Perkins Creek Falls

Perkins Creek Falls should be possible to access up close from roads brancing from the Lillooet South Forest Service Road, however how exactly to get close is not known (given the maze of logging roads in the area), and whether the road is passable in 2WD vehicles is also unknown. Access to the very base of the falls does look possible from the roads which get close to the creek, but it looks as if it may involve some potentially steep scrambling and possibly fording the creek once or twice. The cross-valley view of the falls we achieved can be had from the Lillooet River Forest Service Road on the way to the Keyhole Hot Springs trailhead. To reach that point, take the Sea-to-Sky Highway (99) to the town of Pemberton, then at the stoplight (at the Petro Canada station) turn north onto Pemberton Meadows Road and proceed through town. In 0.8km bear left at the roundabout, cross the railroad tracks, go two blocks, then turn right at the T-intersection, still following Pemberton Meadows Road. Continue for another 23.6 kilometers, then turn right onto the Lillooet River Forest Service Road. Reset your odometer and prepare for a long, dusty drive. Keep left at all major junctions and continue 35 kilometers and look for windows through the trees - the falls will be across the valley and will be easy to miss; whether they can be seen will depend on recent tree growth or whether the surrounding area has been logged recently (it hadn't in 2018).Perkins Creek Falls is potentially one of the most significant waterfalls to be found in the upper Lillooet River valley. The falls descent in a narrow canyon on the south side of the valley near the confluence of Meager Creek and the Lillooet River. We were made aware of the falls when surveying Keyhole Falls further up the valley in May of 2018, and were only able to view the falls from across the Lillooet River valley from a distance of approximately 1-1/2 kilometers away, but despite the distance the falls still presented itself as quite significant and impressive. The height is difficult to gauge from far away, but it appears likely based on what we saw and the fairly low resolution topographic data that's available online that the falls likely drop between 70 and 100 meters in all, with the largest drop possibly falling nearly 60 meters alone. There may be two or more lower tiers further downstream in the canyon as well, but we have not yet been able to definitively confirm how tall they may be, or if they're separated enough from the main fall to be considered a separate waterfall or not. Perkins Creek drains from a fairly significant basin on the north slope of Pika Peak, covering an area of just over 12 square kilometers (about 4.7 square miles), and originating in the melt from two significant glaciers plus the remnants of two smaller seasonal icefields. Because of the larger size of the basin, the likely heavy spring snow melt should allow the creek to swell to considerable size. Later in the summer after the seasonal snow has gone, the two glaciers which source the stream will ensure a considerable volume of water remains through the hottest months of the summer - potentially flowing just as strong as during the peak of the melt season (depending on the temperature).