The Clearwater River Road ran from Clearwater for 38.5 km up the west side of the Clearwater River to the Mahood River confluence. Before 1975, there was a bridge across the Mahood River and a forest service road ran for another 27 km to the Flourmill Volcanoes area (we forded the river and hiked all the way to the lava flow and cinder cones in the late 1970s). The Clearwater River Road has faced a few washouts but was repaired. It was a long and bumpy backroad all the way to the Mahood River. In recent years a more catastrophic washout and landslide occurred, closing the road at the 11 km mark. It appears the road will not be repaired. Recently a crew went up the old track and cleared fallen trees and some debris, so mountain bikers and hikers can now go all the way to the Mahood River, but since this is 27.5 km each way, it will see little traffic. We have driven the old Clearwater River Road 3 or 4 times over the year, usually hiking the Mahood River Trail to Sylvia and Goodwin Falls.
The Mahood River Trail runs on a single track through the forest for 3.7 km to Sylvia and Goodwin Falls.
There are some faint side trails which lead down to the river for better views of the falls. Sylvia Falls is 20m high.
A short distance downstream is Goodwin Falls (10m high). With some scrambling, we can get to a spot where we can see both falls.
On our last time to the falls we went to the falls, had lunch, then returned on the same trail back to the confluence of the Mahood and Clearwater Rivers.
We have also hiked down the river from Mahood Lake to the falls. The trail starts on the south side of Mahood Lake and goes downstream for 4 km to the falls. There is no road to the end of Mahood Lake. We kayaked 20 km across the lake and stayed at a marine campsite on the eastern shore. The upper end of the Mahood River Trail is less used and is a bit rougher. We would like to return to hike the trail again, but it would be another long kayak (40 km return) or a long backpack (55 km) so it may not happen if the road is not reopened.
Another hidden gem in Wells Gray Park…
