Trip 185 - May 29, 2020 (Friday)Greer Creek Falls Trail HikeNear Vanderhoof BC |
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Trailhead Location: Approximately 60 kilometers from the town of Vanderhoof via Highway 16 West, Bearhead Road, Telegraph Road, Kenney Dam Road, and Kluskus FSR. Located at the 37.6 km of Kluskus Forest Service Road. Liked: Short and easy trail, pleasant path in the forest, waterfall views, recreation area by the waterfall. Of Note: Numerous mosquitoes, steep unbarricaded drop-offs at the upper viewpoint, some muddy spots, unstable hazard trees along the trail. Northern BC Backroad Mapbook (3rd edition) Trailhead Coordinates: Page 9 (Fraser Lake) G5. Other Trips in Vanderhoof Area: Cheslatta Falls Trail Hike, Cutoff Butte Trail Hike. ![]() Greer Creek Falls is located off BC Highway 16, West of the town of Vanderhoof, which itself is located about 100 kilometers West of Prince George. The back roads leading to the trailhead are in a very good shape. There is plenty of parking by the trailhead, and the trail is fairly short (about 1.7 km one way) and easy (only 100 meters elevation change), and leads to a neat waterfall. A bonus is a recreation area by the waterfall - a picnic table with a pit toilet provide a respite for hikers. There is a short trail to the top of the waterfall, but the view from the top is underwhelming and, besides, it's a very dangerous area due to loose surface, and the ground being steeply tilted towards the waterfall. There are also steep unbarricaded drop-offs at the upper viewpoint. In addition, an official-looking note by the trail warns of hazard trees, which may be dangerous during windy conditions. 1a. We are Westbound on Highway 16, about 20 kilometers West of Vanderhoof, and are ready to turn left onto Bearhead Road, where a chip truck is turning in the photo below. Coordinates: N 54⁰01.541’ W 124⁰18.624’. Elevation: 712 meters. All mileage from this point on is from this intersection.
1b. Here is the same intersection a few days later.
2. Now driving on Bearhead Road. 500 meters after turning from Hwy 16, Canfor Mill access road (where a truck carrying lumber is seen in the photo below) would be on the right side.
3. Bearhead Road - stay left at this split at the 6.6 km mark.
4. At 8.2 km, Bearhead Rd ends at Telegraph Rd. Turn left.
5. Now on Telegraph Road.
6. At 17.8 km, Telegraph Rd ends at Kenney Dam Rd - turn right.
7. Kenney Dam Road.
8. At 19.3 km, Kenney Dam Road meets Kluskus FSR. Turn left. Turning right would lead to Hwy 16 in 19 km, as per the sign at this intersection, but that would be further West from where we turned from Hwy 16 onto Bearhead Road.
9. Kluskus Forest Service Road.
1 0. Exactly 39 kilometers after turning from Highway 16 onto Bearhead Road, Greer Creek Falls trailhead parking arrives on the right side. This trailhead is between km 37 and km 38 of Kluskus FSR (mileage markers are placed every kilometer).
11. Here it is. A pit toilet is located at the end of the trail. A closer (time-wise) toilet is 6 km further on Kluskus FSR at Home Lake trailhead.
12. Greer Creek Falls trailhead. Coordinates: N 53⁰46.309’ W 124⁰21.329'. Elevation: 1,105 meters.
13. This is an easy trail, but mosquitoes are abundant.
14. Several boardwalks are present on Greer Creek Falls Trail. This one is 40 meters long and is found at 220 meter mark of the trail (all trail distances are based on a GPS odometer and are approximate).
15. And here is a makeshift boardwalk.
16. A small boardwalk at 1.0 km.
17. At 1.4 km, the trail joins Greer Creek.
18. A few hundred meters later, there is a split, with the path on the left leading to the left viewpoint, and the path on the right to the recreation area and another viewpoint, as well as the upper viewpoint.
19. At first, we took a path to the left. The waterfall appeared within 30 meters.
20. Greer Creek Falls. Coordinates: N 53⁰45.904’ W 124⁰22.457’. Elevation: 1,005 meters (100 meters elevation loss from the start of the trail).
Here is our video of Greer Creek Falls from this spot.
21. We went just a bit further, and here is a view from the side.
22. After that, we returned to the split seen in photo #18, and crossed Greer Creek.
23. Here is the recreation area with a picnic table, a fire ring, and a nearby pit toilet. Very scenic, if quite noisy.
24. Greer Creek Falls from the right side.
25. Zoomed view.
Here is our video of Greer Creek Falls from the right side.
More ihikebc videos are on our YouTube Channel. 26. A short but fairly steep path leads to the upper viewpoint.
27. Now on top. Beware of steep unbarricaded drop-offs.
28. Looking to the right, there is a neat view of Greer Creek.
29. Just a bit further.
30. Beyond the stones seen above is a view of Greer Creek Falls from the top. It's not a good view, and it's tempting to get closer for a better look. But it's very dangerous - the ground down there is soft, unstable, and steeply tilted towards the waterfall - if it starts sliding, things would get complicated in a hurry.
31. So, a zoomed view of the top of Greer Falls sufficed. As already mentioned, it's not that great. The upper viewpoint can be easily skipped altogether, especially if you don't have hiking poles and boots.
Despite the mosquitoes, Greer Creek Falls trail is a very good hike, leading to a fine waterfall. Highly recommended.
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