We chose to hike this trail today because we wanted something that was a decent distance but not challenging. The weather forecast called for rain and given that the sky was grey we were guaranteed to get wet on this hike.
Due to the forecasted rain, the park (Lynn Headwaters) was not as busy as it normally is for a Saturday morning. Great for me as we were able to get parking right next to the BC Mills house.
The first 4km of the trail is more of a gravel path that follow the river. At about the 4km mark you arrive to a clearing which is quite rocky - this is known as the debris chute. You follow the trail to the right and it then takes you to your left. The trails changes and becomes more rooty with some rocks. You are no longer able to see the river. As you get closer to the falls you will start to hear the rushing of Norvan Falls. The last time I hiked this trail was last year and it had not rained for several weeks so the sound of the falls was not as prominent. Today it was raining and we had rain the past few days so the sound of Norvan Falls was easily heard.
We passed the trail turnoff to Coliseum Mountain and came across to the river. Norvan Falls is to the right. If you go left you get to the suspension bridge that takes you to Haynes Valley. We followed the trail to our right and spent a few minutes looking at the falls. We then made our way back the same way we came. It began to rain quite heavily. By the time we got back to the parking lot we were soaked.
It amazed how many people we came across hiking to Norvan Falls that were not prepared. What I mean by this is that they did not have a back pack or even a water bottle. The hike to the falls and back is 14km. There is no cell service so if you hurt yourself you are not able to call for help. This hike is a decent distance but not a technical trail.