Popular North Vancouver hike remains closed in spite of COVID-19 restrictions lifting

Deep Cove is seen from above in CTV's Chopper 9 in May 2019. (Pete Cline / CTV News Vancouver)

Vancouver -

The public will have to wait a little while longer before they can once again enjoy the popular North Shore pastime of hiking up to Quarry Rock.

The District of North Vancouver is once again sending a reminder to hikers that the popular North Vancouver trail remains closed to the public until further notice - although, you can still stop by Honey Doughnut's on Gallant Avenue for a tasty treat.

Quarry Rock was initially closed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic because maintaining physical distancing was difficult due to overcrowding on the trail and at the lookout, said Justin Beddall, district communications co-ordinator.

But with restrictions easing up, residents and visitors were wondering why the trail remained closed.

“More recently, we have kept it closed due to significant infrastructure work underway in Deep Cove,” Beddall said, including the Gallant Avenue storm sewer replacement project.

“As a result of this construction, there is limited parking, as well as detours and considerable traffic delays.”

Back in April, although no fines were handed out, park rangers and bylaw officers issued verbal warnings more than 500 times after the district closed the trail at the outset of the pandemic.

With a search on Instagram finding a consistent flow of photo posts at the destination, it's easy to see that some visitors to the seaside village still aren't abiding by the rules - jumping a fence to access the main trailhead from Panorama Drive or reaching the viewpoint via other trails.

While some claim they aren't doing anything wrong by getting to the lookout via other routes on the Baden Powell, Beddall said the district strongly discouraged the behaviour and park rangers would be on the lookout for rule-breakers.

“DNV park rangers continue to turn away people attempting to access the Baden Powell trail and Quarry Rock,” he said.

“Access to the viewpoint via other trails is strongly discouraged, and we ask people to respect the closure.”