Skutz Falls is a waterfall

Waterfall

A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...

 on the Cowichan River

Cowichan River

The Cowichan River is a moderately sized river in British Columbia, Canada. It originates in Cowichan Lake, flowing east towards its end at Cowichan Bay. Its drainage basin is in size....

 on Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...

, British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It is located just above Marie Canyon

Marie Canyon

Marie Canyon is a canyon on the Cowichan River, just below Skutz Falls, on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.The canyon is named for Marie Adelaide, Viscountess Willingdon, C.I., G.B.E. , commemorating her canoe trip from Cowichan Lake down the Cowichan River to Duncan on April 7,...

. The name was originally Skwets or Squitz, meaning "waterfall" in the Cowichan dialect of Halkomelem.

When salmon

Salmon

Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...

are spawning, people often come to the falls to see them climb up the fish ladders that were built beside the falls. Originally, the falls, which are really more like steep rapids dropping about 20 feet, were a barrier for all fish prior to the building of the fish ladder.

In the summer, the river is very calm below the falls so people often come out to the area to swim or inner tube below the falls. There is also a campground nearby.