Overview
About Numa Creek Trail
Why go
- Shaded creekside access to a Rockwall backcountry campground
Heads up
- The return is 12.8 km, with steady climbing and descent in both directions
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Kootenay map
Full mapElevation1,386–1,545 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Safety
5 active Kootenay alerts
- ClosureNuma Creek Trail closedMentions this trailNuma Creek Trail is closed; do not use this route. - The closure is until further notice because the bridge washed out and debris is on the trail. Check current day-hike conditions.Official details
- ClosureWatercraft and angling prohibitedWatercraft and angling are prohibited on every waterbody in Kootenay National Park until March 31, 2027, to reduce the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS), including whirling disease.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Kootenay Tour Guide
Your drive to Numa Creek Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Kootenay National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Kootenay audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Numa Falls: The Sculpted Gorge0:00 / 0:29
“You're approaching Numa Falls, where a few minutes on foot bring you to the Vermilion River squeezing through a narrow limestone gorge.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Kootenay Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Hare’s Seasonal Coat
- Flowers Climbing a Stem
- Follow a Fold in the Rock
- Paint Pots: Colour in the Earth
- 49 audio storiesacross Kootenay’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Grizzly Bear, Gray Wolf, Moose, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 38 trails, 29 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Numa Creek Trail
Where the trail goesNuma Creek Trail is a shaded out-and-back from Numa Falls Day-use Area to Numa Creek…
Numa Creek Trail is a shaded out-and-back from Numa Falls Day-use Area to Numa Creek backcountry campground, a middle access point on the Rockwall. The route to camp is 6.4 km one way, so the full return is 12.8 km (about 8 miles); allow about four hours. This is a substantial creekside walk in its own right, not the short Numa Falls stop or the full Rockwall traverse.
The effort on the way in and backThe route stays shaded beside the creek.
The route stays shaded beside the creek. Its one-way figures are 410 m uphill and 275 m downhill; retracing the same line means climbs in both directions, about 685 m of total ascent over the return. The payoff is the creekside approach itself, not a single named viewpoint.
If you are hiking to campStart at the Numa Falls Day-use Area.
Start at the Numa Falls Day-use Area. A valid national park entry pass is required, and dogs must stay leashed and under control. If you continue to an overnight at Numa Creek, you need a backcountry permit; advance reservations are needed for most July-to-September sites. The backcountry permit is for the overnight stay, not the day hike.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Kootenay
41 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
31 sightingsGray WolfMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
22 sightingsMooseMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
84 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
522 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
65 sightingsElkMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Kootenay. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
