Brandywine Falls
50°02′ N 123°07′ WMay to October
Brandywine Falls suits anyone on Highway 99 between Squamish and Whistler who wants a big waterfall for a short walk, because BC Parks puts the viewing platform above the 70 m falls 10 to 20 minutes from the parking lot. The trade-off is the winter gate, which shuts after 31 October and leaves you to walk in on trails BC Parks doesn't maintain in winter.
Closed
Brandywine Falls' gate closes for the winter after 31 October
BC Parks opens the gate at Brandywine Falls from 8 am to 8 pm until 31 October 2026. After that it stays shut for the off-season, and you reach the falls on foot. Keep the highway clear for winter maintenance, and don't leave a car in front of the gate or anywhere signs say no parking, because illegally parked vehicles can be towed at the owner's cost. BC Parks doesn't maintain the park's trails in winter, and its schedule opens the gate again on 1 May.
Checked 2026-10-16 · bcparks.ca
Photo Kaden Van Buren · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 and others, credited in the gallery
Field card · Hike · No. 002 · checked 16 Oct 2026
Bring drinking water, since the park has none.
Is it for you?
Brandywine Falls is the easy stop on the drive to Whistler, with a short forest walk to a high platform over a 70 m waterfall.
You’ll love Brandywine Falls if
- You want a short walk with a big view on the way to or from Whistler.
- You're travelling with children who can manage 20 minutes each way.
Think twice if
- You want to reach the base of the falls, which BC Parks keeps closed.
- You need flush toilets or drinking water.
Pick the right months for this hike
BC Parks opens the gate from 1 May to 31 October, from 8 am to 9 pm until 14 June, to 10 pm from 15 June to 14 September and to 8 pm from 15 September. In the off-season you walk in, and BC Parks doesn't maintain the trails in winter.
Know what catches hikers out here
- BC Parks bars access to the lower falls area and calls the canyon extremely unsafe because of unstable slopes and falling rock.
- Stay behind the fences and away from the river's edge at the viewpoints.
- The trail crosses the CN rail line, and BC Parks asks for caution at the crossing.
- Cyclists share the Sea to Sky Trail and the Lava Lake Trail, so keep your ears open.
- BC Parks doesn't maintain the trails in winter.
Give the wildlife room
The park protects habitat for red-legged frogs, which the province blue-lists as a species at risk, and BC Parks asks visitors to keep to the trails, since shortcuts destroy plant life and soil. It names bears among the reasons dogs don't suit the backcountry here. Feeding or attracting a bear is an offence under section 33.1 of BC's Wildlife Act.
Follow North Shore Rescue's advice
Call 911 if someone is hurt. North Shore Rescue asks every hiker, even on a short outing, to tell someone reliable where they're going and to carry the 10 essentials, headlamp first. Rescue costs nothing in British Columbia.
Brandywine Falls drops 70 m, and the viewing platform BC Parks finished in the spring of 2006 sits high on the edge of a volcanic escarpment above it. The walk crosses a covered footbridge over Brandywine Creek and the CN rail line, then runs through forest to the platform. A short path continues to a second view of the falls and on to another over Daisy Lake toward the Black Tusk. Stay behind the fences. BC Parks has shut the lower falls area and calls the canyon extremely unsafe because of unstable slopes and falling rock.
No one is completely sure how the falls got their name, BC Parks says. The explanation it offers has Jack Nelson and Bob Mollison surveying for the Howe Sound and Northern Railway when they bet a bottle of brandy on who could estimate the height of the falls more closely. A chain measurement made Mollison the winner, and Nelson named the falls Brandywine. The park tripled in size in 2010 to take in habitat for red-legged frogs, which the province blue-lists as a species at risk, and the falls lie inside the traditional territory the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) describes on its land page.
Two longer trails start here. The Lava Lake Trail runs 2.7 km from the footbridge through pine forest and past small lakes to the north end of the park, and a 1.5 km section of the Sea to Sky Trail leads from the falls trail to the Whistler Bungee bridge over the Cheakamus River. Cyclists use both, so listen for bikes behind you. E-bikes aren't allowed on any trail in the park, and in winter BC Parks rates the trails good beginner snowshoe ground.
Worth knowing
- Bring drinking water, since BC Parks has none in the park.
- Look and listen for trains at the CN rail crossing on the way to the falls.
- In the off-season, park only where it's legal and leave the gate clear, because BC Parks tows illegally parked cars.
- From July to September, check the BC Wildfire Service before you go, since wildfire smoke and closures shape Sea to Sky plans.
Quick answers about Brandywine Falls
How long is the walk to Brandywine Falls?
BC Parks says the walk to the viewing platform takes 10 to 20 minutes one way, across a covered footbridge and the CN rail line.
Is Brandywine Falls open in winter?
Yes, on foot. BC Parks closes the gate in the off-season and doesn't maintain the trails in winter, so you walk in on unmaintained trails.
Can you go to the bottom of Brandywine Falls?
No. BC Parks bars access to the lower falls area and calls the canyon extremely unsafe because of unstable slopes and falling rock.
Are dogs allowed at Brandywine Falls?
Yes, on a leash. BC Parks keeps dogs leashed at all times and out of beach areas and park buildings at Brandywine Falls Park.
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