Hiking season is upon us again so it is time to dust off the hiking poles and ease our boots out onto the local trails. The late spring weather has made most of the local trails still snowbound but one exception is the hike to Hixon Falls, which is an early season gem. The spring thaw is the best time to visit this waterfall. The increased flow is very impressive as it plummets over 100-foot to a pool below.
Hixon Falls is easily accessed and is a great early season warmup for hikers of all ages and abilities. A few hundred metres below the falls, Hixon Creek carves it way through bedrock to create a series of narrow chutes and a mini canyon.
Directions
From the Simon Fraser Bridge in Prince George drive 57.3 kilometres south on Highway 97 to the town of Hixon. Turn left onto Hixon Creek Road. The road is about 750 metres past the highway bridge over Hixon Creek. Stay left at 1.8 kilometres (right goes into the refuse dump). At 2.0 kilometres stay left again at a road junction (38A Road). After another 1.6 kilometres the parking lot for the Hixon Creek Chutes is on the left. Continue on 200 metres further to the Hixon Falls parking lot on the left. It is a total 3.8 kilometres from the highway to the falls' parking lot.
Trail Description
The Hixon Falls trail is a short walk of 220 metres to the base of the falls. The trail is relatively flat and crosses a small bridge on the way. The falls are quite spectacular as they drop 100-foot to a pool below. The pools below the falls can be explored as well.
The road to the upper falls is accessed by heading straight ahead on the road past the falls' parking lot. Continue up the road for 220 metres and when the creek is adjacent to the road turn left and follow the trail a further 40 metres to the viewpoint over the falls. Be careful as it is a long way down.
The trail from the first parking lot descends for 300 metres down to the Hixon Creek Chutes. The chutes are in a section of the creek where the canyon walls narrow to a metre in spots.
For more information on this hike and others in this area, including airphotos, maps, GPS coordinates and trail photos, refer to the book, Hiking North Central BC which is available at local bookstores.
