Thompson Falls

Synopsis: An easy walk to a cataract in the Blaeberry River.

Access: From the junction of Highway 95 and Highway 1, drive west on the Trans Canada Highway for 11.6 km to Moberly Branch Road. Go up the hill 1.9 km to a T, and turn left on Golden Donald Upper Road. After 0.9 km, bear right on to Oberg Johnson Road, and follow it 1.9 km to the end, where it forms a T. Turn left on Moberly School Road and follow it for 0.5 km until it curves to the right and becomes Blaeberry Road. Follow Blaeberry Road for 6.5 km, until you see a sign on the right that says M Road. Set your odometer to 0 here, and it will match the FSR signs. Turn left 0.2 km past the M Road sign, and cross the Blaeberry River on a bridge. Follow the Blaeberry FSR to 7 km, where the Recreation Site sign still stands. Drive down into the parking area.

Trailhead: The trailhead booth is still in place at the south end of the parking area. The trail starts next to it.

Trail:The trail follows the right bank of the Blaeberry past one set of rapids and ends up overlooking an interesting slot waterfall. It's not a huge drop, but it's an impressive volume of water. Be very careful near the edge.

You can return the way you came, or follow the trail away from the river and up, where it joins the Blaeberry FSR about 500 metres from the rec site.

Alternate access

It is possible to get to the falls from the east side, and the view is actually better. Here's how.

When you get to the bridge over the Blaeberry, don't take it. Instead, go straight on the Blaeberry-Thompson Falls FSR for 5.3 kilometers. The sign says the road is deactivated, but it's actually in fairly good shape. When you start descending a hill with cutblock on the left, watch for a fork that goes left. Take the left fork and in 200 meters you will find the east end of the bridge abutment that used to cross the creek here. The old rec site is directly across from you.

The road continues for another rough 400 meters. Where it ends (actually, it turns up the hill), there is a trail on the right that leads to the top of the falls, 40 meters away. There is an old trail that heads downstream for about 200 metres to a viewpoint.

Cautions:

A few years ago, a man from Australia fell into the water here and drowned. Be extremely careful on the wet rocks near Thompson Falls.
There is a proposal to install a power project at the falls, which has generated a lot more energy than the turbine ever would. Be prepared for heated political discussions on this hike.