The District of West Vancouver has decommissioned the Capilano Pacific Trail after a landslide shut down parts of the popular trail last year.
The trail goes from Ambleside Park and follows a path along the river until signs direct to Keith Road. It then continue on through the Capilano River Regional Park to the Fish Hatchery, Cleveland Dam and Capilano Lake, but that section is no longer accessible from West Vancouver as a result of a landslide.
The landslide occurred on January 6, 2021, in the area of Moyne Drive, and removed one section of the trail entirely as well as the sanitary sewer line that ran beneath it. The District has now conducted a Trail Restoration Feasibility Study and determined that the slope stability prevents reinstating the trail on the original alignment.
Council has directed staff to immediately initiate decommissioning and permanently securing the landslide area and section of the Trail and install permanent fencing and signage.
Staff has proposed a new alignment for both the sewer and the trail.
From Ambleside to Cleveland Dam, the Capilano Pacific Trail is roughly 7.5 kms in length and crosses through several jurisdictional boundaries: West Vancouver, North Vancouver, and Metro Vancouver. Trail counter statistics indicate over 56,000 visitors in 2020.
Along with permanent fencing system, Staff will also erect signage indicating that the trail is permanently closed. Signage will be posted both on the fencing itself and as a warning within the trail’s approach to the closure area.
A map of what was and what will be would be very useful to the public.
As with Corrie Kost’s comment, a map showing the closed section should be added. The article reads as if the entire trail is closed: it is not. You can access the “best” part of the trail from Rabbit Lane in the British Properties (being careful to be respectful of those living there, and parking only where allowed), to gain access to the park, the river, dam and fish hatchery. It is only the section between Keith Road, going under Highway One, past the suspension bridge, that is closed. Meaning one cannot walk from the Capilano River estuary up to the dam, unless one walks through neighbourhoods in the Properties.