Helmcken Falls is situated in Wells gray Provincial Park on the Murtle River. Its beauty makes it a tourist magnet and because it is relatively easy to reach it's full of tourists. In the winter time, a 60 meters high ice cone forms at the base of the fall, making it even more attractive.

The waterfall was named after John Sebastian Helmcken, a prominent British Columbia physician and founder of the British Columbia Medical Association, playing a huge role in making British Columbia a province of Canada. Ironically, he never even saw the waterfall.