There are some gorgeous waterfalls near Revelstoke (in BC, Canada) but one of the easiest to visit is Sutherland Falls. You only need to walk for a few minutes to reach this imposing waterfall, so the effort to reward ratio is fantastic! Sutherland Falls is located in Blanket Creek Provincial Park, so just off the Nakusp Mica Creek Highway (Highway 23).

This also looks like a great place to camp near Revelstoke. The Blanket Creek Campground and day use area is just a kilometer away from the waterfall, so if you have time, it is fun to explore that too.

Sutherland Falls trail map

The walk to the falls is only a couple of hundred meters. You can go a little further than the map shows if you are comfortable climbing up around the back of the falls. Not on the cliff! There is a trail in the trees, just before the main viewpoint.

Sutherland Falls – the basics

Waterfall details: Glacier fed waterfall that has a drop of 14m.
Cost: Free
How much time do you need: You don’t need long if you’re just planning to see the falls. 30 minutes should be enough (unless you fancy a walk around the campground and along the Columbia River too.)
Facilities: Pit toilets, picnic benches and a playground at the Blanket Creek Campground.
Good in winter: The campground (and car park) is closed in the off-season (October – April) so you’d need to hike in from the highway (add on 2km)
Mini hike distance: 500m
Extra notes: There are some lovely views of the Columbia River if you head down to the Blanket Creek day use area next to the campground. There is even a man-made lagoon with warm water if you fancy a swim.

Sutherland Falls – Getting started

The parking area is the first turning on the left when you drive into Blanket Creek Provincial Park. If you keep going further down the road, you’ll just end up at the campground. There is a sign by the trailhead, so it’s all very obvious.

You can peek down at Blanket Creek on the way – it was pretty raging when we visited at the end of July, so it must be amazing earlier in the springtime. After a couple of minutes you’ll reach this gorgeous view of Sutherland Falls.

Sutherland Falls views

We clambered over the rocks to get a slightly better view. If you do this, be really careful as there can be a lot of spray, and the rocks may be slippy.

Sneak up behind Sutherland Falls

If you look in the trees to the left of the main viewpoint, there is a faint trail that climbs up the rocks behind the waterfall.

Behind Sutherland Falls

Make sure you have hiking boots/non sliding shoes if you attempt to climb up behind the falls. There is a viewpoint right next to the cliffs above the waterfall.

Just don’t look down if you don’t like heights. You can see the 14m drop down to the plunge pool below.

You can peek a little further up Blanket Creek.

Blanket Creek Provincial Park

If you have time, it is also lovely to visit the day use area in Blanket Creek Provincial Park. There is a swimming lagoon (with shallow edges that is great for children) The lagoon is lined by ground squirrel burrows. So you might get to see unimpressed squirrels like this chap.

BC Wildfires

As you can probably tell from my photos, we visited when there were still quite a few wildfires in BC. This area was okay to visit even when it was smoky (as you don’t need to put much effort in to walking around Blanket Creek, it is quite flat.)

Columbia River and Arrow Lake Reservoir

I am afraid you cannot see far in my photos due to the smoke. The park backs onto the Columbia River and Arrow Lakes. This area is where the Columbia River turns into a series of long lakes. It was beautiful, calm and really quiet.

Watch out for thimbleberries

We walked over to the campground (to see if we should come back and camp here – we decided we should!) The path to the campsites was lined with loads of thimbleberries bushes. These are normally a bit hit-or-miss, but the thimbleberries here were delicious. Easily the best I have ever tasted.

Blanket Creek Provincial Park and Sutherland Falls were both great as mini adventures near Revelstoke. We added this as a stop-off on our drive to the Canadian Rockies; But it would also be a great base if you’d like to camp near Revelstoke.

Other Waterfalls near Revelstoke

We visited quite a few waterfalls on this (and previous) trip(s). I will add more to the map below as I create posts for them. In case you are looking for other waterfall adventures.

Please click on the pins below if you’d like to save the information for later.