To continue our family Rockies road trip, we drove past scenic mountains and beautiful lakes and arrived at the most magnificent Takakkaw Falls. This is probably the most amazing, and the tallest waterfall I’ve seen so far in Canada!

Trail Condition

The 13 km drive up to the falls can be tricky as the mountain road is quite narrow. There are a few narrow turns, with one where cars and buses greater than 7m must back up instead of attempting turning, and trailers are banned.

Once past the narrow roads you totally cannot miss this waterfall as you can already see it at the parking lot. Walking up the short trail can give you a better view of the falls.

The very easy short hike (or more like a stroll) to the waterfall is definitely kids friendly. It is a very well paved gravel road with minimal to almost no loose stones, and is suitable for strollers. However, if you are planning to snap a nice picture, where the view of the falls won’t be obstructed by trees, you will still have to hop through some rocks on to the river.

After walking through the tree lined trail which takes you pretty close to the falls, you have the option to continue the trail by walking up the rocks. This part of the trail is not stroller friendly but can take you up close to the waterfall. Our toddler doesn’t feel like walking too much this day, so we decided to stop just before going up the rocks.

The view of the waterfall is absolutely gorgeous! This is one of the tallest waterfall in Canada which runs 384 metres to the canyon. It is a 4 step falls, where it first drop over 2 narrow plunges, then cascade down another 2 narrow channels. The beautiful sight with the sound of the roaring water will give you a surreal experience.

Activities

There are several picnic tables and chairs close by the parking lot. You can see the falls from this area, so will definitely give you a very scenic picnic to remember.

The famous Red Chairs can be found overlooking the falls. If you haven’t heard of the Red Chairs, you can read them up here. Park Canada has placed two red chairs in several unique outdoor places throughout Canada, to allow visitors to slow down and just simply take in the gorgeous view. I can see how hunting for Red Chairs can be a fun activity for our kids one day. And of course, we had to take a picture in front of these chairs.

You can also camp here as the Takakkaw Falls front country walk in campground is 300 metres from the parking lot. We may do so when our kids are older.

Takakkaw Falls is also the beginning of several hike trails inside Yoho National Park. You can reach Laughing Falls, Twin Falls, Yoho Pass, Iceline, or Little Yoho Valley from here. We might attempt these trails in the future.

Breastfeeding

There are several benches along the way of the short trail. There are also several picnic tables close by the parking lot.

Washroom

Pit toilets available close by the parking lot.

Parking

Free parking in a spacious parking parking lot. There are still several parking spaces available when we went on Saturday morning.

Did you Know

With a total height of 373 metres, Takakkaw Falls is the third tallest waterfall in Canada, behind James Bruce Falls on the Sunshine Coast and Della Falls on Vancouver Island. Takakkaw Falls is almost 7 times the height of the famous Niagara Falls in Ontario!

This magnificent view makes me want to come back here again! I definitely want to explore more of Yoho National Park and maybe camp out here with the kids. Definitely worth the long drive to see this view.

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• Difficulty: Very Easy
• Foot Traffic: Moderate
• Pets Traffic: Minimal
• Facilities: Picnic tables and several benches are available, pit toilets available.
• View: Magnificent
• Overall: 9/10

Continue reading about our 2020 Rockies Road Trip!