5 Must-See Attractions Near Revelstoke
The area surrounding Revelstoke, British Columbia is jam-packed with jaw dropping sights and experiences. It would take months or even years to get to all of them! But here’s a list of the top 5 places we saw while we visited.
Our home-base was Williamson Lake campground just outside of the town of Revelstoke. It was a fantastic spot to spend time when we weren’t out exploring. The facilities and staff were outstanding. We recommend renting a canoe to check out the lake. They stock it with trout annually so you can try your luck fishing as well.
Begbie Falls
Begbie Falls is only a twenty minute drive south of Revelstoke. The last ten minutes are along a single-lane dirt road that gets a little rough at times. Small cars can still make it to the end but drive slowly. From the parking lot there’s a number of trails that lead to different points of the river. To go directly to the bottom of the falls stick as far left as possible and its only a few hundred meters down the hill.Â
We did not know where to go and ended up pretty far upriver from the falls. So we followed the river down. I don’t recommend this route, it was a little sketchy at times as we lost the main trail. But the views of the river were great.
After finding the falls we realized we’d completely missed the main trail from the parking lot which would have been much easier. Whatever. We survived. And the falls were gorgeous.Â
Halfway Hot Springs
Next on the list is an awesome set of hot springs. About half an hour south of Revelstoke is the Shelter Bay ferry which runs every hour pretty much all day. And its free to ride for all passengers and vehicles! Its a pretty cool ride across Arrow Lake, surrounded by mountains.Â
After the ferry its a nice winding drive along the east side of the lake until you turn onto an old logging road. The road is very rough and takes about 20 minutes to get to the hot springs parking. Again, its doable for small cars you just have to dodge the larger potholes and ravines. The trail to the hot springs is less than a kilometer down a series of very steep switchbacks. Once you see the river keep left and you’ll see a small building to change in, as well as an outhouse. There’s three different hot spring pools beside the river. And all were different temperatures ranging from lukewarm to hot. If you’re really brave, take a dip in the glacier fed river after heating up in the pools.
Sutherland Falls
Just twenty minutes south of Revelstoke is a very short and wide trail leading to Sutherland Falls. Its a popular attraction due to its accessibility so you’ll probably see others there. It’s definitely worth a quick stop though.
Moses Falls
Just ten minutes north of Revelstoke on the Columbia River is Moses Falls. Its another short trek from the parking lot but it is very technical. There’s actually two sets of falls so make sure to continue down the creek to the second set. Continue down even further to the shore of the Columbia River for a nice view of the mountains.
Bear Creek Falls
This one is bit out of the way depending on where you’re coming from. The trailhead is an hour east of Revelstoke on the Trans-Canada Highway. We hit this trail on the way to Revelstoke from Calgary so we drove through Rogers Pass. Highly recommend taking this drive if you have the opportunity.
It’s about a kilometer down a steep decline to the river. Then a short but flat walk upriver to the roaring falls.
Since we were there in the spring the snow was still preventing us from accessing most of the trails through the mountains. But there was definitely no shortage of things to do and see!
Check out our other adventures in the Canadian Rockies or leave a comment below: