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Norvan Falls

Norvan Falls near Vancouver, BC

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This trail was given a rating of 3 out of 5 stars

14 kms
4hours
moderate
Hiking
Fall, Summer
Vancouver, BC

gtbassett

LARGER MAP

This trail parallels Lynn Creek for quite awhile and is well marked all the way (and well used) following old logging grades. The trail gradually moves away from the creek. At the end of 7 km of fairly easy hiking you come to Norvan Creek and here a right turn and a short hike up the hill brings you to the falls.

There is GPS data attached to this trail (see "download GPS"), which if loaded into your GPS can help you find route points.

Directions:

Access is from the Lynn Headwaters Park Headquarters. Cross the bridge and go left on the Mills Creek Trail.

By Posted By: toothpastechica - Wed Aug 04 02:22:31 EDT 2010 Upside The falls are gorgeous! would have been even better if it was a hotter day out! The trail was reletively empty once you got past the gravel trail along the creek Downside Not super interested or challenging as a hike, but a good hike for beginners and some of the other trails that lead off of it look to be a lot more exciting and challenging Comment It was worth the time it took (about 4 hours), if i did it again it would only be to go explore some of the other trails around it.

By Posted By: jeffvm - Sat Jun 13 20:26:56 EDT 2009 Upside Easy terrain, long gentle grade from start to finish. Plenty of refreshing mountain water to drink along the way. And a beautiful waterfall at the end to relax at. Downside No big sweeping vistas, if that is a must for you (not all trails can end on a mountaintop!). But there are the occasional views of Lynn Valley through the trees. Comment I headed up to the Headwaters Trail via Upper Lynn Loop Trail. The trail has a quick climb at the begininning, but is mostly a rolling hike through a nice, airy forest. This trail, and the first half of the Headwaters Trail carries on like this until the Third Debris chute. After the junction, the trail is pretty straight and unexceptional. No need to look for trail markers.

Norvan Falls is a worthy sight. The creek is pretty easy to walk in, so you can get quite close to the falls and enjoy the cooling mist. You can hike to the top of the falls if you like, just don't fall over the edge.

I returned via Headwaters to Cedars Mill/Lower Lynn Loop. These two trails parallel Lynn Creek all the way to the park entrance. The trail is very flat and boring, but it does have many access points to the creek. This made for a fast return trip.

The hike took 4hr 15min. If I didn't take Upper Lynn Loop, it could have shaved 30-40 min off the trip. But what's the rush?

By Posted By: hobbit - Mon May 18 02:30:18 EDT 2009 Upside Long but nice, easy trail to start the season. Downside The waterfall is nice, but it's not a huge payoff for me to spend 5 hours on. Comment We stayed west, along Lynn Creek, which is the fastest and easiest route to the Falls.

From Park Entrance, we hiked along Lynn Loop Trail (1.8km) & Cedar Mills Trail (2.1km) to reach Third Debris Chute in 1.5hrs. From there, that leg of Headwaters Trail took us 60min to arrive Norvan Falls.

We stayed at the Falls for 30min. The return trip along to same path took us 2.25hrs (15min less).

We went today (only 4 days after the following pics were shot) and most of the snow was already gone. Some snow patches on Headwaters but it was packed and not slushy. Shoes were not soaked.
http://flickr.com/photos/realaworld/sets/72157616637993807/

By Posted By: dina - Wed Nov 12 13:21:51 EST 2008 Not Rated Upside easy hike with a great destination (even in the pouring rain) Downside trail head has wrong information as far as KM's go. Board at headwaters says 11.8 return. It is actually over 14km return. On wet days , like the one we traveled on, a lot of the trail is a river!! Comment Great day hike, even in the pouring rain in November!

By Posted By: annewalk - Mon Oct 06 20:33:43 EDT 2008 Not Rated Comment I went on this hike this past weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. The trail to Norvan Falls off of the Mills Creek Trail was rocky and rooty in spots, the scenery was beautiful and peaceful. Not too many people on that trail when we went (it had been raining heavily the day before and the sun broke only long enough for the six hour hike) but we were passed by several runners.

The falls were, indeed, quite beautiful and larger than I thought they'd be. The suspension bridge seems like a fun bit of jungle gym equipment. We enjoyed bouncing around on it. Agree with the others, however, in terms of practicality.

I'd like to continue on to Grouse Mountain next time I take this trail.

By Posted By: alvic3 - Tue Apr 22 20:27:03 EDT 2008 Upside Long, flat and easy walk. Pretty scenery. The falls are lovely. Downside Gets fairly busy in the summer. Comment Really enjoyable hike for beginners. It's long, but since there is almost no elevation gain, it's quite easy to accomplish. Very pretty.

By Posted By: evgenykravchenko - Sat Jul 21 19:59:30 EDT 2007 Upside Flat, easy on the knees, and a nice walk overall. Good views of the river. Pleasant surprise at the end, the falls is beautiful. Feels like you are far away from civilization. Great for any time of the year. Downside bears in the area Comment This is a great trail. It's pretty flat, and easy on the knees. You can also make it a bit more difficult by taking the Headwaters trail from the Switchback, instead of taking the Cedar Mill trail. See the trail map here http://www.gvrd.bc.ca/parks/maps/LynnHeadmap.pdf

By Posted By: Adam+Laura - Thu Jan 04 15:21:47 EST 2007 Upside There is a nice refreshing waterfall at the end of this hike. Downside There are a lot of people on this trail and it is very flat. Good for a long walk. Comment If you keep on going there are more trails that take you up to grouse mountain.

By Posted By: dogbreathcanada - Thu Jun 09 23:12:21 EDT 2005 Upside Nice little waterfall at the end of the hike. Downside Lots and lots of people. Comment An easy hike when you don't feel like hiking strenuous uphills. The spray off the waterfall at the end is a nice relaxing way to cool off on a hot summer day.

By Posted By: HikingRookie - Tue Jul 20 08:10:42 EDT 2004 Upside We took the Skyride down. But first, we celebrated with a beer and nachos, after we changed into other clothes (we got drenched with showers, but arrived with grins, nonetheless).
Downside Bugs. Spray keeps them from biting, but not from buzzing around your head and "bugging you" Comment
It took us 8.5 hours (including the "sweet spot picnic", but excluding the celebration before the Skyride)
Bring lots of water, a light lunch, and a good attitudeÂ…rise to the challenge, it's a fun one!

By Posted By: freeridebryce - Fri Apr 23 14:42:00 EDT 2004 Not Rated Comment Yes, the replacement bridge leads to the Hanes Valley, just like the old one did... but why build a new one (or even have one at all)? If you can't make it across a small creek, you're gonna have troubles on the trail ahead.

By Posted By: freeridebryce - Mon Aug 18 18:12:15 EDT 2003 Upside Nice long gradual walk Downside On the beaten path Comment A nice walk but not much solitude. There is a new bridge going in over Norvan creek and I can't figure out why - if you can't make it across the old bridge then you'll definitely have troubles on the trail ahead. Maybe its for wheelchairs.(jk)

By Posted By: matthewmehnert - Mon Aug 18 11:21:04 EDT 2003 Comment I went past it and it takes you up a rock scree to Hanes Valley. And ends on Grouse Mountain.