Osgood Creek
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| | Raps:13-14, max ↨82ft
Red Tape:No permit required Shuttle:None Vehicle:Passenger Watercraft:Yes Rock type:Granite | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Condition Reports: | 31 Aug 2025
"Incredible lush green forests, deep canopy, sculpted green canyon.. We set off from camp in our packrafts at 7:30am (just about slack tide, which |
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| Best season: | Late Jul, Aug, Sep
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50.0492, -123.8997
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Introduction
Tucked away in the far reaches of the Sunshine Coast, Osgood Creek rewards the intrepid adventurer with a nicely sculpted granite slot canyon with back-to-back action and minimal creekwalking. The canyon offers beautiful rappels, fun jumps, and a perfectly-carved 12m waterslide that left us asking ourselves, “is this Osgood as it gets?!”
Accessing Osgood Creek is a multi-sport adventure requiring watercraft and overnight camping gear along with canyoning gear. Combining Osgood along with nearby canyons Seshal Creek and Soda Creek makes for a fantastic long weekend of canyoning.
Traveling to Jervis Inlet
Traveling to Osgood Creek requires travel by vehicle, ferry, water taxi, and personal watercraft. Drive to the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal in Vancouver, British Columbia. From here, board a ferry to the Sunshine Coast (Langdale Ferry Terminal). The ferry crossing takes 40 minutes — keep your eyes peeled for humpback whales! It’s recommended to book a reservation ahead of time. Upon unloading from the ferry, take the Sunshine Coast Highway/BC-101N for 85km to the Egmont Boat Dock, a 1.5 hour drive. Catch a water taxi (reservations required) to travel 37km up Jervis Inlet to the campsite next to Seshal Creek at 50.02560, -123.92651. A personal watercraft is needed to reach Osgood Creek from camp.
Camping at Seshal Creek
There is dispersed camping located where Seshal Creek meets the ocean at 50.02560, -123.92651. This spot used to be an access route for logging operations, so there is a rocky ramp for access and a large flattened area that is excellent for camping. The views from the campsite are stunning. On a clear evening, you’ll enjoy the alpenglow over mountain peaks and then a dark sky full of stars. There’s fantastic snorkeling just along the coastline and a cliff jumping spot a short paddle southwest of camp. A night swim or night paddle is highly recommended to marvel at the bioluminescence created by your movement in the ocean.
Things to note:
- There's roughly a 4m difference in water levels between high tide and low tide.
- There's a faint social trail located on canyon left that leads to a big pool for gathering fresh water.
- There is significant evidence of bear activity here — disciplined and secure food storage is a must.
Approach
From the campsite, paddle or boat 2.6km NE to where Osgood Creek flows into Jervis Inlet. Osgood is the next major drainage to the east of Seshal. The rock slabs on paddler’s left (canyon right) at the mouth of the creek make for a good landing zone. Take care around the sharp barnacles and mussels growing on the rocks.
Once your watercraft is safely stowed, begin heading uphill on the canyon right side of Osgood Creek. You’ll soon come upon an overgrown logging road. Hike and bushwhack up the logging road for 1km until you reach the confluence of Osgood Creek and a smaller tributary that enters from the north. Scramble into the creek and up the tributary for a short distance until you can easily scramble up the slope canyon right. Find another overgrown logging road which you’ll follow nearly all the way to creek. When the logging road turns due north, leave the road and continue bushwhacking along the hillside parallel to the creek until you reach the drop-in at 50.04923, -123.89973. There is a nice slab here for suiting up.
Descent
The canyon starts dropping immediately after the suit-up slab.
R1/S1 - Single bolt DCL for 10m wet rappel. Option to slide the last 4m into the pool.
R2 - Single bolt DCC for 10m wet rappel.
R3/J1- Single bolt DCR for 10m wet rappel, or downclimb partway and shallow jump 3m into the pool.
The next drop is multiple stages and can be downclimbed with a 2m jump at the bottom.
R4 - Single bolt DCL chockstone for 6m dry rappel. Option to downclimb the log in the DCC slot.
R5 - Single bolt DCL boulder for 20m wet rappel, ducking behind the veil on a beautiful tall waterfall.
Swim under a tunnel created by a giant flat chockstone.
R6/S2 - Osgood As It Gets - Single bolt DCL to check the bottom for the most perfect 12m slide into a deep pool. Slide can be lapped by scrambling high DCL through the forest or by ascending a dry line DCL of the slide.
R7/S3 - Single bolt DCL for 16m rappel-to-slide through a funky rooster tail. Option to slide the last 5m into the pool.
R8/S4 - Single bolt DCR for 8m rappel-to-slide. Rappel 3m past the pinch and slide 5m down the chute into a narrow pool.
R9 - Single bolt DCL for 25m wet rappel into a big pool.
R10/S5 - Single bolt DCL for 8m rappel or 8m slide. Tuck in your left side as the slide lands you close to the DCL wall.
R11/S6 - Upturned log in a pothole for 7m rappel-to-slide. Rappel the first 3m around the corner and slide 4m into the pool. This slide has been slid from the top but you'll be a human pinball.
J2 - Jump 10m from DCL ledge into deep pool. There are no bolts here. Some canyoners may appreciate a meat anchor to rappel this drop.
R12/J3 - Single bolt DCR for 25m wet or dry rappel down a gorgeously sculpted drop. Option to get off rope on DCR ledge and jump 8m into the pool below.
J4 - Jump 3m into pothole.
R13 - Webbing on DCC log for 12m wet rappel.
Exit
The last rappel deposits you just above the confluence where the tributary enters Osgood Creek. Change out of your wetsuits here and scramble up the hill on canyon right to retrace your steps back to the coast and your waiting watercraft.
Red tape
None
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Trip reports and media
Background
Osgood Creek was first descended on September 1, 2024 by Andrew Humphreys, Erik Bernhoft, Joe Cruikshank, Jon Obst, Kevin Steffa, Sara Fleetwood, and Madeline Hwang. We set off on our exploration with full packs, lots of stoke… and no information about the creek aside from a few squiggly lines on a topo map. What we discovered was a beautifully-carved granite slot canyon that was our team’s consensus favorite of the trip. It was a delightful surprise!