Class: V (IV @ low water)
Quality: 4
Location: Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island, BC
Trip Time: Park and Huck
Level: Online Gauge
Description:
Little Qualicum Falls is easy to find since it’s in a provincial park near the town of Qualicum Beach 45 minutes north of the Nanaimo ferry terminal. The first and main drop of the falls section is a 50’ tall double drop with a tricky lead in ledge. It is also possible to skip the entrance drop and seal launch into the river immediately above the first 25’ drop. the first drop is the crux of this rapid followed by a second super clean 25’ waterfall just downstream. Run the first drop on the left at high flows and on the right at low flows. The second waterfall is always run on the right.
Until recently most boaters came to Little Qualicum Falls just to run the main double however there are 3 more 8’ ledges downstream. Since the entire falls section is located in Little Qualicum Falls Park scouting and accessing all the drops couldn’t be easier. The first ledge downstream of the big falls is a clean boof with a nasty hydraulic at higher flows. There is a sneak option at higher flows down the left side. 400 meters of boogie takes you to the second ledge. Run this drop left of center then eddy out right above the third ledge immediately downstream. This drop is run on the left and can feed into a nasty cave on the right at high flows. This is the last runnable drop on this section due to a large log jam downstream. Get out and hike back up the trail to the parking lot when your done hucking!
The Kayak State 