Current Trail Closures around Vancouver and Southwest B.C.
Last updated: March 18, 2023
On this page we do our best to keep a current list of all known trail and park closures in and around Vancouver. We’ll also use this page to keep track of any trail restrictions that are seasonal or temporary (ie, winter closures, trail maintenance, or B.C. Parks’ day-use passes).
If you are aware of a trail closure that isn’t listed below, please let us know by emailing info [at] outdoorvancouver [dot] ca or sending us a message on Twitter. You can also leave a comment at the bottom of this page. Thanks, and safe hiking!
Current Trail Closures & Updates
General trail closure and notice links
Metro Vancouver Parks – list of impacted parks and trails here.
B.C. Recreation Sites and Trails – See here for a full list of current closures across the province.
North Vancouver
- Lynn Headwaters Regional Park – All backcountry routes at Lynn Headwaters Regional Park are now CLOSED due to hazardous winter conditions. This applies to routes beyond Norvan Falls (e.g. Hanes Valley, Coliseum Mountain and Lynn Lake) as well as routes in the Grouse subalpine (e.g. Dam Mountain, Thunderbird Ridge, Crown Mountain, Goat Mountain, Little Goat & Goat Ridge).
- Capilano River Regional Park (Pacific Spirit Trail) – A section of the trail remains impassible due to landslide and it may takes months or years to restore.
- Starting Mon. Jan. 23, crews will be replacing decking on Cable Pool Bridge. While work is underway, the bridge will be CLOSED. Park visitors can use Pipeline Bridge to the south or Cleveland Dam to the north to cross the river. Work is expected to last until the end of February.
- Grouse Mountain Regional Park
- Grouse Grind: CLOSED due to hazardous winter conditions.
- BCMC Route: OPEN. “Snow is present on the trail. Wear good footwear, seasonally appropriate clothing and bring microspikes in case of icy conditions. Carry water and a snack. And be sure to leave enough time to finish your hike before the sun sets.”
- Baden-Powell Trail: OPEN
- More details from Metro Vancouver.
Tri-Cities
- Buntzen Lake
- Swan Falls Trail – “Due to a rockslide, there’s no pedestrian access on Powerhouse Road between North Beach and Buntzen Dam. Swan Falls trail is also inaccessible to hikers at this time.”
- Starting Monday, September 19, the Buntzen Lake suspension bridge will be closed for replacement. Hiking trails around Buntzen remain open, however, completing a loop around the lake the Buntzen Lake Trail is not possible during construction. North Beach will also be closed as that will be a construction zone. However, washroom facilities at North Beach will remain open for public use. Please plan out-and-back routes or an alternate hike accordingly. Work is expected to be completed in early November.
- Read the current updates on the B.C. Hydro website.
- Colony Farm – “The western perimeter trail at Colony Farm Regional Park is closed until early 2022 to serve as a temporary staging and storage area for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project.” More details on Metro Vancouver website.
- Golden Ears Provincial Park
- The Spirea Nature Trail in Golden Ears is closed until April 2023. More from B.C. Parks.
Squamish
- Elfin Lakes – “Elfin Lakes Shelter in the Diamond Head area remains closed as we perform essential repairs and renovations. Camping is still allowed at the Elfin Lakes campground and sites must be reserved online in advance”. More at B.C. Parks.
Fraser Valley & Hope
- Othello Tunnels (Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park )- CLOSED for the winter due to hazardous conditions and rockfall. The area sustained significant damage during the Nov 2021 storm. A timeline for re-opening is unknown. BC Parks has been slow to update their website, but you can always check here.
- Skagit Valley Provincial Park. Partially-closed for repairs after November 2021 flooding. Details here.
Whistler & Pemberton
- Stein Valley Nlaka’pamux Heritage Park – Park closed due to Nohomin Creek wildfire. Latest details from B.C. Parks here.
A Starter’s Guide to Hiking in Vancouver.
- Guides for 10 amazing hikes near Vancouver
- Hiking safety and trail etiquette
- Resources, hiking gear overview, and more!
C
Lighthouse Park and Whytcliffe are both open, as are their parking lots.
– June 23, 2020
Karl W
Thanks, I’ve updated the list!
Sandy
Will tennis courts in parks be opening?
Natasha
I’m wondering if you can post about what’s open. I’m having a difficult time determining where I can go since all the trails I used to go on or roads to them are closed. Can you be clear on where we CAN go? I think that would be really helpful. I’m not savvy in the loop holes here.
Natasha
I’m wondering if you can post about what’s open. I’m having a difficult time determining where I can go since all the trails I used to go on or roads to them are closed. Can you be clear on where we CAN go? I think that would be really helpful. I’m not savvy in the loop holes here. Alternatively, a filter on your database with closures would be great. Thank you.
Anon
Agreed. It would be amazing to know what is actually open for those of us that want to hike, but that don’t have an entire database of parks/trails in our brains.
Guiseppe
All trails are open unless specified in the list above. This includes trails in all BC Parks but they are set to open on May 14.
Melissa
I fully agree Natasha! While this page is helpful, I just want to know where I CAN go, so it’d be very helpful to have a page just on what’s open.
Karl W
There’s literally hundreds (a thousand?) of hikes and only dozens of them are off-limits at the moment… It would be futile to try and list them all here.
Your best bet is to use our hike finder (https://www.outdoorvancouver.ca/vancouver-hiking-trail-guides/) where you can filter down by the city you want to hike, if you want to bring your dog, if you want a waterfall, etc. and find a hike that you want to do. Then reference this page to see if its on the list of closed places.
For BC Parks, most are open now except in the lower mainland (not including Golden Ears, Murrin and a few others).
Almost every Metro Vancouver Regional Park is open.
Most other places are open, though some have closed their parking lots or have limited access by municipal by-laws.
If you want a specific recommendation, please comment here with what city are you in, what skill level/ difficulty you want, or what kind of hike you want to do and I’ll do my best to give you some suggestions.
Karl W
Alright I relented and wrote another post on some suggested open trails here :)
Hopefully it’s helpful for generating a few ideas of places to go!
https://www.outdoorvancouver.ca/where-to-hike-in-vancouver-during-covid-19/
Tomina
Whytecliff Park and Lighthouse Parks in West van are NOT closed.
Whytecliff Park parking lot is closed and
Lighthouse Park parking lot is closed.
washrooms being maintained!