Hiking to Gibsons Waterfall in Sprockids Park
Hiking to Gibsons Waterfall in Sprockids Park
Day hike on BC’s Sunshine Coast - Val's Vlog #012
I decided to take Paul to see Gibsons Waterfall. I know that in a recent vlog I said that waterfalls are smaller in the summertime and it was better to see them in the fall and winter but it’s a good excuse to go outside. I’m also curious to see just how big the difference is between the dry and rainy season. I went to the falls in April so I have a pretty good idea of what it looks like when there’s lots of water. This is my chance to see what Gibsons Waterfall looks like when we’ve gone nearly two months without any substantial rainfall.
Starting at Sprockids Park
We start at Sprockids Park near Gibsons, BC. The first part of our hike is the same as it would be if we were going to Langdale Falls or the Mount Elphinstone summit, but eventually, we want to end up on Sidewinder Trail. The yellow trail markers take you to the summit and the blue ones take you to Langdale Falls. For now, we’ll follow the blue markers.
The trail forks about 10 minutes into the hike. One trail leads to Langdale Falls (you can watch our Langdale Falls video here) and the other trail leads to Sidewinder Trail, which will take us to Gibsons Waterfall.
Following Sidewinder
Once we make it to Sidewinder Trail, we turn towards the waterfall and start following white diamond trail markers. We still have a little ways to go as this point is about one-third of the way to Gibsons Falls. There’s more trail in front of us than behind us but the good news is that we’re mostly done with the uphill.
There are a lot of intersecting paths through Sprockids Park and it can get confusing. Bring a map with you or at least make a habit of checking the maps that mark many of the trail intersections. It’s easy to get turned around. There’s a Sunshine Coast Super Map that’s really good (you can see me check it in the video). Visit SunshineCoast.ca for info on where you can buy one.
There’s a pair of trails in Sprockids Park named after a log flume. One is called Upper Flume Trail and the other is Lower Flume Trail. Walk these trails and you’ll see the remains of an old log flume along the way. Flumes are like waterslides for logs. Loggers would cut down trees up the mountain and then flume them down to a mill or other transportation.
The trails all have fun, interesting names. One is called Fuzzy Hugs. Another’s called Doug’s Detention. Then there’s Ankle Biter Connector and Rock n’ Root. We’ll keep following Sidewinder to Gibsons Waterfall. We’re getting close now.
Gibsons Waterfall
The trail brings us to a bridge at the foot of the waterfall. In the fall and winter, there’d be a lot of water moving under this bridge but right now, it’s more of a trickle. We cross the bridge and continue to follow the trail for a few more minutes. There’s some windy uphill here but just a few minutes from the bridge, there’s a path that juts off to the right (watch for a big stump on your left and a trail with stone steps on your right). We turn off the main trail onto the stone steps and continue up for a few more minutes. As we climb, we can hear the waterfall!
The trail brings you out right along side the waterfall. It’s a unique perspective – usually, trails on the Sunshine Coast lead you head-on to a waterfall. Even though the falls are small this time of year, it's still very nice!
There’s a bit of a wider spot that leads down to a narrower ridge that puts you almost directly in front of the waterfall. You’re really close to the waterfall here. When it’s bigger, it’s a very impressive spot. But even today with only a trickle of water, it’s very cool! It’s a little bit of a march to get up here, especially the last little bit, but it's worth it. It's a big payoff when you come up here.
From the ridge, we can look down through the trees and we can see the bridge that we crossed at the bottom of the waterfall. That's about a 5-minute hike up from here.
We sit down on the ridge and have our snack with Gibsons Waterfall in the background. It’s getting to be later in the afternoon now and we’re starting to lose the light. Once we’re full of food, we hang around to get a few photos before beelining it back to the parking lot.
Fun day hike near Gibsons, BC
This is a wonderful little hike to Gibsons Waterfall. Trails in Sprockids Park are well kept and well marked but even so, it can still get confusing. If this is your first time visiting the park, I’d recommend that you make the hike with somebody who knows the trail. There are so many intersections and trails that it can be frustrating trying to figure out where you’re supposed to go. Going for a hike in the woods and getting turned around and lost isn’t a fun way to spend the day.
I've brought Paul up here quite a few times but he still gets turned around. He jokes that if he had to find the waterfall himself, he’d wander endlessly in the woods like in The Blair Witch Project. I think that’s a movie? It’s probably before my time – I’m not old like he is! 😜
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We're Val and Paul and we're a married couple who live on BC's Sunshine Coast! We moved from Alberta to Gibsons in 2014 and love our life on Canada's West Coast! Subscribe to our YouTube channel and email newsletter and you'll learn what it's like to live in the most beautiful place in Canada.