Bugaboo Falls

Take Highway 95 to the town of Brisco, located about 30 kilometers north of Radium Hot Springs. In Brisco, turn west on Brisco Road and cross the Columbia River. Continue on Brisco Road for 4.8 kilometers, then bear left onto the Bugaboo Creek Forest Service Road, just after crossing the Templeton River. From this point on the road becomes rougher but is navigable in most vehicles. Keep a close eye on the signs along the road and follow those pointing to Bugaboo Provincial Park. The Bugaboo Falls recreation site is encountered about 35 kilometers from Brisco Road, and is marked by an obvious sign, picnic tables, and an outhouse. Fenced views are available looking over the top of the falls just a few feet from the road, but a short but steep trail descends to the base to the left of the viewpoint.Bugaboo Falls is the upper and smaller of the two major waterfalls found along Bugaboo Creek as it flows from the glaciers adorning the spectacularly jagged Bugaboo Spires to join with the fledgling Columbia River near Spillimacheen. The falls drop just over 12 meters over broad ledge, first tumbling down a shallower cascade and then reverting to a free-fall for the majority of its descent. During periods of lower flow, the creek consolidates into a moderately constrained plunge toward the middle of the ledge, but during the late spring and early summer when snow melt and hot summer temperatures are at their peak, the flow overwhelms the ledge and the water spreads out across a breadth of 20 meters. Bugaboo Creek is effectively a creek in name only. The stream is legitimately river-sized, draining from an area of approximately 110 square kilometers upstream from Bugaboo Falls, rising to elevations of over 3,000 meters and draining from multiple large glaciers - the Bugaboo Glacier being the single largest contributor to the creek's volume. Flow at the falls will be strong year round, but will tame during the cooler autumn months as the glaciers won't be melting with quite the fervor as during the hottest days of the summer in July and August.