THIS is Canada's BEST waterfall road trip! 🇨🇦

Welcome to Wells Gray Provincial Park, which very well may be home to the best waterfall road trip in all of Canada. These waterfalls, like just one of these is like, well you'd make a national park around. It is wild. Located in east-central British Columbia, this park is nicknamed Canada's Waterfall Park and is home to 42 named waterfalls, some of which are a quick roadside stop, while others require a bit of a hike or even a boat ride to get to. And over the next five days, we're going to be experiencing 14 of them, all while exploring this area's mountain scenery, delicious local eats, oh my gosh, and beautiful lakes. I first saw a photo of one of the park's most popular waterfalls years ago and immediately saved it, but at the time I had no idea that there were so many more waterfalls here. Today we're going to be checking out four of the park's waterfalls, and we're starting with Mole Falls. And while most of the waterfalls here are just a short walk from the parking area, this one requires a little bit of a hike to get to. Even though this might not be the tallest waterfall in the park, what makes this one of the best is not only can you view it from the top and the bottom, but you can also walk behind the waterfall. And this is the only waterfall in the park that you can do that. Even standing a solid distance from the waterfall, we are already getting completely misted, so I have a feeling we're going to get soaked going behind it. It's going to be so fun. I am dripping with water, completely soaked, and I cannot stop laughing. That was so much fun. I'm a very wet doggie now. We just pulled over on the side of the road right before this bridge to check out Third Canyon Falls, which would be super easy to drive right by and miss, but you actually have to stop and get out to see this one because it's tucked down into this little canyon. Oh my gosh, look at this canyon. Oh wow. That is super deep. You'd have no idea driving through this area that this massive canyon was just right off the road. Hundreds of feet deep. Holy cow. Oh my gosh. So if you're like us, you may be wondering, why are there so many waterfalls here? Wells Gray is home to 22 volcanoes and over thousands of years, volcanic eruptions followed by periods of cooling created layers of volcanic rock, while slow-moving glaciers carved the rivers and lakes, filling with water as the glaciers melted. In here at Spahats Creek Falls, you get a really good glimpse at this volcanic rock and how the water has just carved its way through it over many, many years. We are only three waterfalls in and I am already blown away by this park. Not only are they impressively tall, but it's the surrounding scenery that just take them to the next level. We still have tons of waterfalls to check out, but for our final one today, we're headed to Triple Dicker Falls. We've seen a lot of multi-level waterfalls before, but this might be the first one that has such defined levels. It's basically a shelf. It flows, hits the shelf, comes down, hits another shelf, and then keeps coming down. Oh, this is so cool. Since we have both vehicles, we decided to book a campground while here, so we can leave the van at camp while we take the SUV to check out hikes and waterfalls. There are campgrounds in the park, but we decided to stay at North Thompson River Provincial Park near the town of Clearwater, which is still super convenient for day trips into the park. The campground is pretty bare bones with just dry sites and pit toilets, but we're always so impressed with Canadian campgrounds. The sites are large and spread out nicely, so you have a bit of privacy, and it's located at the confluence of the North Thompson River and the Clearwater River, so it has beautiful scenery, and since we had a shorter day today, we spent the afternoon hanging out by the river just reading and fishing. Tonight for dinner, we're having a Vietnamese beef noodle salad, which is one of our favorite Vietnamese dishes, and to go along with it, we're making a special drink with Element. Y'all have heard us rave about Element for years now. It is hands down our favorite electrolyte drink mix. We drink it on every single hike to make sure we stay hydrated and to reduce headaches and fatigue. Each packet contains a science-backed ratio of sodium, potassium, and magnesium without any sugar, and while most of the time we just pour it into a water bottle and shake it up, there are also a bunch of other fun ways you can enjoy their electrolytes from smoothies to hot drinks, popsicles, and even savory dishes, and tonight we decided to make a mocktail that we're calling the Salty Waterfall Spritz. First, I am pouring in half a and then I'm very, very, very carefully mixing in some sparkling water. Next up, I'm squirting in half of a lime and then pouring in a little bit of watermelon juice just to add some color, oh, and some extra watermelon flavor, and to finish it off, I am topping it with some mint leaves, a slice of lime, and a little mini adorable watermelon slice, and then you have a salty waterfall spritz. A big thank you to Element for sponsoring this video and continuing to support our adventures. If you want to make your own fun Element mocktails or just try it the old-fashioned way, Element is offering our viewers a free sample pack with any order. To get yours, head to drinklmnt.com slash a plus k or scan the qr code on the screen. Cheers! Wells Gray is the fourth largest provincial park in British Columbia, with only a small portion of the park accessible by car, and this morning we're taking a bit of a break from waterfalls to hike into some of the park's more remote mountain scenery on the Trophy Meadows Trail. The hike started out in the trees but we have now entered the meadow and we are walking through a sea of colorful wildflowers, and between all the colors and these rolling green hills and the golden light and the mountains off in the distance, it feels like we are in a painting right now. It is so magical. This has been a fantastic hike. It has a little bit of everything that we like in a hike. Wildflowers, meadows, lakes, and since you're above the tree line for most of it, you have sweeping mountain views, but it's not just a great day hike. You can also camp out here at Sheila Lake. There's about 10 wooden tent pads with pit toilets, a cooking shelter, and bear lockers. This would be an epic spot to stay the night. Definitely want to come back and do that one day. While the hike is a 10 out of 10, the road to get to the trailhead is definitely not. It is pretty rough and rocky, although I think any car could make it just fine. You just have to go pretty slow. And about halfway down the road, there's a waterfall called Silver Tip Falls that we're going to do a quick hike to go check out. Holy cow, geez, it is tall. To get to this waterfall, you have to go down a secondary gravel road off of the main one that goes to Trophy Meadows, and then from there, you turn off onto a single track gravel road, and you just got to hope that no one else is coming from the other direction, because there is nowhere to pull over and let someone pass. Then after you drive down that road a little bit, there are a couple little pull outs where you can park your car. So you have to time this one right and not have anyone else be here, which is the case for us. There are zero other people here. Oh man, this trail is quite a bit more rugged and overgrown than the ones we've done so far. This is the tallest waterfall that we'll see on this road trip. It is 168 meters or 551 feet, and from this vantage point, you can't even see all the way to the top. You can only maybe see a couple hundred feet up. It is absolutely massive. And what makes this waterfall different from all the others we've seen so far is that it's not one steady stream of water flowing down. It's going through different rocky gorges and going over the rock face. It just has so many different streams. For dinner tonight, we have come to the Hoppin' Hog, a beloved dinner-only barbecue spot, which we are super excited about. We got the meat platter for two. Look at this spread. Oh my gosh. They say everything's bigger in Texas, but probably bigger in Clearwater, BC. British Columbia, yeah. So we've got brisket, pulled pork, a link of sausage, a leg of chicken, a half rack of pork ribs, three sauces, a little pan of beans, cornbread, coleslaw, potato salad, and to make sure we keep it healthy, we got a caesar salad. I'm like weirdly excited about the caesar salad. It looks really good. It's got bacon on it and cheese. I don't even know where to start on this thing. It all looks so good. I think I'll go for a rib. Pulled pork, tender, slightly sweet, great barbecue flavor on there. You can taste all the smoke. You can see the smoke ring in there. This pulled pork looks so juicy. That is so tender, has such good flavor. It's so much food. How are we gonna eat all of this? This is like a meat platter for five. We're keeping our expectations moderate since this is Canadian brisket, not Texas brisket. Looks super solid though. They've obviously learned a thing or two, but this is really good. We've got a good mix of lean and fatty brisket in here. Again, great smoky flavor. I like the outside of it. It's got a lot of seasoning on it that really shines through. I just cut off a piece of the chicken and I'm gonna dip it in this what looks like chimichurri sauce, which is one of my favorite sauces. Oh, that sauce is fire. It's herbaceous. That sausage is fantastic. All right, we did our best to put the biggest dent in this that we could, but we still have lots left over. I really enjoyed the pulled pork and the brisket, but I also really liked the sides. The potato salad had like a nice light refreshing taste to it, not overpowering. It was a really good palate cleanser. And then the Caesar salad, as you can see, there's absolutely none left. That was really good too. I think it's so fun when places offer a flight of all of their options. That way you can try as many things as possible. A little disappointed we didn't eat more, but on the plus side, now we have leftovers to enjoy for breakfast and lunch and maybe even dinner tomorrow. This morning on our drive into the park, we stopped by two quick waterfalls. Dawson Falls, which is super wide and requires a short walk to get to, and Mush Bowl Falls, which is right on the side of the road. It is very appropriately named. It is basically a bowl of water just sloshing around, and it's so cool to see these giant logs just spinning in the whirlpool. But after two days in the park, we are now on our way to finally see its most famous waterfall, Helmken Falls. We are still quite a few steps from the waterfall, and you can already see a massive cloud of mist. Oh my gosh! I mean, I've seen photos of this, but it is way better than I imagined. Oh my gosh! While this area has been home to indigenous people for centuries, Helmken Falls was spotted by a Canadian land surveyor in 1913, which led to the area gaining attention and becoming a park in 1939. And at 141 meters tall, it has become the most iconic waterfall in the park. Like all the greenery down towards the bottom, it's like a mix of like what you'd in Iceland and then up here is similar, you know, to what we've been seeing with like big exposed like rock face. So it's a really cool combo, and like the green trees everywhere. And then it's just an intense huge waterfall. This is the waterfall that I saw photos of years ago and knew I would have to come see someday. But it's located kind of north in BC, so we weren't sure when we would ever make it out here. So to be here and finally be seeing it with my own eyes is just kind of a surreal experience. And it's truly one of the most impressive waterfalls I have seen in my entire life. We have seen hundreds and hundreds of waterfalls, and the waterfall alone is just magnificent. But like Adam said, the whole scene with just all the greenery and this massive bowl behind it, I've never seen anything like this. It is wild that this is a provincial park, which is essentially kind of similar to a state park in the U.S. These waterfalls, like just one of these is like what you'd make a national park around. We just made a quick stop at Osprey Falls, which is located on the Clearwater River at the mouth of the Clearwater Lake. This is a 25 kilometer lake on the northern end of the park that formed when a volcanic eruption dammed the Clearwater River 6,000 years ago. It eventually connects with Azure Lake, and on both lakes you can find different campsites, beaches, and waterfalls, including Rainbow Falls, which looks pretty impressive. But the road ends not far from here, and to explore these lakes you need some sort of watercraft or pay to go on a tour. So instead we're gonna stick to the land and head to the Osprey Cafe right on the lake, which apparently has some pretty good cake. And for goodness sake, every day is great when you get to eat some cake by the lake. For goodness sake, let's eat some cake. This is a cranberry streusel cake with this nice little crumble on top, some sliced apples, whipped cream, and ice cream. With a view of the lake, it does not get much better. We are many miles from civilization, so it's pretty wild that you can get a treat like this out here. The cake is super moist and it has a really nice cinnamon flavor, and the cranberries just give it kind of a little bite of sweet but tanginess. And then like mix it in with the ice cream and the whipped cream and whoa. Yeah, I really like how dense the cake is. It kind of acts like a sponge to really sop up the ice cream and the whipped cream. To see our final waterfalls in this part of the park, we are hiking the West Lake Loop, which has this crazy chute plus a couple smaller waterfalls, which are kind of more like rapids on the river, as well as a lake. And before coming here, we were kind of worried that we were going to get sick of seeing waterfalls, but we definitely have not. We love waterfalls to begin with. I think they're one of the best examples of just how powerful nature can be. But all the waterfalls we've seen so far have been a little bit different. They're different styles, different sizes, and a lot of them have been in different kinds of settings, so it's really kept it interesting. For the rest of our time at Wells Gray, we're heading to another area of the park around Mahood Lake. And even though it looks close on the map, you have to two hours around to get to it. This is our third or fourth trip in our new two-vehicle setup, and it is kind of weird not to be driving together, but Kona is so much happier riding in the SUV compared to the van. So therefore, we are all much happier, and so we can keep in touch while we drive. We have walkie-talkies, which is super fun. Hey, Adam. Howdy. So when we plugged in this area of the park on Google Maps, there was a shorter way to get there, but after researching it a bit, we learned that it was on pretty much all gravel roads and kind of rough, so we decided to go the longer way to get there, which has been paved the entire time until now. Now we are on gravel roads for, I think, the last 38 kilometers of the drive. Tonight, we're camping at the Mahood Lake Campground, but before we get to camp, we're making a quick stop to see Canem and Mahood Falls. So Mahood Falls is tucked back into the trees, so you can't get that close of a look at it, but you do get an amazing look at Canem Falls, including being able to walk up to the river and see where it plunges over the top of the rock face. And I think earlier in the season when there's more water, there's actually multiple waterfalls that flow down the rocks, which are these crazy volcanic rocks that, unlike the volcanic rock we saw in the other area of the park, which were more like columns, these are just massive chunky boulders. They are so cool. So as you may remember, last summer our inflatable kayak exploded. We decided to use that loss as a chance to upgrade to pack rafts. We got the MRS Minnow pack rafts, which pack down pretty small and only weigh four pounds, which means we can easily take them on hikes and go paddling out in the backcountry. We are so excited about these. We've wanted something like this for years, and our plan for the rest of the afternoon is to go paddling around the Hood Lake. So I fished a couple times at the North Thompson River Provincial Park. I didn't have very much luck just because that was a really big wide river, and I've always found those challenging to do. I feel like you need like a drift boat to have some success out there to get out in the deep water. But this one, we just paddled just from over there, not very far, but we are right here where the Canem River flows into this lake, and there's a lot of boxes ticked how this could be pretty fishy, so I'm feeling pretty good about it. Man, he's fighting. This might be my personal best, like on my own. I got a really big one in Georgia with a guide, but this one I think is my personal best on my own. Wow, way to go. Yeah, it's been a while since I caught a fish in general, but caught a good one like that, again, like I said, maybe my best one ever. That is, it's an addictive feeling, man. It's so fun. Man, I get so excited for you. All right, number two. And another one. Okay, so I caught three and hooked three more that got away, but after the past few times of going fishing and getting skunked, this was an amazing day. Today is our last day in Wells Gray, and we have one final waterfall we're going to check out, which I think is going to take us to 14 total Deception Falls. So as the name implies, Deception Falls, you don't really know when you're going to meet this waterfall, because as you're walking up, you're struggling up the hill, and you can't really hear any water, and then you finally get to the edge of this cliff, and bam, it's right there. And this one is really cool. You have an awesome view of it. You're up above it a little bit, and it has like three layers to it that get progressively bigger, and there's this bowl in the middle with this giant boulder in the middle. This one is really, really cool. It was a great one to end on. We are so happy that we finally made it to this area and got to check it off of our Canada bucket list. We really did not know much about this region before planning this road trip. It's very popular with Canadians, and shockingly, very, very popular with Europeans, but we hardly saw any U.S. license plates when we were out here. Getting to explore areas that aren't as well known by Americans just is always so fun for us. There are so many places in the U.S. and in Canada that you see so many photos of and that are so popular, and you go to them already kind of knowing what to expect, but these areas that are lesser known are just always full of unexpected surprises. There is still so much more of beautiful British Columbia that we want to explore, and we're so thankful that we live close to Canada again, but for now, we're going to head back home to Washington.