Troll Falls

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Troll Falls

Anticipating rainy weather, Zosia Zgolak and I enjoyed a relaxing visit to Troll Falls in Alberta's Evan-Thomas Provincial Recreation Area on 26 July 2025. With easy year-round access and a short approach, Troll Falls is understandably an immensely popular hike especially with families. The officially-named waterfall is actually the lowest of a series of cascades which can be accessed via a rising trail along the north bank of Marmot Creek. The real star of the show is actually a waterfall further upstream known unofficially as "Marmot Falls" which allows visitors to walk behind a literal curtain of water.

When Zosia and I arrived at the busy trailhead (50.93698, -115.14123), some volunteers there were promoting bear safety in the wake of a terrifying encounter a couple had with a grizzly bear while hiking to Troll Falls the previous week. We saw no sign of bears, but there were plenty of hikers including some rather big groups. Trying to avoid the crowds, we actually skipped Troll Falls initially and went straight to Marmot Falls. Although there were already some hikers there, we did not have to wait long to have the waterfall to ourselves for a few requisite photographs. Leaving Marmot Falls, we continued upstream as far as the signed official end of trail before turning around. When we returned to the bottom, we were delighted to see that Troll Falls was mostly deserted at least momentarily. We snuck in for a quick photograph just before another group of hikers arrived. On our return, we took a detour along Hay Meadows Trail which veers close to the Kananaskis River and passes an eagle observation interpretive site before winding up back at the trailhead.

	A volunteer at the trailhead offers Zosia a chance to touch some bear pelts.
	On the way to Troll Falls, Zosia stops to check out a makeshift shelter beside the trail.
	Zosia walks behind "Marmot Falls" which is further upstream of Troll Falls.
	Here is another view of Marmot Falls from a slightly different vantage point.
	Here is the view from behind the curtain of water.
	Above Marmot Falls are a series of smaller cascades.
	Zosia reaches the end of the official trail.
	Here is a closer look at the upper cascades of Marmot Creek.
	Zosia visits Troll Falls (the lowest waterfall) during a rare moment when the viewpoint is devoid of tourists.
	On the hike out, Zosia runs into Link, the hero of The Legend of Zelda.
	Instead of returning directly to the trailhead, Zosia takes a detour along Hay Meadows Trail to this mysterious building. In the background, the clouds part briefly to reveal an outlier of "Wasootch Peak" known as "Delta Peak".
	Zosia stops at a viewpoint of Kananaskis River not far from an eagle observation site on the river bank just behind her.
	Wild strawberries can be found along Hay Meadows Trail.
	Total Distance: 5.7 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 1 hour 51 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain: 122 metres GPX Data