I drove past lake cottages, down narrow, woodsy roads until I found myself in the Mahood Lake section of Wells Gray Provincial Park. This area of the park featured its own campground and some lakes, as well as a few waterfalls that were accessible enough.

It was afternoon on the Saturday of Victoria Day Weekend, which meant that I was unable to make any campground reservations for the night, owing to British Columbia regulations that only permit a reservation for the whole duration of any weekend. I figured it would be a good idea to stop first at the Mahood Lake Campground and set up my tent at a first-come first-serve site if any were still available.

A brief perusal showed that a few of these sites were left, most of them “joint sites.” I shied away from those, as I didn’t really want to potentially directly abut a stranger. So, I took the final single site, which happened to be near some partiers who were already quite loud and wasted.

I pitched my tent, took a breather, and then left to check out three of Wells Gray Park’s more easily accessed, but less commonly visited waterfalls: Canim Falls, Mahood Falls, and Deception Falls.

(So, yes, this is a short post!)

 

 

 

Deception Falls

The road to Deception Falls is past the Mahood Lake Campground, and it’s very, very narrow.

On my drive back from the trailhead, I filmed a clip of the worst section of the road there:

The falls themselves are an easy ~20 minute walk, exactly as the sign promises.

Trail Information
Name	Deception Falls Trail
Miles	1.1
Type	out-and-back
Location	Wells Gray Provincial Park
State	BC
Country	Canada
Check out the trails index for information on more trails!

When you arrive, but they’re obscured a little by the trees and growth.

Deception Falls is so-named, apparently, because it deceives visitors into thinking there isn’t a waterfall. But then, there is one.

I don’t know that the name lands for me. I was in a park famous for its waterfalls, on a trail to see a waterfall, and so I wasn’t too surprised when I saw one.

It’s hard for pictures to do waterfalls justice sometimes. So, what can a cellphone vid do?

Canim & Mahood Falls

I enjoyed Deception Falls, but I was more looking forward to the Canim Falls Trail. This was said to be more spectacular. Would that be the case?

Trail Information
Name	Canim Falls Trail
Miles	1.4
Type	out-and-back
Location	Wells Gray Provincial Park
State	BC
Country	Canada
Check out the trails index for information on more trails!

A short walk from the trailhead leads you to the Mahood Falls overlook, and if you continue further along, you reach views of Canim falls.

Truth be told, all are quite lovely indeed! 🤩

Mahood Lake

After those two relatively tranquil hikes, I returned to my campsite and paid my fee.

Weekend partying was in full swing, with country music blasting from most campsites. One of my nearest neighbors offered me a beer and apologized for the ruckus. I appreciated the peace offering.

As the sunset was nearing, I walked towards Mahood Lake to take some pictures.

A man walking his dogs encountered me as I was fussing with long exposure photography. He said he came to the lakeshore because it was the only place he could hear the frogs instead of blaring noise from other campsites.

The sun set. I retired to bed. The noise continued.

I think my nearest neighbors were still drinking and carrying on until about four in the morning. I must confess, I did not have the best night sleep in my life.

As I laid in my tent, trying to escape from consciousness, I couldn’t help but wonder, “would my next nights’ camping during the holiday weekend be just like this?”