should notice some flagging tape on trees heading up the hill to the right. I’ll include a photo in the gallery for reference, it’s really not that obvious hence I suggest a map. There is no real trail to see as it’s largely climbing up rocks and roots, but it’s fairly well marked and once you’re on it you should see where you need to go.
The trail will climb quite steeply at times and as noted it can be slippery ,so be careful with your footing. Overall though, the climb is brief and soon enough the elevation plateaus and you’ll be back on a mellow gradient. After just 400m from leaving the falls you’ll reach the East Canyon trail.
The more adventurous can opt to go left here where there are many more options to explore as suggested in the other route I hiked here including the entire canyon and Viewpoint Beach. Anyway, we’ll be keeping it simple, so turn right onto the East Canyon trail.
This trail is pretty straightforward, it’s a wide rocky path and downhill the entire way back to the car. I won’t lie there isn’t a huge amount to see along this trail as it’s just a forest walk well away from the creek now. You’ll cross several creeks coming down from the hillside of Mount Nutt, before reaching the Mount Nutt trail junction itself. That’s a large day hike in itself, so continue on.
Another kilometer or so further along the trail you’ll reach another junction. The East Canyon trail continues straight, but you’ll want to turn right towards the parking lot. After a couple of hundred meters you’ll be able to see the parking lot and soon enough you’ll reach it, this time rejoining the lot from the northeast.
When should I hike Gold Creek Falls?
This is really a perfect hike for an overcast day, or even a rainy day for that matter. It’s short, sweet, mostly in trees and the viewpoint doesn’t require any good weather. I wouldn’t do this one on a sunny summer day as Golden Ears is a gong show at that time of year and there are better hikes than this on a nice day.
Top Tip
If you want to extend this hike I strongly suggest adding the canyon loop, or even going up to Viewpoint Beach or the upper falls. If you want to make it easier skip out on the connection to the East Canyon trail and just head back to the car back the way you came along the Lower Falls trail.
While this hike is mostly simple I do advise good traction on your feet as the climb on the Connector trail can be particularly slippery.
