North Phillips Glacier Falls

North Phillips Glacier Falls is located near the upper end of Valley of a Thousand Falls along the Berg Lake trail in Mount Robson Provincial Park. From the junction of Highways 5 and 16 in Tete Jaune Cache, follow the Yellowhead Highway (16) east for 16.3 kilometers to Mount Robson Meadows and turn left onto Kinney Lake Road, then follow it to the trailhead at its end in another 2 kilometers. Expect to encounter a crowded parking area, the Berg Lake Trail is the most popular hike in the Canadian Rockies. The falls off the Phillips Glacier are visible starting just beyond the suspension bridge at Whitehorn Camp 10.6 kilometers in from the trailhead. The best (distant) views of North Phillips Glacier Falls are right along the Berg Lake Trail as it parallels the Robson River about 3/4 kilometer past the Whitehorn shelter, just before the bridge at the base of White Falls. Closer views will require hiking cross-country either up the canyon from the footbridge at White Falls (expect this to be difficult after the first kilometer) or by hiking through the forest to the rim of the canyon from the trail near Emperor Falls.North Phillips Glacier Falls is one of two significant waterfalls which stream down the side of a long narrow glacially carved canyon which runs into the Robson River valley in an area known as Valley of a Thousand Falls. The name of the valley is clearly hyperbole, but the half-dozen or so waterfalls which can be seen upstream from Whitehorn Camp along the Berg Lake Trail, plus the falls along the Robson River itself, are clearly the inspiration for the name. The various lobes of the Phillips Glacier are responsible for the multiple different streams which produce the falls which pour into the valley from the west. North Phillips Glacier Falls is the second largest of these in terms of at least height, dropping approximately 1,000 feet (300 meters) down the side of the valley to a steep alluvial fan below. Due to the rugged terrain in the valley there is unfortunately no easy way to approach the falls for an up close view, one must instead be more or less satisfied with a distant view from the Berg Lake Trail from over 2 kilometers away.