Scott Hayes | [email protected]
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Outdoor enthusiasts have been waiting two years for the Berg Lake Trail to reopen. That wait will be over in two weeks.
The trail in British Columbia’s Mount Robson Provincial Park was a total washout after a combination of the heat dome in 2021, some rapid snowmelt and excessive precipitation flooded out an extensive area of the trail system.
It took no small amount of work to put things right to return to public use, said Natasha Ewing, community liaison officer with B.C. Parks.
“There was a lot of damage. There were bridges that were completely covered in rock… and bridges that were swept away, while other bridges became these elevated pathways over dry riverbeds as the Robson River shifted dramatically. Some of the campsites were flooded, facilities were damaged and sections along the trail had bad erosion and slumping.”
On June 27, the Berg Lake Trail, its trailhead and the parking lot along with the Kinney Lake campground will reopen. People can access the online reservation system for the Kinney Lake campground by visiting camping.bcparks.ca. The Berg Lake Trail Reservations website can be found at bcparks.ca/reservations/backcountry-camping/berg-lake-trail.
To help facilitate the rebuilding effort on the 23-km trail, the project was split into three phases, the first of which was a 7-km stretch from the trailhead to the Kinney Lake campground. The second and third phases – the 4-km path from Kinney Lake campground up to the Whitehorn campground and the remaining 12 km from Whitehorn all the way up to Berg Lake – are still underway.
Phase 2 will take place this summer and it will involve “a lot more bridges,” Ewing said, especially around the Kinney Flats section where the Robson River braids itself back and forth.
“It's over this section that the entire Robson River shifted from more of the right side of the trail to the left side of the trail, so we have a lot of bridges to be fixing and putting in there and trying some new engineering designs to make those bridges more movable in case the river continues to shift a little bit,” she said.
“We're constantly trying to rebuild with that climate resiliency in mind and really be thinking about what could potentially happen in the future.”
Ewing said that B.C. Parks has already managed to get in a few upgrades during the repairs. There are a lot of updates to the Kinney Lake campgrounds including new tent pads, new toilets and building some new picnic spots.
The trailhead bridge was fully replaced and the parking lot is getting the final touches of being updated and expanded.
The trail should be reopened to Whitehorn in 2024, with work on the third phase up to Berg Lake being completed next summer with the full 23 km back online in 2025.
Ewing said that it is likely that many thousands of people have been missing the trails. Prior to 2021, B.C. Parks would see more than 30,000 overnight users and hundreds more day hikers per season.
“It is a very popular trail. It is a great first-time backcountry camping experience. We get a lot of young families even going out taking their kids for their first wilderness experience,” she said.
“We certainly expect that there'll be many people that will be very excited to come back to Mount Robson and see the beautiful sights of Kinney Lake.”
Within Mount Robson Provincial Park, there are other hiking trails and campgrounds that are open as well. The visitor centre is also open.
Ewing reminded visitors that dogs are allowed on the trail during day hikes but not for overnight camping. B.C. Parks also encourages users to follow Adventure Smart’s three ‘T’s: trip planning, training, and taking essential items.
Two other popular hiking trails were damaged during the flooding in July 2021: Mount Fitzwilliam and Moose River trails. They have already reopened.
