Murchison Falls

Murchison Falls is located along an unnamed stream in a basin about 1200 vertical feet above the Icefields Parkway on the northwest side of Mount Murchison in Banff National Park. The falls can be partially seen from the Icefields Parkway a few kilometers north of the Mistaya Canyon trailhead. The unnamed creek crosses the highway 9 kilometers south of Saskatchewan Crossing, but is usually dry at the highway. The intrepid can follow the streambed upstream for 2 kilometers to the base of the falls (expect this to be steep and brushy).Depending on whom you ask, Murchison Falls is either a virtual unknown or a legendary attraction along the Icefields Parkway. For the average tourist, one would hardly give second thought to a lofty waterfall being hidden out of sight in this basin above the highway, but local Ice Climbers revere Murchison Falls as one of the quintessential climbs in this part of Canada. Most often, the falls are cited as standing 590 feet (180 meters) tall, but a few credible sources place it as high as 780 feet (240 meters). Topographic maps of the area seem to support the idea that the falls could be close to 800 feet tall, but since the only reliable sources of information have thus far been ice climbers (who have surveyed while the falls have been frozen solid and not necessarily representative of its true stature), a definitive height will have to wait for a future visit.