Bear Creek Falls: Easy Waterfall Hike in Glacier National Park (BC)

Just 5 minutes off Highway 1, you’ll find the trailhead to this beautiful waterfall! Bear Creek Falls is a short but sweet hike, and it’s the perfect opportunity to take a little nature break while you’re driving between Golden and Revelstoke (or vice versa).

We’ve actually had this hike on our bucket list for a long time, but it wasn’t until recently that we finally went – and it totally lived up to our expectations!

The hike itself takes less than an hour to do (return), and you’re met by the most beautiful waterfall at the end of it. If you love a good waterfall with little to no effort to get there, then you should definitely check out Bear Creek Falls in Glacier National Park!

In this post, we’ve mapped out everything you need to know to hike this trail – from finding the trailhead to getting your park pass, we’ve got you covered.

Disclosure: This post has been created in collaboration with SeeRevelstoke and filmed on location with the permission of Parks Canada in Glacier National Park. Everything in this post is based on our personal opinions and experiences. This post also contains affiliate links, which means if you decide to use the links and make a valid purchase, we will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Everything you need to know before hiking Bear Creek Falls

Practical information about Bear Creek Falls

Distance: 1.3 km return / 0.81 miles return
Elevation: 52 m / 170 ft. elevation gain
Type: In-and-out trail 
Length: 30-60 minutes return
Difficulty: Easy (long hike)
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Click here to see a trail map for Bear Creek Falls in Glacier National Park

Here’s a picture from the start of the hike

Hiking Tip: Look up the trail on AllTrails before starting your hike 🗺️. You can find important trail information, such as recent wildlife sightings and trail closures. Check out the free version here or get a 7-day free trial of AllTrails+ here.

Starting at the Bear Creek Falls parking lot

As you’re driving from west to east (Revelstoke to Golden), you will see a sign about 1 km before the turn-off off which is on the right-hand side.

It’s a rather sharp right-hand turn, and then you’ll continue down that paved road for a few minutes before you hit the designated parking lot at the trailhead.

It’s a decent-sized parking lot with room for maybe 20 cars or so, and you’ll find both toilet facilities and an information board there. Parks Canada did maintenance and upgrades to the trail in August 2025, so it’s in really good shape right now.

If you are driving from east to west (Golden to Revelstoke), please know that you cannot make a left turn to get to the trailhead. Instead, you’ll have to continue to the Hermit trailhead (8km each way) and turn around there, and then drive back to the trailhead from the west. 

Once you’ve made it to the parking lot, you’re good to go!

Walking down through the forest

The beginning of the trail is a bit of a steep descent through the forest, but the trail is wide and very well-maintained with a flat surface.

If you want, you can bring hiking poles here, but, as we mentioned, it’s a relatively short hike, so we actually didn’t bring ours. We just put on proper shoes as we’d read in a recent AllTrails comment that the trail was slightly muddy (which turned out not to be the case).

The trail mostly continues downhill for a bit (10-15 minutes) with a bit of undulating until you reach a flat area next to the Connaught Creek, where you’ll get your first view of the waterfall.

Down the stairs and the last stretch

Just before you reach the falls, you’ve got a little bit of incline! After you pass the creek, there’s a short section with some incline and a set of wooden stairs that take you up and over a little hill and back down to the falls. These were recently replaced by Parks Canada, so they’re in great condition.

Once you’re over the stairs, you head a few more meters to the end of the trail, where you’ll be up close to Bear Creek Falls, where you can take in the incredible view.

Be careful, though, as this last stretch of the trail can be quite muddy and slippery – especially by the rocks!

We probably hung out here for 20 minutes or so, just admiring the waterfall and capturing some photos and videos of it.

We also saw some people who brought lunch and had a little picnic down by the creek, which seemed like a brilliant idea. Definitely something to consider 😉

When you’re done admiring the view, head back to the trailhead the same way you came from! The return is mostly uphill, so take your time and enjoy the beautiful nature surrounding you.

As for the trail updates, we always check for any important updates before heading out on a hike! We check the official Parks Canada website for the trail conditions and any important information, such as trail closures or bear warnings.

We also like to check the AllTrails comments section to see what recent hikers have said about the conditions. There have actually been a few times where we saw hikers comment about bear sightings (on different trails), so those were super helpful to us since we then ended up doing a different trail instead.

Bear safety

When you go hiking in Canada, it’s important to know about bear safety. Bear encounters are likely in Glacier National Park, so it’s super important to know how to act if you ever encounter a bear.

Other things to do near Bear Creek Falls

Since this hike is located in Glacier National Park, there are a ton of other hikes and things to explore nearby!

Because it’s only 30-60 minutes long, you can easily combine it with other shorter hikes or walks nearby if you want to spend a good chunk of your day in the outdoors.

When we went, we combined it with a quick stop at Rogers Pass Memorial Park, and two easy walks: Hemlock Grove Boardwalk and the Giant Cedars Boardwalk Trail. You can also combine it with a visit to Canyon Hot Springs.

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