The best family-friendly hikes and walks around Stave Lake

Cascade Falls plunges roughly 30 metres through a narrow rocky gorge, and is the main attraction of the park. Fed by Cascade Creek, the waterfall crashes through a steep canyon before continuing into a series of smaller cascades and calm lower pools downstream. The combination of mossy cliffs, dense forest, and powerful water flow is what gives these beautiful falls a distinct Pacific Northwest feel.

Tucked into a forested valley northeast of Mission, Cascade Falls Regional Park protects a scenic section of Cascade Creek centred around a picturesque waterfall and suspension bridge. A short but stair-filled trail winds through dense conifer forest to viewpoints overlooking the gorge, with a picnic area and toilets near the trailhead. Despite its relatively small size, the park feels surprisingly rugged, with steep rock walls, rushing water, and several smaller cascades below the main falls.

Cascade Falls plunges roughly 30 metres through a narrow rocky gorge, and is the main attraction of the park. Fed by Cascade Creek, the waterfall crashes through a steep canyon before continuing into a series of smaller cascades and calm lower pools downstream. The combination of mossy cliffs, dense forest, and powerful water flow are what gives the falls a distinct, beautiful Pacific Northwest feel.

Spanning Cascade Creek high above the gorge, this suspension bridge offers the park’s best view of the waterfall and surrounding canyon. Looking downstream from the bridge, you can also see a unique natural rock arch carved into the cliff beside the creek, where rushing water has eroded an opening beneath the rock over time, creating one of the area’s lesser-known geological features. The bridge might sway gently under your feet, but it provides an impressive vantage point into the forested ravine below.

The Powerhouse at Stave Falls Visitor Centre is a fascinating historic site and museum, located in the original 100-year-old Powerhouse that once generated electricity for the Lower Mainland. Visitors can walk through the old generating facility and check out interactive exhibits, archival photos, and original mechanical and electrical components like the massive turbines and generators. The Powerhouse sits on the traditional territory of the Stó:lō People in the core territory of the Kwantlen First Nation.

Steelhead Falls can be reached via a short and popular hike. The best place to see the falls is at the end of Steelhead Falls Trail on a wooden viewing platform. This out-and-back is best done in spring and summer when the water flow is strong and the surrounding woods are lush.

The Hayward Street Bridge passes over the Stave River and the northern part of the Ruskin Dam and Powerhouse. There is a small pedestrian crossing separate from cars on he eastern side of the bridge. The dam has been creating electricity here since 1930, using Hayward Lake, a reservoir roughly 5.6 kilometers long, for that powerful flow.

From here you get a good view of the 20-30 meter cascade that is Rolley Falls. It's not a super clear vantage point since it is still forested, but you can hear and see the falls well from this point and it is a good spot to stop and admire.