Outing #3 - Ammonite Falls / Benson Creek Falls Hike

November 1, 2022

Nanaimo, BC

5.40 km /  194 m elevation gain / 1 hour, 10 minutes

Sunny day - approx 6 degrees

After a 30 minute drive to the parking lot on Creekside Road, the trailhead back up the hill you just came down and around the corner.  The trail takes you, initially, along a forestry road that goes through the VIU Wood Lot before diving down onto a wide trail heading towards Benson Creek / Ammonite Falls.

The trail to the falls, from the parking lot is around 5.25km, with approx 750m on the forestry road and the rest on the wide trail.  The trail takes you through the managed wood lot, with active forestry practices on either side.  As a result you don’t get that feeling of being in a deep forest as sunlight pokes it way through from the sides throughout.  

That said, the trail is moderate at most, there are a couple of longer climbs, but nothing substantial and you have a primarily clear trail with only a single rooted section throughout its 2.25 length.

Once at the falls, you have a a long staircase that takes you down to a viewing platform, or ultimately down to Benson Creek, below Ammonite Falls.  Depending on water levels (today was still very low) you are able to walk down the creek and see the series of short falls downstream, or walk around and essentially beneath the Ammonite Falls.