Old Wonder Falls

The falls are accessed from the Old Wonder Trail, which leaves the Icefields Parkway 14 kilometers south of the Icefields Center. The trail crosses the impressive gorge of the North Saskatchewan River and contours the hillside downstream, passing the falls in 3/4km. An unsigned, but plainly obvious path descends to the base of the falls a few hundred feet downstream from where it first becomes visible.Old Wonder Falls is a long forgotten attraction fallen to the wayside since the decomissioning of the old Banff-Jasper Highway. The falls served as a popular rest stop for motorists in the 30s and 40s, but when the current highway was constructed and the old road shut down, the falls fell out of recognition because it isn't readily visible from the current highway, the Icefields Parkway. The falls cascade 97 feet through a messy jumble of fractured bedrock and boulders along the same unnamed stream which harbors the much larger Sideways Falls half a kilometer upstream. At first glance it looks like there is only about 50 feet of actual bedrock-based waterfall, but closer inspection reveals the bedrock is severely disjointed at the top of the falls, and at the bottom boulders cover about 40 vertical feet worth of bedrock which would otherwise appear more "waterfally". The falls also suffer from a severe case of foreshortening due to its pitch of less than 60 degrees. Viewed from the base, its very hard to appreciate the true size of the falls but seen from the trail the actual size is much more evident.We have not been able to find any reference to this waterfall by name, which is odd considering its alleged popularity early in the 20th century, so we have named it for the Old Wonder Trail which is used to access the feature.