Helmet Falls

Helmet Falls is located at the northwestern corner of Kootenay National Park. The hike to the falls begins at the Paint Pots Trailhead along Highway 93, and follows the Ochre Creek Trail and then the Helmet Creek Trail for a long but not overly difficult 15 kilometers to the Helmet Falls Campground where the falls first become visible in entirety. The base of the falls can be reached by hiking a further 1.5km further up the valley, following the signed spur trail to Helmet Falls where it branches off of the Rockwall Trail. The hike to Helmet Falls can be done in a day by strong hikers, but is best undertaken as an overnight, or as part of a multi-day hike along the Rockwall.Helmet Falls is one of the tallest waterfalls in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, as well as one of the most significant waterfalls in British Columbia based on both height and volume. The falls leap off of a massive amphitheater-like cliff on the eastern side of the Continental Divide, dropping in at least three distinct leaps for 352 meters (1,154 feet) to the floor of the valley. The upper tier is far and away the largest, plunging somewhere between 250 and 300 meters on its own. Adjacent to the main fall, a resurgent stream spills out of the side of the cliff and joins the main fall a little less than halfway down. At the base of the large tier the creek funnels into a short narrow gorge where at least one leap is found, however it can't be seen from ground level due to the constricted canyon's shape. As the creek spills out of the canyon it drops over another plunging fall of 40-50 meters. Because of the great height of the falls, we were unable to obtain measurements to verify the height, but we have no reason to doubt the reported figure of 352 meters based on our observations or the currently available topographic data. Helmet Creek originates in three separate glaciers perched on the sides of three peaks along the Continental Divide with a relatively flat saddle-like basin straddling the area between the three peaks. The drainage basin covers an area of only 7.5 square kilometers (about 3 square miles), so the flow in the creek is essentially 100% reliant on melt from the glaciers above. The Sharp Glacier on Sharp Mountain drains to the south, the West Washmawapta Glacier on the east flank of Helmet Mountain drains to the northeast, and the Washmawapta Glacier on the west flank of Limestone Mountain drains to the northwest, essentially flowing into and under part of the West Washmawapta Glacier, merging with its melt stream. These two separate streams converge immediately above the top of Helmet Falls, and their mixed waters then plunge off the east side of the plateau. The glaciers feeding Helmet Creek are not terribly large but their melt adds up to produce a consistent and considerable flow in the falls through the months when it's accessible, especially considering the relatively small size of the drainage basin (the falls almost certainly freeze solid in the winter).