Swan Falls and Buntzen Lake Loop
Swan Falls is near Buntzen lake in Anmore, British Columbia, Canada. To hike to it, first you can take the east side of Buntzen lake loop, once you reach north beach continue the hike on Halvor Lunden trail to get to the waterfall. To come back, the shortest path is the way you come from, but Buntzen lake loop is one-way as of 2021 because of the pandemic. If it’s still one way when you do the hiking, you have to complete the loop by taking the trail on the west side of the lake, or taking the service road parallel to the trail on the east side. Both options add a couple KM, some elevation, and some time to your trip.
The first part of the trail, the Buntzen lake east trail, is a walk in the park, with minimum elevation gain and well maintaining trail. It’s a totally different story once you switch to Halvor Lunden trail to complete the last 1.5 KM of the trip to the waterfall. It’s a constant up hill climbing. Just before the waterfall, you have to pull yourself up using a rope for about 5 meters. You would need a little bit of upper body strength to get to the viewing platform.
You will enjoy the beautiful view of Buntzen lake and lush mountains, and the nice Swan Falls, from the rock platform. Be careful stepping on the rock platform because there is no fence around it and the rocks are slippery.
Round trip is about 12 km. It’s a little longer than some other sites suggested because Buntzen lake loop is one-way for now. It takes about 4 hours to complete the hike.
