Comments

Mindy from Vancouver writes:

A lovely first hike of the year! Went yesterday (Easter Monday) and the Gold Creek parking lot was packed at 10:30AM. We were lucky and got in as someone was just leaving. Lots of families going to the Lower Falls but not as many on the loop. We passed more people on the East Canyon Trail as opposed to the West Canyon Trail but it was easy to stay distanced from others. Lots of dogs hiking the trail too :)

The hardest part of the trail was on the West Canyon Trail with steeper ups/downs and more rocky, but it really wasn't bad and only for about half of the section after the East-West connector bridge. Lots of little streams, mostly on the West trail in the rugged section, so waterproof shoes/boots are a must unless you want wet feet or are ok with going slow since you'll be hopping from one stone to another. We did lunch at the Gold Creek Falls viewpoint (the sign on the post says "Lower Falls") accessible from the West trail. A little chilly in the shade right by the water but it was gorgeous. To get back to the Gold Creek parking lot from the West trail, you have to take the Menzies trail which takes you just before the bridge to the parking lot. By the time we got back around 2:30PM, there were vehicles lined up along the road south of the bridge so if you want to avoid parking further away, get there early if on a weekend/holiday. I'm thinking a regular weekday wouldn't be so busy, at least while the kiddos are still in school.

It took us about 4 hours with a lunch break and we are moderately in shape. The main loop was well-marked. The side trail we went off was marked ok but the trail was pretty easy to follow. Reception is spotty so if you're wanting to check your phone, make sure you can access this page offline. FYI, Google Maps doesn't show the section of the Menzies trail that goes between the West and East Canyon Trails.

Photo 1: View from East Canyon Trail
Photo 2: At the Gold Creek Viewpoint accessible from the West Canyon Trail
Photo 3: On the Menzies Trail back to the Gold Creek parking lot

Posted: April 6, 2021 11:00:44 AM PST

Hiker_Steve from Vancouver writes:

Oct 26th - 2019. Started at North Beach Parking lot. Hiked along the trail to Gold Falls then took the connector trail up to East Canyon Trail. The connector trail is Steep, not well traveled and you need to keep a look out for Red ribbons to mark the way. The new bridge crossing the creek is great. Trail to Hiker's beach was not passable due to high water on the creek right at the junction.
Trail is well marked and made for a nice hike. Just over 3 hrs to complete, at an average pace.

Posted: October 28, 2019 09:38:37 AM PST

Derek from Richmond writes:

Difficulty: 2/5
Time: 4 hours and 40 minutes

We went up the East Canyon Trail, took a side trail (sign says to Lower Falls) to the Gold Creek Falls, and got some photos from above and below the waterfall. Continuing past the bridge we also checked out Hiker's Beach before heading back on to the West Canyon Trail. After passing the Gold Creek Lookout, there is yet another opportunity to head down to the waterfalls. We headed down to loop back to the parking lot using the Lower Trail, but spent some time crossing the creek. Probably should have stayed on the West Canyon Trail, which would have been safer and faster. I don't recommend anyone trying to cross the creek unless you're barefoot since the rocks are slippery and you can easily fall into the water even with proper hiking shoes.

Overall a solid hike with some nice viewpoints, especially the waterfall, and some elevation gain. But most of the flat parts can be boring without much variation in the terrain.

Posted: September 2, 2019 10:00:13 PM PST

Nicky Calvert from Vancouver writes:

We went out on a sunny January day and it was glorious! Even if in the trees a lot of the time, the light filtering through was beautiful, and the views of the mountains when we got them.... I'm not quite sure why this site says the season is April-October, there was no snow, and the elevation is such that I can't imagine there really ever would be snow (except if there was snow in the city, which is rare)! It took us just under 4 hours, with a 20 minute break for lunch. The 10 minute side trail to Viewpoint Beach was definitely worth it! We didn\'t do any of the side trails on the west side of the creek (we would have had to ford a creek to get to Hikers' Beach).

Posted: January 17, 2019 05:47:22 PM PST

Laura from Surrey writes:

Went up Sept 15. Hiked up East Canyon trail to Viewpoint beach, then down the connector to Lower Falls trail back to the parking lot. Rain was light when we started but increased to a downpour by the time we reached camp at Viewpoint Beach. Continued all night. Watched the river significantly rise beside our campsite about a foot. Saw no other hikers for the two days. Hike out was muddy and slippery. Cold overnight (slept in long-underwear, thermal shirt, socks and toque in -5 bag). Don't forget your own toilet paper since the outhouse is not stocked and is quite a long walk from the beach. No official tent pads, just set up on the upper sandy parts of the river bank under the trees.

Posted: September 22, 2018 06:48:26 PM PST

Dom from Burnaby, BC writes:

Just went to hike on Aug 20. We started from East Canyon trail, across the bridge, and returned to parking lot via West Canyon trail. We found two challenging trails along the boring the East Canyon trail, one going to the Lower Falls and the other one to the Upper Falls. There was a left turn wooden sign ‘Lower Falls’ on East Canyon trail. The trail was steep and rugged going downhill. We went back to East Canyon trail after seeing the Lower falls, then went north. The entrance to Upper Falls view point was not clear, only a small side trail with orange ribbon. The most challenge part was there was no clear orange ribbon mark when you walked along the trail. You had to adventure yourselves to look for the next orange ribbon in the jungle. Part of the trail was also steep and rugged too. However, this was the only viewpoint that you might see the Upper Falls. After visiting both falls, we went across the bridge and back to parking lot on West Canyon trail. Nevertheless, it was another challenge trails as mentioned by others. Overall, you won’t be boring along the East Canyon trail if you try the two trails I mentioned.

Posted: August 20, 2018 11:37:50 PM PST

Rye from Langley writes:

Lovely trail! We did east canyon first, took an hour to get to the bridge. Went to view point beach which would be awesome to have a day there with a group of friends and just wade in the water. Then crossed the bridge to the West Canyon Trail. That was more like a hike. I enjoyed it a lot. Lots of climbing on rocks and finding the best way up. Will want to try to go to Atta Flats soon. We didn’t get there.
I don’t know what would be better East (easier) or West (tougher and longer) first...

Posted: August 16, 2018 11:59:09 PM PST

John from Langley writes:

I did this hike on Saturday, July 28, 2018 and it was beautiful. Viewpoint Beach was worth the extra few minutes in and out and there were some great viewpoints along the trail. It was fairly busy and most people were hiking up from the West Canyon parking lot. I started at the East Canyon lot and worked my way around to the west so I felt like I was going opposite traffic for most of the hike.

I arrived at the East Canyon parking lot about 9am and it was pretty full but still a fair number of spots available. When I got back around 12:30, it was packed and cars were parked along the road well past the one-way bridge. If you want a decent parking spot, plan to get there early, on summer weekends, at least.

Posted: July 29, 2018 08:59:31 PM PST

Minnie from New West writes:

Hike Day: Saturday, June 16, 2018.

Lovely trail. Viewpoint Beach was spectacular! The trail was clearly marked and relatively easy. Started the hike just before 11 am and it was pretty quiet until later afternoon.

Will definitely visit again.

Posted: June 19, 2018 04:13:11 PM PST

Kara from Vancouver writes:

Did this hike May 26 with the extra stops at Viewpoint beach on the east side and lower falls on the west side (both worth the extra effort). The East Canyon Trail side where you start out is less interesting, the trail is wider and gravel most of the way. I much preferred the West Canyon Trail side - contrary to some of the comments I found the trail not too steep and quite clearly marked. Much more interesting terrain on the west side - lots of rocks and tree roots. Overall a gorgeous hike! Note that the map in the parking lot is very outdated and doesn't include the bridge.

Posted: May 28, 2018 02:30:00 PM PST

Reena from Surrey writes:

We really enjoyed this hike (27 April 2018) as the trail, forest, creeks and waterfalls are all amazing, not to mention the peace and serenity (we only passed around 10 people on the East Canyon Trail and no one on the West Canyon Trail). We started off on the East Canyon Trail, hiking up to the new connector bridge (but decided to keep going to viewpoint beach, which honestly only takes another 10-15 minutes and is well worth it for the view). We went back to the bridge and crossed over to the West Canyon Trail. Be warned, that for us (inexperienced hikers) there were some more difficult parts on the West Canyon Trail side (aside from not necessarily always knowing where to go, except to follow the orange flagged markers). The easier way back would have been to go back down the East Canyon Trail (and you could go and up down that side in around 2 hours). There is also a tricky creek crossing across boulders/rocks that are 3/4 or more of the way submerged at the moment on the West Canyon Trail side (given the fact that we had had a lot of sun this past week, the water was running extremely fast and was quite high, so needless to say we took this crossing very carefully). After that crossing, there are narrow steep "paths" and you go up and down and then finally come to a full path which we made our way through (crossing a few wooden bridges along the way) and back down. Overall it was a great hike, with some elevation here and there, but an absolutely amazing way to spend a Friday.

Posted: April 28, 2018 12:10:18 AM PST

Caroline from Langley writes:

I hiked the East Canyon loop with three other people and three happy dogs. Viewpoint Beach was spectacular on a sunny warm October day.

Posted: October 30, 2017 05:11:21 AM PST

Dave from Vancouver writes:

Great hike! We went on Canada Day, and even then it wasn't too crowded. You should DEFINITELY do the Viewpoint Beach side hike -- this is the prettiest spot on the hike, a fabulous place for lunch. The beach has a view of the mountains and the water is beautiful.

Overall, the trail is fairly easy (other than the length) -- just a bit of uphill and downhill. The "logging road" portion is actually nice -- it was a small road, and now it just feels like a large maintained trail.

Posted: July 1, 2017 06:38:31 PM PST

Leigh from vancouver writes:

We really enjoyed this hike (which we completed Jun 11). It's a good transition from easy to intermediate. Challenging during the middle but easy and rocky trails the rest of the way.

Posted: June 12, 2017 11:28:24 PM PST

Hayden from Surrey writes:

Great hike, river was too high to check out hikers beach but viewpoint beach seems like the better one.

Posted: June 4, 2017 09:26:05 PM PST