May 27th, 2018

On this beautiful sunny day we went for an amazing adventure to Widgeon falls. I had been dreaming of doing this canoe/hike since I had first heard about it last year. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I only live a 30 minute drive from this adventure.

To get to Widgeon falls you must start by paddling across Pitt Lake from Pitt-Addington Marsh over to the trailhead. The trailhead begins at the Widgeon Creek campground.

Here is a link to google maps for where you start:

Pitt Lake Canoe Adventures

You can also find a detailed map of your paddling route on www.vancouvertrails.com .

The paddle takes anywhere between 1-2 hours depending on experience. You can either kayak or canoe. Although you can use a boat on Pitt lake, it is not possible to use a motorized boat to get to the trailhead to Widgeon falls as Widgeon creek is quite shallow, in fact, sometimes the water is so low you need to get out and push your canoe through these shallow sections (thankfully we did not have to do that this day). Since boats are on Pitt lake, getting across the lake by paddling can become a little challenging if you are new to paddling (which a couple of us were). If you have your own canoe or kayak I’d recommend bringing that as the canoe rentals are a little pricey.

You can rent at Pitt Lake Canoe Adventures (open from 8am-5pm). I would suggest going early as there was a line up before they even opened at 8am and it is first come first serve! You cannot reserve in advance. Rentals are cash only and are $80 for a 3 person canoe and $100 for 4 person canoe. You also need to put down a $50 deposit.

Paddling to the trailhead is a beautiful site as you are surrounded by mountains!

When you are paddling over you will definitely want to be familiar with the route as I only saw one sign that pointed us to the right direction and there are a couple of turns along the way. It is likely you will be able to just follow the crowd but don’t rely on that because they could be going to a different destination or could be lost! I did not get cell service as soon as we got to the parking lot so download your map beforehand.

Sign directing us to Widgeon Creek campground

Once you arrive at the campground you park your canoe or kayak anywhere there is space on the beach. The trailhead begins to the right of the camp ground past the outhouses. The trail is well marked and straightforward to follow. It takes about an hour to get to the falls (2.9km).

The trail is beautiful, very lush! The majority of the trail is flat, however, it does have a steep section at the end (the last 10 or so minutes) with some ups and downs.

Our cute new friend showing us where to go next.

After you finish your trek you arrive in paradise! Beautiful falls and tons of little swimming holes filled with crystal clear turquoise water!

*Total activity time for canoeing/hiking round trip= 5-6 hours

It was pretty hard to leave this magical place but we did leave at the best time as it begin to get quite busy in the afternoon near the falls. You can definitely adventure around to your own private little spot by the creek though! Next time I would like to camp at the campsite. You can also go further (switching trails/direction) to camp at Widgeon lake, rather than camping at Widgeon Creek if you would like. I have not been to Widgeon lake but I hear it is also very beautiful!

Thanks to everyone who joined the adventure and also helped us learn how to properly use our canoe!

Group photo taken by Kristine from @hikesnearvancouver