Directions to Myra Falls Hike
Myra Falls is located in Stratchcona Provincial Park at the centre of Vancouver Island. There are multiple accesses to Strathcona, but only the access from Gold River Highway (BC-28 W) will take you there! To see the falls, you will have to drive to the very south east corner of Buttle Lake. It is about a 1.5-hour drive from Campbell River or a 3-hour drive from Nanaimo.
Parking at Lower Myra Falls
Parking is available for the lower Myra Falls hike. It is located right at the trail head of the hike and is navigable on Google Maps. Although parking is available, the lot can only fit 10-12 cars. Be sure to get there early on the weekend, or be prepared to walk a bit further. (We saw some people parking on the main road and walking in to the parking lot).
What to see at Myra Falls?
The Myra falls hike is an easy 10-15 minute walk (one-way). There are trails that take you to the top and the bottom of Lower Myra Falls. To be the most efficient, check out the top of Myra Falls first, then connect to the bottom of Myra Falls; doing so avoids the need to hike up and down more than needed.
Top of Lower Myra Falls
The trail to the top of Lower Myra Falls leads you to a fenced-in viewpoint of the falls. Because there is no actual access to the falls, I would skip this viewpoint entirely. If you are feeling adventurous, you can pretty easily climb up to the top of the Lower Myra Falls from the bottom (both of the above photos are taken by climbing up).
Lower Myra Falls
This is where you want to be, lower Myra Falls. The trail to lower Myra Falls leads you directly to the falls. You will have full-on access to the magical falls. From here, you can climb up and down the different levels of the falls or take a dive into the teal-coloured pools.
Where is Upper Myra Falls?
If there is a lower Myra Falls, is there an upper Myra Falls? The answer is yes! Access to upper Myra Falls is near the end of Wesmin Road. You will see a park sign on your left labeled for “Phillips Ridge Upper Myra Falls BC Parks”, this is the trail head. The hike to upper Myra Falls is longer and not as spectacular in comparison to lower falls but is a less trafficked and takes you through some amazing old growths. Estimate 2-3 hours for this 7.4 kilometers round trip hike with about 280 meter of elevation gain.
Swimming at Myra Falls
Swimming at Myra Falls is very popular! The water is some of the clearest water I have seen with a beautiful tint of teal. Not many can resist the urge to jump in, but be warned, the water is freezing cold! If this is a no-go for you, head down to the bottom of the falls by the mouth of the lake, the water here is much warmer by comparison! Enjoy!
Photographing Myra Falls
Lower Myra Falls is a photographer’s and Instagrammer’s heaven! It’s not one of those gimmick locations where the photo looks better than reality. The falls are spectacular and most definitely worth seeing in person. There are many factors that make a good photo, below are a few location-specific tips.
Camera Equipment for Waterfall Shooting
Photographing waterfalls is an art. If you’re going for the classic smooth & silky waterfall shot, you will need a few crucial pieces of equipment: a camera, neutral density filter, and a tripod. If this is your first time, read our waterfall shooting guide (coming soon!) to master your techniques!
Composition and Angles
Being a multi-level waterfall, there are an endless number of angles you can shoot at Myra Falls. So luckily, you have lots of room to find your own creative angle. ;) If the falls are busy, I usually like to walk around to scout ideal angles before shooting. Be sure to explore the top and lower portions of the falls, these tend to be less crowded. My biggest tip for capturing Myra Falls is to remember you can shoot both towards and away from the falls – this is not always the case for every waterfall. I definitely got too carried away trying to shoot at the falls.
Best Light and Colour at Myra Falls
Going for the classic smooth and silky waterfall look is tricky on its own, but you also have to account for the weather and the location of the sun. Remember that lighting is key to photography, and for shooting waterfalls, lighting is the most important factor! Usually, the best times to shoot are in the morning and the hour before and after sunset. These times are ideal because you can usually get the place to yourself (sans tourists that can get in your shot) and it is much easier to get the perfect exposure without the mid-day sun. This is very true for Myra Falls, but know that without direct sunlight on the water pools, you will not see the beautiful teal colour of the water that is prominent in the afternoon. The toss up is real.
After visiting the falls twice at different times in the day, I would recommend going there late afternoon to sunset for the best combination of light, least crowd, water colour, and water temperature (if you’re keen for a dip!).
Happy wandering!
