The Raging Englehart River at Kap-Kig-Iwan Provincial Park

Marvel at the magnificent Englehart River, which flows through Kap-Kig-Iwan Provincial Park in a series of rapids, cascades, and waterfalls.

Lookout over the landscape

At the first lookout in Kap-Kig-Iwan Provincial Park, I take in the expansive forest before me and wonder if there was a time when you could see the river from this spot.

Ridgeview Trail

I located a path that I believe was called the Ridgeview Trail. It clung to the river’s edge, and I had only gone a few hundred meters when the ground destabilized beneath my feet.

I was quickly sliding into the river.

I flopped sideways onto the embankment and stopped my progress. From this vantage point, I surveyed the path ahead and decided the rains had probably made the shoreline quite slippery.

I had no intention of ending up in the water, so after testing my footing, I backtracked up the hill to seek out the waterfalls of the Englehart River.

High Falls Lookout

The next stop at this park was the lookout over the river and waterfalls. I could hear the Englehart River from the parking and a quick, easy walk led me to this popular viewing lookout.

From the platform, I can see the smooth water coming around a bend before crashing through a series of waterfalls. There are trail systems that follow the river – you can see them down below and a portion of the flat gravel and paved section, which allows for some accessibility to the riverside.

Hell’s Gate Trail

Before heading downstream, I followed Hell’s Gate Trail to the first waterfalls. I sat on the rocks while the sound of water thundering through the chutes filled the air – and took a selfie. What a rarity!

High Falls Trail

The High Falls Trail was relatively easy. While on the paved section, following the riverside was nice, but this quickly gave way to a rough trail and walking over rockfaces. To descend to the bottom of High Falls, there were stone stairs with some pretty tall steps!

Thank goodness there was a railing in most places. A few shorter hikers needed a hand from their partner to step down; otherwise, they would have to sit in a few places to reach the next stone step.

I could have spent most of the day at the bottom of the falls. I vowed to return.