Telkwa, British Columbia Best Trails in Telkwa, BC Six routes at the confluence of the Bulkley and Telkwa — distance, elevation gain and difficulty...
5 days ago
September 6, 2026
Houston, British Columbia
Best Waterfall Hikes Near Houston, BC
Seven short walks off the forest service roads south and west of town — distances, elevation gain and difficulty from recorded GPS tracks.
Houston sits where the Morice River meets the Bulkley, on Wet'suwet'en territory in the southern end of the Bulkley Valley. Most people know it for steelhead water and the fly rod outside the visitor centre. What the town does not get credit for is waterfalls — a set of them, spread along the forest service roads that run south and west out of town, most reachable in under an hour of walking.
That is the difference between hiking here and hiking an hour up the highway at Smithers, where the trails climb hard into alpine. Houston's waterfall walks are short, low-elevation and forested. You can do four of them in an afternoon if the roads are dry, and the whole set is mapped as the Houston Waterfalls Tour, a seven-stop self-guided route. Below is each stop, with what the recorded track actually shows.
Aitken Falls Trail
- Distance
- 2.10 km
- Elevation gain
- 76 m
- Difficulty
- 3/5
- Type
- Out-and-back
The longest walk of the seven, and the one that feels most like a hike rather than a pull-off. The grade is gentle for about a kilometre through forest, then the trail meets the fence line along the rim of the Aitken Creek canyon. At 2.1 km return with 76 metres of gain, it is comfortably within range for most people, including children who are used to walking.
It earns a spot here because it gives you time in the forest before the payoff. Stay behind the fence at the rim — the drop is severe and the edges are unstable. A steep side trail switchbacks down to the base of the lower fall; it is slippery when wet and worth skipping unless you are sure-footed and have poles.
Suits families and anyone wanting a real walk out of it. Go in May or June — the falls run hardest on snowmelt, and this creek can slow to a trickle by late summer.
Peacock Falls Trail
- Distance
- 2.30 km
- Elevation gain
- 132 m
- Difficulty
- 3/5
- Type
- Out-and-back
The steepest trail of the set, with 132 metres of gain packed into 2.3 km return — roughly double the climb of Aitken Falls over a similar distance. It runs through quiet forest with no road noise once you are in.
This is the one to pick if you want your legs to notice. It is still a short outing by any measure, but the grade is sustained enough that you will be warm by the top. Bring proper footwear; short does not mean flat.
Suits hikers who want a bit of work. Best in the shoulder seasons, spring and early autumn, when the forest is cool.
Buck Creek Falls Trail
- Distance
- 0.50 km
- Elevation gain
- 17 m
- Difficulty
- 2/5
- Type
- Loop
Half a kilometre, 17 metres of gain, and a waterfall on Buck Creek at the end of it. This is about as accessible as a waterfall gets without being a viewpoint from the truck.
Buck Creek runs through Houston itself, so this is a chance to see the upper end of a creek you can also walk beside in town on the Buck Creek Dike Pathway. Water levels swing a lot through the season, and the falls look like a different place in June than in September.
Suits everyone, including small children and anyone short on time. Good any time the access road is passable.
Dungate Falls Trail
- Distance
- 1.10 km
- Elevation gain
- 20 m
- Difficulty
- 2/5
- Type
- Out-and-back
Just off Equity Mine Road, and close to flat — 20 metres of gain over 1.1 km return. If you are driving out to the old Equity mine area anyway, this is the stop that costs you twenty minutes and returns a full waterfall.
The Equity Mine Road corridor is a mining road first and a recreation road second: it was built to serve an operation that ran through the 1980s and early 1990s, and it still gets industrial traffic. Drive it with your headlights on and expect to yield.
Suits anyone. Good from spring melt through autumn, and the road is maintained year-round, so it is one of the more reliable off-season options.
Byman Falls Trail
- Distance
- 0.20 km
- Elevation gain
- 3 m
- Difficulty
- 1/5
- Type
- Loop
Two hundred metres, three metres of gain, and the easiest rating in the set. Byman Falls is a series of cascades running over smooth rock into pools — the kind of place people end up staying at far longer than the walk in would suggest.
It is on the list precisely because it asks nothing of you. If someone in the group is not hiking, this is where you take them. It also photographs well in almost any light, which is not true of the falls sitting deeper in the trees.
Suits absolutely everyone. Good year-round when the road is clear, though the cascades are at their loudest during spring runoff.
Findlay Falls Trail
- Distance
- 0.28 km
- Elevation gain
- 5 m
- Difficulty
- 2/5
- Type
- Point-to-point
A 280-metre spur out to a viewpoint over Findlay Falls, where the creek narrows into a canyon. The trail does not take you down to the water — it takes you to the edge, looking in.
That canyon framing is what makes it different from the others. Byman and Buck Creek put you beside the water; Findlay puts you above it. Stay back from the lip, especially with dogs or kids, and especially in wet weather when the rock is greasy.
Suits anyone who can manage five minutes of uneven ground. Best in high water, when the volume through the canyon is worth the stop.
Equity Ice Falls Trail
- Distance
- 0.65 km
- Elevation gain
- 88 m
- Difficulty
- 1/5
- Type
- Loop
The odd one out. At 0.65 km with 88 metres of gain, this is the steepest ground per metre travelled of anything in the set — a short loop that climbs hard for its length, despite the easy difficulty rating on the record.
It sits in the same Equity Mine Road country as Dungate Falls, so the two pair naturally into one drive. Treat the elevation figure seriously when you plan: it is a stair-climb, not a stroll, and it will feel longer than 650 metres.
Suits people comfortable with a short steep pitch. Check conditions before going — the trail record is thin on surface detail, and the surrounding area is active resource road.
Where to go next
Seven waterfalls is a good weekend, but it is a fraction of what is mapped here — the Houston area has 60 recorded trails and 11 fishing lakes, from short lake loops to the long climbs on Nadina and Morice mountains.
The map filters to Houston, so you can line the falls up against the roads you'll be driving anyway.
