North Saskatchewan Falls

The falls and canyon are located at the trailhead for the Old Wonder Trail, which leaves the Icefields Parkway 14 kilometers south of the Icefields Center. The first bridge over the canyon is adjacent to the parking area, and the lower crossing is about a kilometer down the trail from the parking area.The Rocky Mountain parks are pockmarked with several impressive slot gorges and canyons, many exceptionally scenic and a handful are quite impressive in their magnitude. Most of these gorges are fairly popularized – the easy to reach ones at least. This is worthy of note because North Saskatchewan Canyon, despite being located just a stone's throw from the Icefields Parkway is a scarcely visited attraction. While the other canyons in the corridor - Maligne, Mistaya, Johnston and Marble (among others) - are for the most part fairly accessible, North Saskatchewan Canyon is unique in its impenetrable nature. The North Saskatchewan River flows across glacial outwash plains, and then suddenly and severely funnels into a crack in the bedrock no more than 5 feet wide and plunges into the abyss as a waterfall of truly unknown magnitude. The canyon is so contorted and convoluted that only the top 10 feet of the falls can be seen. Staring down into the gorge yields nothing but strained eyes. The head of the gorge where the falls occur is so narrow that in places, the spray from the falls actually billows out of the canyon. We have thus far been unable to measure the falls due to the lack of visibility within the canyon, but feel confident in suggesting its height is in the ballpark of 60 feet. Just downstream from the head of the gorge, the former Banff-Jasper Highway crosses the narrow chasm on an aging bridge. Starring down into this section of the canyon reveals the river has undercut so heavily that it can’t even be seen. Those continuing to Old Wonder or Nigel Falls should pause and take a look at the lower end of the gorge, where the river is still a good 100 feet below the old roadbed, but can actually be seen.