East Rim Trails

Peterson Creek Park offers many trail choices for some rewarding hiking throughout the year. The steep gorge makes some routes more difficult, but also offers some interesting loop routes. One favorite loop is to follow the Tom Moore Trail upstream, then take a side trail down to the creek and come back along the East side, staying close to the rim of the canyon, stopping for a viewpoint of Bridal Veil Falls, then dropping down to a bridge crossing, and finally climbing back up the west side benchland trails. From the Whiteshield Crescent Trailhead hikers can choose a number of options to get to the Tom Moore Trail.

There are a number of fine viewpoints along the trail which follows the rim of the western slopes of Peterson Creek Canyon.

There are several side trails that drop down to the creek. The Billy Miner South Trail is the best one, but on this day I chose a lesser-known trail that led to a log crossing.

There as some signed trails and some informal trails on the East Rim. The trails closest to the canyon have the best views, but also have some drop-offs.

One of the trail options leads down to a fenced viewpoint of Bridal Veil Falls. Peterson Creek cascades over a rock face, but in mid-fall, the creek’s flow was low.

Fall colors are a feature of the trails along the lower Peterson Creek trails. From the bridge across the creek, the climb up the steep slopes is 0.4 km, but it always feels longer.