Wapta Falls

Wapta Falls can be found near the west end gate of Yoho National Park on the Kicking Horse River. The waterfall is accessed relatively easily via a 30 minute hike from the Trans Canada Highway. Well worth the effort, this hike is suitable for the whole family with the reward of an enjoyable outing to see one of Yoho's largest waterfalls backdropped by the jagged peaks of the Ottertail Range.Wapta Falls, as named by First Nations people, was the location of an historical event in 1858 that gave the Kicking Horse River its name. During this year the Palliser Expedition brought the first white explorers to Yoho. Near Wapta Falls, expedition member James Hector was kicked in the chest while trying to recover a runaway horse. The other expedition members, believing he was dead, began digging his grave, only to be surprised by a blink of Hector's eye 2 hours later -- luckily for Hector, before his grave was put to use. He recovered suitably to push on with the expedition which proceeded to make the first recorded passage of what is now known as the Big Hill leading up into the Bow Valley from the present day location of Field. Expedition members aptly named the river The Kicking Horse. Wapta Falls is a waterfall located in Yoho National Park in British Columbia, Canada. It is the largest waterfall of the Kicking Horse River, at about 30 metres (98 ft) high and 150 metres (490 ft) wide. Its average flow can reach 254 cubic metres per second (9,000 cu ft/s). The name stems from a Nakoda Indian word meaning "river".