Big Tree Creek Falls can be found just below the highway south of Sayward. It’s a very pretty creek that has its headwaters in the Prince of Wales Mountain Range on Vancouver Island. There are a number of trails that run through these mountains. The Big Tree Creek waterfall is just below the highway bridge that is not too hard to get down to, providing you are in shape, it’s steep and quite brushy so take your time and keep your feet under you. I do have plans on making this trail easier sometime soon.
The lower part of the creek is much calmer, and it meanders along until it reaches the Salmon River just north of the Marine Harvest Facility, the Marine Harvest Fish Hatchery has a freshwater system for growing the fish that are eventually sent out to many farms that operate along our coast.
The waterfall is quite a sight to see, I went down earlier this year right after a sustained period of rain, and my son Robert and I made the hike. It was quite wild and pretty full creating a thundering roar as the water dropped over the edge and crashed into the bottom of the falls.
Where Big Tree Creek joins the Salmon River and is a very popular place to fish, there is a great trail that heads down from a sign along the highway. This trail goes through a forest of nice trees, they are second-growth but are quite large. It’s a nice trail.
The fishing is good in the lower creek, expect to hook into rainbow trout, and dolly varden and in the fall you just might hook onto a pink salmon. In August 2022, I was hiking along the upper creek about a mile above the falls and observed quite a number of trout in the pools.
You can see elk here at any time of the year and during fall salmon runs, there is a very good chance of seeing Black Bears fishing on the lower river below the falls. You will always see squirrels, and maybe you might see raccoons or martins along with mink and deer. The birdlife is impressive, and you will many types along the shores of this creek.