Distance : 200m to falls, 300m loop in the park
Elevation change : 4 m
Difficulty : Easy
With a great shoreline picnic site and a viewing platform of the falls cascading through a canyon of cliffs scoured smooth by water and glacial action, the BC Hydro Clayton Falls Recreaton Site is one of the most popular sights in the valley. Depending on the season or the current weather, the falls can be a full apron or narrow streamlets flowing through ancient grooves.
Pink salmon spawn at the bottom of the falls between late July and September. Look for them attempting to jump up the falls. Salmon also use the spawning grounds created by B.C. Hydro below the outflow from the generating station. The park has picnic tables and outhouses. At low tide there is even a small stretch of sandy beach. Watch the boats coming and going and maybe even a sailboarder, yacht or ferry.
Note the old cannery across North Bentinck Arm. Seals hang out at the mouth of the creek and from the bridge over the creek you can sometimes see seals chasing down salmon at high tide.
How to get there
From the government wharf, follow the gravel road 1.8 km west and downhill either turning right to the parking area at the Clayton Falls Recreation Park sign or parking to the left just past the BC Hydro generating station. Beware of industrial traffic on the road. The falls trail is along the fence on the upper side of the generating station. The park trail is on the lower side of the road.
