Legend has it that Brandywine Falls near Whistler was named after a bet between two surveyors over who could most accurately guess the height of the waterfall. The prize a bottle of brandy (the shortened word for brandywine) with the loser getting to name the waterfall: “To wrap up the story, after measuring the height of the falls with a chain, the losing surveyor named the falls after the prize and the rest was history.”
The waterfall is formed by Brandywine Creek (which originates in the Powder Mountain Icefield) dropping 70m over the the lip of an old lava flow. At least four basaltic lava flows make up the vertical walls surrounding Brandywine Falls, which are part of the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt. Over thousands of years meltwater eroded the looser volcanic material and undercut the hard basalt top layer, to creating the Brandywine Falls.
Getting to Brandywine Falls
There is a hiking trail from a large carpark just off the Sea to Sky Highway, about 17km south of Whistler. The level trail crosses a railroad before reaching a viewing platform (about a 1km return walk).
More information
- World of Waterfalls – Brandywine Falls
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