Capilano Pacific Trail

Trail Closed

The Capilano Pacific Trail is closed due to a landslide. Please use the detour.

For your own safety, it is essential not to go past the safety fencing meant to keep people out of the unstable area. The area is susceptible to further slides, and in the event of an emergency situation, first responders will not be able to access this site. Please respect the safety fencing and stay away from this area.

October 16, 2023 Update

Work began the week of September 25, 2023, to reinstate the sanitary sewer servicing homes in the Moyne Drive area, along a new, low-risk alignment and will take approximately eight to ten months to complete.

Learn more at westvancouver.ca/moyne.

June 20, 2023 Update

At their closed meeting on May 15, 2023, Council passed the following resolutions:

• THAT staff be directed to continue with design, tender, and construction activities associated with reinstating the sewer as described and directed within the Council Report, “Capilano Pacific Trail”, dated June 28, 2022.

• THAT staff be directed to send a request to Metro Vancouver for financial support to preserve the Capilano Pacific Trail, including funding for a feasibility study for constructing a bridge as well as ongoing trail maintenance costs.

November 18, 2022 Update

At their regular, inaugural meeting on November 7, 2022, Council passed a resolution directing staff to report back on the possibility of reinstating the sewer line and reinstatement of the failed section of the Capilano Pacific Trail to incorporate a pedestrian bridge crossing across the slope failure area.

Staff continue work to decommission the trail and secure the landslide area as described in the Council report dated June 28, 2022.

October 7, 2022 Update

Council directed staff to continue with design, tender, and construction activities associated with decommissioning the trail and securing the landslide area as described in the Council report dated June 28, 2022.

Council also directed staff to conduct District-wide community engagement on an alternate alignment for the trail, and that staff report back on the outcome of the community engagement by the end of the first quarter, 2023.

Council did not approve a reallocation of $935,000 from the Community Amenity Reserve Fund for the Capilano Pacific Trail realignment.

July 26, 2022 Update

The District recently conducted a Trail Restoration Feasibility Study and determined that the slope instability prevents reinstating the trail on the original alignment. Therefore, Council decommissioned the old trail and sewer alignment and directed staff to replace the existing temporary fencing with permanent fencing.

Staff proposed a new alignment for both the sewer and the trail. The budget for the sewer replacement is in place through the utility fund. Council also directed staff to build a new trail following the same alignment and fund it through the Community Serving Community Amenity Contributions fund.

Background

The Capilano Pacific Trail goes from Ambleside Park and follows a path along the river until signs direct you up to Keith Road. The trail used to continue on through the Capilano River Regional Park to the Fish Hatchery, Cleveland Dam and Capilano Lake, but that 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 a section of the trail entirely as well as the sanitary sewer line that ran beneath it.

Late in the evening of January 12, another, smaller slide occurred in the same area. Fortunately, there were no injuries and no residential properties at risk.

The landslide caused the failure of a section of the trail and also put the sewer infrastructure underneath the trail at risk. The sewer pipe was exposed and left suspended in the air. District crews, working in safety harnesses on the unstable slope, secured the sewer line and were successful in preventing any spillage into Capilano River. A gravity sewer line has temporarily replaced the line damaged by the landslide.

Subsequent heavy rain and strong winds caused the second slide, resulting in further erosion and several trees were seen sliding down the slope towards the sewer line. Several hazardous trees had to be removed or topped to improve the safety of the site.

The extreme rainfall events of November and December 2021 have resulted in increased hazards in this area. Additional slope movement and erosion in the fenced-off area have occurred, making this area even more susceptible to further slides.

A smaller landslide occurred at the same location in December 2019, and the trail had been repaired. The cause of the landslide was determined not to be related to the recent repair but is part of a larger slope instability that is now taking place.