Seshal Creek
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| | Raps:11 rappels + 11 slides + 9 jumps, max ↨82ft
Red Tape:No permit required Shuttle:None Vehicle:Passenger Watercraft:Yes Rock type:Granite | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Condition Reports: | 2 Sep 2025
"An incredible canyon that just keeps on giving! Absolutely top notch!. Approach is up an abandoned logging road most of the way which is delightfu |
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| Best season: | Mid Aug-Sep
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50.0342, -123.9400
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Introduction
Jervis Inlet is British Columbia’s deepest fjord, carved out by glaciers long ago. The high-flow glacial melt that used to come rumbling down through Seshal Creek carved a big granite canyon with beautiful sculpting, deep pools, and soaring walls that are reminiscent of the High Sierra. Seshal is an action-packed canyon with 31 drops in total, including 11 rappels, 11 slides, and 9 jumps, and makes for a fun full day of playing in the water.
Accessing Seshal Creek is a multi-sport adventure requiring watercraft and overnight camping gear along with canyoning gear. Combining Seshal along with nearby canyons Osgood Creek and Soda Creek makes for a fantastic long weekend of canyoning.
Travel to Jervis Inlet
Getting to Seshal Creek requires travel by vehicle, ferry, and water taxi (or 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, which is approximately a 1.5 hour drive. Catch a water taxi (reservations required) to take you roughly 37km up Jervis Inlet to your campsite at 50.02560, -123.92651. If you plan to run Osgood and/or Soda along with Seshal, personal watercraft are required.
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. It's possible to check the flow in Seshal by scrambling along the DCL boulders to get a glimpse of the last waterfall.
- There is significant evidence of bear activity here — disciplined and secure food storage is a must.
Approach
From camp, hike up the logging road for 2.8km. The road is clear and easy to follow, and only gets overgrown towards the end. Around 50.03463, -123.93941, find a reasonable spot to cut off the trail and make your way down to the creek. There’s an excellent slab for suiting up at 50.03421, -123.93999.
Descent
Scramble and swim two pools upstream of the suit-up slab.
Drop 1 - S1 - Slide 3m
Drop 2 - S2 - Slide 3m (3 possible lines). The rock here forms a perfect angle to practice your jump-to-slide technique!
Grab your gear from the slab where you suited up. The next drop is a slide too!
Drop 3 - S3 - Downclimb or meat anchor down to small midway pool, then slide 6m. Roughly 4m slide with 2m drop into pool below. Really fun. Option for 10m rappel from DCL tree.
Drop 4 - S4 - Swooping low angle 8m slide with plenty of glide into a narrow channel.
Drop 5 - R1 - Single bolt DCR for 15m rappel straight through the flow. Watch the pinchpoint for rope retrieval.
Drop 6 - R2 - Single bolt DCC for 10m rappel. Option for 9m technical jump (must clear sloping rock plus an additional 2-3m of water to avoid large underwater boulder).
Drop 7 - J1 - 6m from DCR.
Drop 8 - R3 - Single bolt DCR for 10m rappel or controlled slide through side flow.
Drop 9 - S5 - Low angle slide through v-crack into hydraulic below. Alternatively, can be downclimbed, but watch out for foot entrapment in the v-crack.
Drop 10 - S6 - Downclimb the first stage then 7m slide on the DCL edge of the flow. Doesn’t look like it goes, but it does — the flow smooths out the bumps.
Drop 11 - J2 - 2m.
Drop 12 - R4 - Webbing off log DCR for 13m rappel into a pothole in a nicely sculpted section of canyon.
Drop 13 - S7 - The Luge - Slide 7m from DCL edge of the flow. The slide dramatically swoops you around and to the right, thus why we've nicknamed it The Luge. Optionally, jump 5m from DCR into the deep, recirculating pool below.
Drop 14 - R5 - Single bolt DCR for 5m rappel.
Drop 15 - R6 - Single bolt DCL for 13m rappel.
Drop 16 - R7 - Single bolt DCL for 17m rappel.
Drop 17 - J3 - Downclimb the DCL slab halfway to where the rock becomes vertical and then jump 4m to the pool below.
Drop 18 - S8 - Slide 7m from DCR side of the flow. There’s a gap in the rock but the flow takes you right over the gap to continue your slide on the rock below.
Drop 19 - J4 - Jump 9m from DCR. Or get a running start for a soaring 11m leap from high DCL ledge.
Drop 20 - J5 - Jump 3m from the outside lip of the landing pool of the prior jump.
Drop 21 - J6 - Running start down the slab to a jump, about 5m in total travel.
The next drop can be downclimbed canyon center with a partner assist if needed.
Drop 22 - J7 - Shallow technical jump 4m or climb around high DCR. Option for 6m rappel from high DCR tree.
Drop 23 - S9 - Slide 4m. Lower angle but very fun.
Drop 24 - S10 - Slide 6m through DCR crease. Option to downclimb DCL on dry slab.
You’ll then reach the infinity pool! You’ll see evidence of the old water system they had to pipe water from the creek.
Drop 25 - S11 - Carefully downclimb DCL and slide the remaining 7m into the pool below.
Drop 26 - R8 - "Are we in Switzerland?" - Single bolt DCR for 25m dry rappel down through a stunningly sculpted channel. The view here is incredible.
The pool below R8 has a slippery exit next to the pourover. A partner assist may be helpful here.
Drop 27 - R9 - Single bolt DCL for 22m dry rappel.
Drop 28 - J8 - Jump 7m from DCR ledge.
Soon you’ll come upon a massive old growth logjam where the creek pinches and drops dramatically. Scramble up and to the left to find the next anchor.
Drop 29 - R10 - Webbing off high DCL tree for 16m rappel. Scramble along DCL ledges to find the next anchor.
Drop 30 - R11 - Webbing off high DCL tree for 25m rappel, getting very wet at the bottom of the rappel.
Carefully downclimb the next drop or set up a meat anchor for all but the last person for the 2m drop into the narrow corridor below. It has been jumped but it’s quite technical, requiring a running start and pinpointing a small target zone below to avoid both shallow underwater boulders and the narrow canyon walls.
Soon the narrow canyon walls give way and Seshal opens up to a fantastic view of Jervis Inlet.
Drop 31 - J9 - Scramble high DCR to a ledge for a 7m jump into the very deep pool below. Options to scramble down to lower ledges for shorter jumps.
Exit
The final jump is 50 meters from camp. Exit the pool by scrambling up the boulders DCL and follow a faint social trail back to camp.
Red tape
None
Beta sites
Trip reports and media
Background
On June 21, 2024, Kevin Steffa and Sara Fleetwood first scouted Seshal Creek, sailing up the inlet from Egmont on a 16’ XCat with sails, a rowing setup, and an electric motor that could charge off of a solar panel. The first descent was made on August 31, 2024 by Andrew Humphreys, Erik Bernhoft, Joe Cruikshank, Jon Obst, Kevin Steffa, Michael Hensen, Sara Fleetwood, and Madeline Hwang (her birthday canyon!)