Walking guide
Exploring Wells Gray Park: The Complete Roads and Trails Guide to Canada's Waterfalls Park
Roland Neave · 2015
The standard guide to Wells Gray, with every road and trail to Helmcken Falls and the park's many other waterfalls.
Canada · British Columbia
Dawson Falls
Dawson Falls is one of seven waterfalls on the Murtle River in Wells Gray Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada.
Essentials guide
Facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia, compiled September 2026; season and access are our estimate, not a visit report. How we build these pages.
Dawson Falls drops over a series of steps on the Murtle River, inside Wells Gray Provincial Park. It is a cascade-type fall, and the nearest base for a visit is Area A (Wells Gray Country), Canada. Access to the main viewpoint is rated moderate.
Summary adapted from the Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA 4.0).
As a cascade waterfall, water tumbles down a series of rock steps rather than falling free.
What you can do here
A walk-in-and-look waterfall
No commercial adventures run at Dawson Falls itself — the experience is the approach and the view. Guided day trips from Area A (Wells Gray Country) are the easiest way to combine it with the area around it.
Also good forHikingPhotography
When to go
Snowmelt-driven: April to June is the big-water window, and some falls almost disappear by late summer.
Getting there
- Base town Area A (Wells Gray Country), Canada
- Country Canada
- Region British Columbia, Northern North America, North America
- Access Moderate — a real walk — expect stairs, uneven ground or an hour on the trail
How it compares
This waterfall
Dawson Falls
Canada
Height—Width—
Most similar
Churchill River
Canada
Height—Width—
Also a cascade waterfall and in Canada too
Largest curtain
Victoria Falls
Zimbabwe · Zambia
Height108 mWidth1,708 m
Largest single sheet of falling water
Tallest on earth
Angel Falls
Venezuela
Height979 mWidth—
Widest on earth
Khone Phapheng Falls
Laos
Height21 mWidth10,783 m
Measured across the whole multi-channel system
108 m
330 m
979 m
Victoria FallsEiffel TowerAngel Falls
Khone Phapheng Falls
10,783 m
Victoria Falls
1,708 m
We don't have a reliable crest width for Dawson Falls yet, so it is left off the width chart. Tallest · widest lists.
Watch and read
Books worth packing
Guidebook
Moon British Columbia
Andrew Hempstead · 2018
Province-wide BC guide covering Wells Gray, Vancouver Island and Yoho for planning a multi-region trip.
Guidebook
Lonely Planet Canada
Lonely Planet · 2024
Country-wide guide for combining Canadian falls, from Quebec and Ontario to the Rockies and the North.
On the map
51.96667, -120.11667
Quick answers
Where is Dawson Falls?
Dawson Falls is in Canada (British Columbia), inside Wells Gray Provincial Park. The nearest base is Area A (Wells Gray Country), Canada. Its coordinates are 51.9667, -120.1167.
When is the best time to visit Dawson Falls?
Peak flow is April to June. Snowmelt-driven: April to June is the big-water window, and some falls almost disappear by late summer.
What can you do at Dawson Falls?
Beyond the viewpoints: hiking and photography. Access to the main viewpoint is rated moderate — a real walk — expect stairs, uneven ground or an hour on the trail.
How do you get to Dawson Falls?
The usual base is Area A (Wells Gray Country), Canada. A real walk — expect stairs, uneven ground or an hour on the trail from there.
Nearby
Closest to Dawson Falls
Helmcken Falls
Canada · 141 m · 4 km away
Fourth-largest waterfall in Canada by flow
Ice climbing
Moul Falls
Canada · 15 km away
Moul Falls is a waterfall on Grouse Creek in Wells Gray Provincial Park, east-central British Columbia…
Canim Falls
Canada · 25 m · 30 km away
Canim Falls is a 25 metre high waterfall on the Canim River between Canim Lake and Mahood Lake in Wells Gray…
Overlander Falls
Canada · 130 km away
Overlander Falls is a waterfall on the Fraser River in Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia…