Hiking to Crawford/Canyon Falls in the Winter

Canyon Falls Park is a 9.85 hectare park located in South Kelowna. It’s a popular spot for adventure seekers and photographers because of its close proximity and beautiful waterfalls. There are several ways to see the waterfalls, the quickest trail down into the canyon starts at Canyon Falls Court. There is no designated parking lot so vehicles park along the right hand of the street, right before the cul-de-sac.

The trailhead starts on the right hand side of the cul-de-sac, look for the park signage. Canyon Falls Park has a network of trails but the trail down to the first waterfall is relatively short. Look for a trail that veers right about 100 meters from the trailhead.

The first path down into the canyon is quite steep and was crazy slippery on our way through (in February). We slid the whole way down the trail on our bottoms, and my kids loved it! We put our youngest in a climbing harness to slow his descent and keep him safe. Even with studded hiking boots it was a challenge getting down without sliding. So be warned! This trail can be treacherously slick in the winter.

The trail descends down into the canyon making a few short switchbacks along the way. Right before the waterfall there’s a ladder to climb down. The ladder is sloped (not completely vertical) and while it might be tricky for toddlers to get down my youngest (4) could manage it on his own. The waterfall is quite pretty and we enjoyed exploring the area. Apparently there’s another big waterfall beyond the first, but getting there requires climbing over boulders which are quite icy in the winter. We’ll save that for summer time. Coming back up was quite the workout which was made more challenging by the icy trail.

Winter time may not be the best season to explore this area with kids because it can be very slippery. It took us about an hour to slide down and hike back up again, without ice it would probably take less time. Unless you and your kids love ice, I would recommend checking this short 1.5 km trail (return) to the first waterfall in spring, summer or fall instead.