Turn from Highway: 59.55504, -126.48492
Smith River Falls: 59.57098, -126.46136
If you just so happen to be driving along the Alcan highway then I recommend you stop here! Hopefully you can actually hike to the falls and enjoy them up close. If you not, enjoy them from that nice overlook you can drive to!
I was driving from Fairbanks Alaska to Fort Nelson British Columbia and saw this random sign, “Smith River Falls,” pointing left into a dense forest. I slammed on my brakes and turned around to see what these falls were all about. I found another sign saying it was about a mile drive to the falls viewpoint and began driving down a dirt road. I had no idea what I was going to see but an adventure was what I needed after driving 15 hours already.
The falls are located on Kaska Nation land – a First Nations community in British Columbia. Please respect his area while you are on it.
The dirt road wasn’t too bad but the many potholes could cause some trouble if you don’t go slow.
After driving about 1 mile you will come to the Smith River Falls overlook. This provided an incredible vantage point for the falls and it just so happened to be lunch stop time. The falls were amazing to see! Even though I was still rather far away from the falls they were still loud.
It was strange to think that I was literally in the middle of nowhere enjoying this great place all to myself. There is an outhouse here but it was closed for the winter. The falls would be amazing to see in the winter months too!
There is a trail leading closer to the falls but it was snowy and very steep and I didn’t want to slip and break my leg when I was hundreds of miles from the nearest hospital…
