Overlander Knob And Falls

BOU AVENUE
Overlander Knob And Falls

On 19 May 2019, Asieh Ghodratabadi, Bob Parr, Ali Shariat, Zosia Zgolak and I paid a visit to British Columbia's Mount Robson Provincial Park. With snow persisting at higher elevations, we opted to hike some easy trails near the park's visitor centre. Starting from Overlander Falls parking lot (located along Highway 16 about 59 kilometres west of the Alberta/British Columbia boundary or 1.6 kilometres east of the visitor centre), we crossed to the north side of the highway and followed a good trail which soon merged with an old exploration road running westward. This road eventually leads to the visitor centre, but before getting there, we turned onto another trail at a signed junction to climb up a forested knob. Although technically an outlier of Campion Mountain, I took the liberty of calling this Overlander Knob due to its close proximity to Overlander Falls. The trail runs all the way to the summit, and we enjoyed a very straightforward ascent. The summit is completely covered with trees, but a couple of openings at the top afford some limited views of Fraser River valley and even Mount Robson. Once we tagged the summit, we retraced our steps back to the signed junction and continued hiking to the visitor centre where we stopped for an extended break.

	From the Overlander Falls parking lot, Ali, Asieh and Zosia carefully cross Highway 16 to reach the start of the hiking trail on the other side.
	The group follows an old exploration road which eventually leads to a junction with the trail to Overlander Knob.
	The trail to Overlander Knob climbs gently up a forested slope.
	Asieh, Ali, Zosia and Bob arrive at a viewpoint overlooking Fraser River valley.
	Sonny, Bob, Ali, Zosia and Asieh stand on the summit of Overlander Knob (GR522786; 1222 metres).
	Ali, Bob and Asieh relax on a log bench near the top of Overlander Knob with partial views of Mount Robson in the distance.
	On this day, the best view from the top of Overlander Knob is that of Klapperhorn Mountain to the south.
	This is one of the many calypso orchids (Calypso bulbosa) blooming beside the trail.
	The group arrives at Mount Robson Provincial Park's visitor centre.
	The clouds clear up enough to reveal the top of Mount Robson in this view from the visitor centre.

Yep, we're like all the other tourists here!

Sonny, Bob, Zosia, Asieh and Ali stand in a field of dandelions near the visitor centre with Mount Robson in the background.

Hard to believe we had any views at all from the top of this thing!

Here is the view of Overlander Knob from near the visitor centre.

When we finally had our fill of lounging around with the swarms of other tourists, we crossed to the south side of Highway 16 and walked along Hargreaves Road until we reached the bridge over Fraser River. Here we picked up the west end of Overlander Falls trail and hiked eastward along the north bank of the river. This trail is mostly in forest, but as we got closer to Overlander Falls, we encountered more fenced viewpoints overlooking the fast-flowing river. Overlander Falls did not disappoint, and some of us were even treated to some dramatic action by a trio of intrepid kayakers who had plunged over the falls. One of them actually fell out of his kayak downstream of the falls and struggled with some difficulty to retrieve his kayak and gear from the swirling waters.

Once the show was over, we completed our loop hike with a short climb back to Overlander Falls parking lot.

An ideal walk for the whole family! Zosia, Ali, Asieh and Bob begin hiking the trail to Overlander Falls. The actual trail heads into the trees at left.

Krazy Kayakers! Three kayakers circle around in the waters of Fraser River after plunging over Overlander Falls.
Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

We get our thrills through other means! Unlike the kayakers, Asieh, Zosia, Bob and Ali are content to stay dry and enjoy the views of Overlander Falls from behind a safety fence.

An awesome loop hike when higher trails and peaks are still snowbound! Total Distance: 11.0 kilometres
Round-Trip Time: 5 hours 28 minutes
Total Elevation Gain: 458 metres

GPX Data

	Zosia, Ali, Asieh and Bob begin hiking the trail to Overlander Falls. The actual trail heads into the trees at left.
	Three kayakers circle around in the waters of Fraser River after plunging over Overlander Falls. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Unlike the kayakers, Asieh, Zosia, Bob and Ali are content to stay dry and enjoy the views of Overlander Falls from behind a safety fence.
	Total Distance: 11.0 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 5 hours 28 minutes Total Elevation Gain: 458 metres GPX Data