Mount Robson Provincial Park fully reopening following 2021 flooding

One of the most popular parks in northern BC is to reopen completely for the first time since it was destroyed by floods almost four years ago.

As of April 2, BC Parks will take camps reservations at the Berg Lake Trail of Mount Robson, approximately 280 kilometers southeast of Prince George, near the entrance of the Jasper National Park in Alberta.

“We are really excited, a lot of time has spent in process,” said Elliott English, supervisor of the Mount Robson Park area. “There is nothing like that.”

The highest peak of the Canadian rock mountains, parts of the Mount Robson path closed in the summer of 2021 after a record heat wave that quickly melted snow and ice, sending water in cascade by the mountain, destroying bridges and infrastructure on the road.

Dozen hikers were evacuated from the parkwhich is immensely popular, with the camping places that are generally sold during the summer within a few hours of opening reserves.

English said that a lot of work was needed to take the park where it is today, noting that it was rebuilt in consultation with a team of engineers and specialists with climatic resistance in mind.

The path itself has moved away from certain flood planes, and new bridges have been built farther and above from the areas where water flows during floods.

“This path was built to last,” said English, who expects the park to be occupied this summer.

“It’s just a magical place,” he said. “You have a sunny day there and you think there is no better place in the world.”

The province says that approximately 20,000 hikers and campers visit the 23 -kilometer path and several days annually. Until last year, about 11 kilometers from the path they had reopened. But this summer the entire path will be open for hikers.

Reservations are required for the seven crossing camps between its full opening of June 26 and September 29.

Daily use hikers can already use the lowest levels of the path and from May 15 to June 25, Kinney Lake and Whitehorn camps of lower levels will be open by order of arrival.

Reopen an impulse to nearby communities

The park has been rebuilt in phases and with the eye of making it better capable of handling future climatic crises.

The renovations range from the reconstruction of broken bridges to reinforce the shores of the eroded rivers and raise or redirect sections of vulnerable trails.

Owen Torgenson, mayor of the nearby community of Valemount, said he was absolutely ecstatic.

“It has been a long time.”

Monte Robson visitors represent approximately 25 percent of the local economy, he said.

These visitors will be especially important for the community as they continue to recover from the impacts of the close Jasper forest fires last year. Hundreds of residents protected in the community after that disaster. And tourism decreased after fires, which puts many of the village businesses at risk of permanently closing, according to a report made by the municipality.

Gene Runtz, the mayor of McBride about 80 kilometers northwest of the park, said the path is loved by premises and visitors equally.

“It’s a fabulous trip to enter there,” he said. “People are excited.”

New Alpine cabin also planned

Meanwhile, the Alpine Club of Canada has announced that construction will begin this summer in a new Alpine cabin of 12 people near Berg Lake Trail.

The $ 1.2 million project has been in books since 2002, but has been suspended for reasons from the pandemic to floods.

Located in Robson Pass, 24 kilometers along the path from the park information center, the two -story building will include a sleeping space and a kitchen, with a “air lock” system to prevent cold air from entering and solar panels to provide electricity, says the club.

The Alpine Club says that it established its first exploratory camp in Mount Robson in 1913, the same year in which the area was designated by a provincial park.