2. Pauline Johnson Native Plant Garden

In addition to the wetland and other learning elements in the PJ Outdoor Learning and Community Park, native plants were thoughtfully included throughout the grounds. This works to not only improve slope stability but enhance species diversity. These native species, which included flora such as Devils Club and native ferns, help support the wetland by promoting ecosystem growth. Because they are native species, these plants also provide interactive learning opportunities that help inspire students to become environmental stewards and protectors.

3. ‘Beach Tangle’ by Gordon Smith 

Beach Tangle is a 12- by 20-foot sculpture of driftwood pieces and objects combed from West Vancouver's beaches and shores. With multiple layers, gritty textures and exploding colours, Beach Tangle resembles a three-dimensional photograph. Beach Tangle also refers to the coastal ecosystem of the Pacific Northwest Coast and the complex relationship between shorelines / the inter-tidal zone and the coastal rain forest habitat that is the underlining habitat of the North Shore, and has supported the salmon life cycle for millennia.

4. Memorial Park Centennial Rearing Pond

The Memorial Park Centennial Rearing Pond was constructed in 2012 to provide a habitat for juvenile coho salmon, cutthroat trout, and the aquatic insects on which they feed. This rearing pond provides a restful habitat, with a constant water flow through winter storms and summer droughts. The shallow depth of the pond supports aquatic insect production – an important food source for the fish. Stumps and logs in the pond provide protection and shade for young fish. Each year Coho fry are drawn here by the gentle outflow, and will remain in fresh water for a full year before migrating to the ocean. After a year and a half at sea some will return in the fall as adults to spawn in McDonald Creek.

This project was a collaboration between the West Vancouver Streamkeepers and the District of West Vancouver, with additional financial support from the Coho Society, Pacific Salmon Foundation, and many others.

5. West Vancouver Memorial Library

The Adopt-a-Fish program is an innovative annual event born from a collaboration between the West Vancouver Streamkeeper Society, the Coho Society, and Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and takes place in front of the library. During the Adopt-a-Fish event children have the opportunity to release a juvenile salmon into McDonald Creek for which they receive a ‘certificate of adoption’. This connects these youngsters and their families with the natural environment of the North Shore and raises awareness around salmon habitats and conservation.

6. McDonald Creek Fish Ladder

This fish ladder is part of a bigger initiative to improve the waters and accessibility of McDonald Creek. Other projects include baffles at the culvert from the ocean to Marine Drive, the aforementioned rearing pond at Memorial Park as well as another one in Hay Park, estuary restoration (your next stop!) and a second fish ladder, also upstream from Marine Drive. McDonald is an important creek due to its mountain watershed, clean water, available spawning and rearing habitat and the presence of aquatic insects.

7. MacDonald Creek Estuary Restoration

For many years, the outflow of McDonald Creek into the ocean has been a restrictive point for mature salmon trying to return to the creek. Before restoration, the creek flowed out of a culvert and through beach cobble before reaching the ocean. This lack of a defined channel meant that salmon could only access the creek during the highest ocean tides, which occur only for a few hours once every two weeks. The 80-metre channel that was built allows salmon to access the creek during moderate tides, which occur daily.

8. Wind Sock (1994)

This piece was created in 1994 in collaboration with Arnt Werk and Irwin Park's grade 6 class. The brass fish weathervane is mounted on a pole approximately 12 feet in height. This beautiful student effort is an early example of introducing young students to environmental conservation and creating community awareness about other creatures that call North Shore Habitat home.

9. Lawson Creek Estuary Restoration

The Lawson Creek estuary restoration was completed in 2007. Since then, it has become a template for similar work throughout the North Shore, including the work at McDonald Creek’s shoreline. In estuary restoration, channelization is typically used to create a more accessible pathway for salmon to reach the creek from the ocean during spawning season. The shoreline is made more stable and is raised slightly, thus providing wave protection and the opportunity to enhance riparian habitat values by planting native plants tolerant to salt water. All of this together creates a more cohesive ecosystem in addition to better access for returning salmon.

10. Lawson Creek Bridge Crossing Salmon Sculpture 

Before the urban environment of West Vancouver sprung up on the North Shore, Lawson Creek was a rich salmon-bearing stream. In 1906 John Lawson, an early settler to the region, purchased a large piece of property through which the creek flowed. Initially both the creek and region were named Hollyburn. As this new neighbourhood grew the stream was confined to a concrete flume, partially out of a desire to prevent flooding. Now this stream is undergoing enhancements to make it a more sustainable home and passage for salmon and other wildlife. These enhancements include baffles that slow the creek’s fast-moving waters, which in turn creates back eddies that give salmon places to rest while they make their way upstream to spawn. The art piece installed on the baffles helps raise awareness both of the importance of this stream to salmon and the work that needs to be done to minimize the damage of urbanity on the natural environment.

11. Whale Vertebra by Douglas Coupland

This piece was inspired by a boat trip when Douglas Coupland and fellow West Vancouver artist the late Gordon Smith sailed  to an uninhabited shoreline in Haida Gwaii in 2005. This piece, along with accompanying works Tree Snag (your next stop!), Float Stack, and Deer Vertebra, are all part of a revitalization of the Ambleside beachfront area, which now is a mixed-use pedestrian-friendly portal to the shoreline. Chinook salmon are the primary prey of Salish Sea orcas, and the southern resident killer whale pod requires about 1,400 of them a day.

12. Tree Snag by Douglas Coupland

Through the lens of salmon conservation, in the sculpture ‘Tree Snag’, Douglas Coupland identifies a critical element in the evolving structure of salmon-bearing streams and rivers. The many forces of nature at play in salmon-bearing watersheds often result in trees and large woody debris falling into creeks and rivers, thus forming long lasting structures that are part of important salmon spawning and rearing habitat. Salmon habitat restoration projects often reintroduce ‘tree snags’, stumps and boulders to mimic this process as can be seen in the Memorial Park rearing pond restoration project, the Lower Mosquito Creek Restoration project featured in the Mackay Creek / Mosquito Creek interpretive walk and at the Lynn Creek off-Channel Habitat Project in the Lynn Creek interpretive walk. See Culture Compass for directions to these innovative cutting edge salmon conservation efforts.

13. Spirit of the Mountain

Spirit of the Mountain is a piece designed by local artist Xwa lack tun (Rick Harry) of the Squamish Nation. The shape of the piece is reflective of the Lions Gate Bridge immediately to the east of Ambleside Park. The bridge is named after the mountains which are often called The Lions today, but to Squamish people have always been Ch’ich’iyuy, or The Sisters, named for twin sisters who ended historic conflict between their nation and neighbours to the North. Between the two points is a Thunderbird, a supernatural entity that has the ability to create lightning and thunder. In the background of the sculpture is a canoe with two paddles up, signifying West Vancouver and Squamish Nation pulling together, sharing mutual respect, and building a foundation for generations to come. Squamish people have been stewards of this land since time immemorial and are dedicated to the protection of salmon and their ecosystems. Learn more about Squamish Nation’s relationship to salmon at Stop 15 and about their land stewardship at Stop 19.

14. Coho Festival

The Coho Festival is an event which has been held annually on the second Sunday of September since 1979. The festival is both a fundraiser for the Coho Society and an opportunity to educate the general public on the importance of protecting salmon and their habitats. Funds raised during the festival help North Shore stewardship groups to rebuild, repair, and maintain salmon and other aquatic species and their habitats. The festival begins with a Coho Run, Coho Swim, and pancake breakfast. Later in the day there is a Save On Foods Salmon Barbecue, which can be enjoyed along with a local craft beer in the Coho Garden. Other spots to check out include the Western Stevedoring/Neptune Main Stage, the Stewardship Zone, and Seaspan Kids Zone. Members of Squamish Nation also attend the festival to share their knowledge of salmon dating back thousands of years, as well as their own unique traditions and culture regarding salmon. Each festival ends with a Blessing of the Salmon ceremony performed by Squamish Nation members.

15. Squamish Nation Welcome Figure

The Welcome Figure is a West Vancouver landmark in Ambleside Park, where the Coho Festival is held and where Squamish Nation members perform the Blessing of the Salmon Ceremony each year. This welcome figure is constructed from an old growth cedar log from Hollyburn Mountain and is a gift from the Squamish Nation marking K’aya’chtn (gathering of ocean canoes). In Coast Salish Indigenous cultures, including Squamish culture, salmon are a primary food source and a symbol of abundance, wealth, and prosperity. They are also viewed as Supernatural beings who experience eternal life, offering themselves as food each spring, and then, when the entirety of the salmon skeleton is returned to the sea, the spirits rise again. Salmon are held in high regard, and ceremonies such as the Blessing of the Salmon Ceremony during the Coho Festival are often held to celebrate the return of the Salmon to their traditional spawning grounds.

Artist: Stan Joseph with the assistance of Wes Nahanee

16. Swáy’wi

The wetland and lagoon in this area were once connected to the Capilano River and are currently in the process of being enhanced and restored to benefit their ecological function. In former days the lagoon was accessible to returning salmon along with many related species and acted as a rearing habitat for juvenile salmon. It was an important hunting ground and is a site of great cultural significance to the Squamish Nation.

The Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish People, villages and community) have occupied and governed this territory since before recorded history. The First Nations village at the mouth of the Capilano River became the Capilano Indian Reserve (Xwemelch’stn) in 1923, a separate legal entity from the District of West Vancouver.

17. Spirit Trail

The Spirit Trail not only links many communities across the North Shore, but it also connects all four of the Coho Interpretive Walk Zones. Every year during the summer months beautiful street banners are displayed along Marine Drive in North and West Vancouver, which runs adjacent to much of the Spirit Trail. The colourful artwork on the banners is created by North Shore elementary students as part of salmon conservation and education workshops put on by the North Shore Streamkeepers in collaboration with the Salmonid Enhancement Program and Artists for Kids. This initiative is funded by The Coho Society,  Environment Canada, the City of North Vancouver, and North Vancouver Recreation and Culture. The Coho Society is a strong supporter of educating students about the importance of salmon enhancement and habitat restoration. This project is one of the many ways the society aims to help youth become environmental stewards.

18. Capilano River Estuary

Estuaries provide crucial adjustment habitat for salmon leaving and entering the river as this is where they transition from fresh water to salt water and vice versa.

Many estuaries on the North Shore have been severely impacted by industry and urban growth. Bridges, residential development and industrial development have all encroached on the estuary habitats of the North Shore. In the case of the Capilano River Estuary it is the Metro Vancouver Filtration Plant which is currently in the process of being relocated.

19. Squamish Nation Historical Information Kiosk

Before it was called Capilano River, Squamish people called it Xwemélch’stn Stakw, which means rolling at the mouth with fish. To Squamish people, salmon symbolizes their spiritual connection to the water and resources. Renowned as traditional fishers, the Squamish historically relied on the salmon for their primary food source and a major trade item. To the Squamish people, fishing is both a rite of passage in the development of young people and a seasonal means of occupation. To protect and sustain the fish for future generations, the Squamish Nation Fish Guardians ensure that fishing is carried out in a traditional way and according to sustainable practices, as has been their practice since time immemorial. To further protect the salmon, the Squamish Nation has introduced bylaws that are strictly enforced by the Guardians.

20. Capilano Watershed Trap and Truck Program – fish release site

Adult coho salmon and steelhead trout returning to the Capilano River Hatchery are transported into the upper Capilano Watershed. This provides access to spawning and rearing habitat located upstream of Cleveland Dam. Juvenile coho and steelhead travel from habitat in the upper Capilano Watershed to the Capilano Reservoir each spring.

These out-migrating fish are captured in nets in the reservoir each year and transported by truck for safe passage around Cleveland Dam and released here in the Capilano Estuary.

 Fish transports are collaboratively managed by Metro Vancouver, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Province of BC, and Squamish First Nation. The District of West Vancouver and West Vancouver Streamkeepers provide logistical support and educational outreach. Fish releases are supported by the Squamish Nation Fisheries Guardian Program which monitors and patrols fishing in the Capilano River These agencies work together to ensure safe passage for adult salmon returning to the Capilano watershed and for juvenile fish migrating towards the ocean.

Fish transports are collaboratively managed by Metro Vancouver, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Province of BC, and Squamish First Nation. The District of West Vancouver and West Vancouver Streamkeepers provide logistical support and educational outreach. Fish releases are supported by the Squamish Nation Fisheries Guardian Program which monitors and patrols fishing in the Capilano River These agencies work together to ensure safe passage for adult salmon returning to the Capilano watershed and for juvenile fish migrating towards the ocean.

21. Entrance to Traditional Coho Trail

The Coho Walk has been a popular site during past Coho Festivals, offering festival participants an opportunity to walk from the Capilano reservoir, along the west side of Capilano River, to the Coho Festival site. The trail is currently being restored and is not fully accessible.

22. Squamish Nation Totem Pole

This amazing and majestic totem pole located on the east side of the Capilano River features traditional First Nations motifs.

2. Mackay Creek Hatchery and Salmon Habitat Mural, Heywood Park

In 2012, the City of North Vancouver built a new hatchery/interpretive centre as part of the redevelopment of Heywood Park. This site offered the possibility for the creation of a community art work, the purpose of which is multi-faceted. Acting as a means by which to engage students, local residents and the greater community in the natural ecology of the North Shore, with a focus on BC’s iconic salmon species, it creates community awareness about the redevelopment of Heywood Park. It offers a sense of involvement and inclusion with this development, empowering the community to participate in forming the future of important natural spaces that support functioning ecosystems in the ever more pressured urban setting of the Marine Drive corridor. Since the development of this new hatchery, community salmon releases have been offered to the community at large.  

These salmon releases are a Coho Society supported initiative. Because of COVID-19 the event was limited in 2021 to only a few participants, some of whom included First Nations elders, who blessed the event. You can watch a short video about releasing the salmon  here .

3. Salmon Themed Playground 

In 2012 part of the Heywood Park redevelopment included the creation of a ‘spawning’ salmon playground to underline and encourage the protection of the salmon that have called North Shore creeks home for millennia.  

4. Mackay Creek Habitat Remediation

The 2012 Heywood Park redevelopment project included the removal of an old parking lot and concrete bridge. This helped facilitate the construction on a new condominium development while enhancing and protecting Mackay Creek on the north side of Marine Drive.

5. Return of the Spawning Salmon by Jody Broomfield

This salmon sculpture by Jody Broomfield was commissioned in 2008 by Ledingham McAllister in collaboration with the City of North Vancouver. The salmon are made in a traditional Coast Salish art style.  They represent mature male and female salmon that are born in local rivers, make their way to the sea as fingerlings, and then after four years return to the waters of their birth to spawn, die, thus repeating the great cycle of life. In the sculpture the female salmon arch downward to symbolize the laying of eggs and the male salmon arch upward to represent the moment of fertilization.  

6. Salish Salmon House Post

This is another piece by local artist Jody Broomfield, commissioned in 2008 by Ledingham McAllister in collaboration with the City of North Vancouver. A house post is a type of totem pole typically used in longhouses to support the main beams of the building or placed at the main entrance of a building. The four Salish salmon heads on the house post represent the four species of salmon, sockeye, pink, coho, and chum that return from the sea which has nourished them to the local rivers of their birth, in order to reproduce, die, and begin the eternal cycle of life once more.

7. Hyak Park Habitat Restoration

The Mackay Creek Flood Protection and Enhancement project is a joint City of North Vancouver – District of North Vancouver project. It aims to address flood protection on either side of Mackay Creek from Marine Drive to 3rd Street, in both the City and the District, and to enhance environmental values and transportation facilities. 

Construction of a secondary creek channel in Hyak Park offers more flood capacity and additional environmental benefits such as new spawning and rearing habitat for Mackay Creek salmon. 

8. Rain Garden

This rain garden is a project of Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Environment with support from multiple partners, including the City of North Vancouver. The plants and soil in the rain garden capture and filter out pollutants from the adjacent parking lot’s rain water run-off before it enters Mackay Creek, an important salmon-bearing creek that you’ll continue to explore throughout this walk.  

9. Lower Mackay Creek Habitat Restoration

Riparian areas are necessary to maintain stream health and functioning. They provide shade during warm summer months, regulating in-stream temperatures and creating a cool micro-climate necessary for fish health and wellness. The riparian zone also acts as a filtration system to remove urban runoff, chemicals and pollutants before they contaminate waterways. Healthy plant communities help to provide bank stabilization through provision of root cohesion, preventing excess amounts of sediment from entering the stream. In addition, stream-side vegetation provides food and habitat complexity for the aquatic ecosystem, as leaves, branches, and large wood pieces often fall into the stream. 

In the summer of 2015, Echo Ecological began working on a restoration project at MacKay Creek in North Vancouver, upstream from where initial estuary work had been completed through 2013-2015. This project focused on restoring the riparian zone surrounding MacKay Creek by removing the dense coverage of invasive species and re-planting the area with native vegetation. This area had been significantly disturbed, as it was used as a dump site for many years. Even though it was adjacent to the highly used North Shore Spirit Trail, it had been overlooked by the community and had become overgrown with a myriad of invasive plants. 

10. Salmon Identification Station at the North Vancouver Tennis Centre

This identification station will be installed post Covid restrictions. This year’s Virtual Coho Festival Banner installation also identifies the five species of Pacific Salmon that return to North Shore Creeks and Rivers: Coho, Chum, Pink, Steelhead and Chinook. This location serves as a base for the Coho Society’s signature salmon conservation educational program Coho ‘Discovery Day’ Workshops. The lounge serves a classroom for full day workshops where students are introduced to salmon habitat and the many cutting edge initiatives being developed to protect salmon-bearing creeks and rivers on the North Shore.

11. Lower Mackay Creek Wetlands and entrance to Spirit Trail

12. Species Identification Station

This site offers insight into the many creatures that call the Lower Mackay Creek Habitat home. Regular counts of bird life and other sightings are recorded here to raise public awareness about the ecological diversity of this area.

13. Mackay Creek Marsh

Mackay Marsh is a large freshwater marsh located in a highly developed area within the District of North Vancouver. Several businesses and industries are situated around the wetland, which allows for significant amounts of pollution to enter the wetland as runoff when it rains. MacKay Marsh is also subject to illegal dumping and the encroachment of invasive species. The aquatic and riparian areas of the wetland have been heavily inundated with introduced and invasive vegetation, including Himalayan blackberry, English ivy, reed canary grass, and yellow flag iris. The invasion of noxious plants has negatively impacted water quality and reduced habitat availability for fish and wildlife. 

In 2018-2019, we put significant efforts towards restoring this area back to a healthy state. The invasive species along the riparian area were removed manually and replaced by native vegetation, while the aquatic invasive species were removed by excavator. Several logs were inserted into the substrate to provide additional habitat for birds and other species. Our goal is to increase the period in which this wetland holds water throughout the year, so that it can provide greater habitat options for numerous species on the North Shore. 

14. Griffin Art Project

Griffin Art Project presents innovative, cutting edge contemporary art projects including works involving themes of environmental conservation. In the past they have presented new choral works aimed at raising awareness in regard to the protection of the Mackay Creek Marsh.

15. Moving Up (2012)

This sculpture of a beaver den is titled ‘Moving Up’ and is by local artist Karen Kazmer. Commissioned by the District of North Vancouver in 2012, Moving Up reflects on the ways that urban animals and people adapt to their environments. The branches in the piece were cast from actual gnawed branches in the nearby Mackay Pond, making the beavers co-creators of this piece. Beaver dams are often misunderstood as being an impediment to salmon migration, when in actuality the calm waters behind a beaver dam provide a crucial space for young salmon and other fish. When beaver dams are removed, the resulting spaces, known as beaver ponds, disappear, and young salmon are thrust into fast moving waters before they’re capable of handling such intensity. Because much wildlife such as salmon relies on beaver habitats for survival, beavers are considered a keystone species and have the nickname of 'ecosystem engineers'.  

16. Riparian Zone Habitat Restoration

The environmental conservation team Echo Ecological has completed extensive habitat restoration in this area. Watch a short video about it  here . This short video showcases some of the work, along with the restoration of the Mackay Creek Marsh.

17. Spirit Trail Bridge - Mackay Estuary Lookout and Eagle Nest Viewpoint

The top of the spiral bridge look out point provides a great view of the Mackay Creek Estuary habitat restoration project. 

Note the rock placement at the curve of the creek where once there was a concrete wall that blocked access to returning salmon during low tides. Replacing the concrete barrier with boulders has facilitated easier access for fish passage and given salmon a better chance of escaping predatory seals that chase them up the narrow canal shaped estuary of Mackay Creek.

Looking up into the trees on the north west side of the bridge one can see evidence of another salmon predator, an eagle’s nest that has been used by several generations of eagles. A basic platform was installed in the trees by an eagle conservation group and resident eagles did the rest, creating a nest that has continued to be used during some breeding seasons since it was built. 

18. MacKay Creek Off-Channel Habitat

Seaspan created this ‘off-channel’ habitat to enhance Mackay Creek when it changed the location of the creek to adjust its ship building capacity.

19. MacKay Creek Estuary Habitat Restoration

MacKay Creek Estuary in North Vancouver has been a site of historical industrial use and has been negatively impacted by extensive residential and commercial development. The goal of this project was to restore the riparian area surrounding MacKay Creek Estuary so that the habitat will support salmonid species and other estuarine and riparian wildlife. Restoration for the MacKay Estuary began in 2013 as part of the Burrard Inlet Estuary Restoration project with the BCIT Rivers Institute and will continue in upcoming years, as and when maintenance is needed to preserve the conservation efforts for this site. 

20. ‘Blessing of the Salmon’ Mural (2017)

This mural is a collaboration between the Coho Society and Bodwell High School. It features the Coast Salish Canoe Family paddling towards the Capilano River through the salmon-bearing habitat of Burrard Inlet for ‘the blessing of the salmon’, a traditional First Nations ceremony which recognizes the importance of protecting returning salmon populations. The blessing of the salmon is an integral feature of the annual Coho Festival. The mural aims to inspire youth and the community at large to develop sustainable salmon conservation values and practices as embodied in the blessing of the salmon ceremony. This mural is a companion piece to the ‘Coho Habitat Mural’ (2016), which is also included in this walk. Both murals were created in collaboration with North Vancouver artist Ron den Daas in the interest of protecting and enhancing salmon and salmon habitats for future generations. 

21. Burrard Inlet Foreshore – View to Port of Vancouver

The view from this point offers an opportunity to ponder the challenges salmon face when traveling through the port to their ‘home’ creek and/or river. It also juxtaposes the much more impacted shoreline of the City of Vancouver to that of the North Shore underlining the opportunity there still is to protect and enhance valuable salmon habitat on the North Shore.

22. Historic Logging Mill Plaque

This plaque offers insight into the evolving history of resource extraction and urban development of the North Shore.

23. Harbour Seal Habitat Viewpoint

Harbour seals are natural predators of salmon and will prey on them during various stages of the salmon life cycles. In a well-functioning ecosystem this is not a problem, but human consumption, infrastructure, and pollution already negatively affect the survival of salmon in the Strait of Georgia. Harbour seals feeding on juvenile salmon is of particular concern as it equates to a significant loss of juveniles.

24. Mosquito Creek Estuary Restoration

This is one of four estuaries restored with funding from the  Burrard Inlet Restoration Program . These streams and estuaries along the Inlet were once prime salmonid habitat. 

While salmonids remain an important part of Vancouver’s identity, the growth of the city has caused many of its  salmonid streams to disappear  while those remaining have been heavily degraded by urban and industrial development. 

Mosquito Creek estuary is reduced to less than 1% of its historical size, and that remaining sliver was devoid of suitable habitat for salmon or trout. In a  recent article in the North Shore News , Squamish Nation’s environmental coordinator, Randall Lewis, shares his memories of a much more vibrant ecosystem, and references elders’ stories of birds so numerous they “blocked out the sun”. While it is unrealistic to expect we can rewind these highly altered habitats back to their undeveloped state, the restoration work that has taken place at Mosquito Creek and other estuaries on the Inlet is a start, offering hope and inspiration to biologists, artists, elected officials and students alike. The amount of habitat restored at Mosquito Creek may be small - a drop in the bucket so to speak - but the project demonstrates that communities can come together to bring back a little of what has been lost, even at the most severely degraded sites. 

25. Coho Salmon Habitat Mural (2016) by Coho Society and North Western Hydraulics

This mural represents another collaboration for the Coho Society and artist Ron den Daas, this time with community members and students who generated artworks for the mural after attending the Society’s ‘Discovery Day’ workshops, an initiative the Coho Society offers to local schools. The mural features native plants and animals that form riparian zone habitats. Riparian zone habitats can be found throughout the North Shore watershed from headwaters to estuaries, and are critical for supporting returning salmon populations. The mural recognizes the importance of protecting salmon habitats in order to support returning salmon populations, a central mandate of the Coho Society and the Coho Festival.  

Click  here  to watch a short video showing the development of this mural.

26. Storm Drain Swales and Rain Garden Showcase on Bewicke Ave

Similar to the rain garden hosted by Simon Fraser University earlier on in the walk, this storm drain swale and rain garden aims to improve water quality in North Vancouver streams. This piece is part of approximately 50 rain gardens the City of North Vancouver is installing as part of its rain garden network along major transportation routes. As our urban environments are unlikely to disappear anytime soon, projects such as this one are crucial to ensuring the ongoing sustainability of local salmon populations. As we shift towards a more ecologically-friendly future, these swales and gardens might become an increasingly common sight across the North Shore.  

27. Lower Mosquito Creek Riparian Zone Habitat Restoration

Featured at this point is this Coast Salish public art project, Raven, by artist Darren Joseph. This work is situated adjacent to salmon-bearing Mosquito and Wagg Creeks and a sacred Squamish Nation cemetery. It is a belief of the Squamish People that the Raven is a benevolent figure who watches over and helps the people. This Raven, with its fluid design, is a reflection of the place where Mosquito Creek and Wagg Creek meet. Represented in the wing of the Raven are the ancestors who have been laid to rest on the east side of these creeks.

28. Lower Mosquito Creek ‘In Stream’ 2020 Restoration

This project involved adding large log and boulder clusters to parts of the creek downstream of Bewicke Avenue and upstream of the CN Rail Bridge. 

29. Word to Your Motherland (2014)

This mural is a unique collaboration between California artist Nisha K. Sembi and Miguel “Bounce” Perez, and local artists Corey Bulpitt and Take5. This cross-cultural piece brings together elements from hip hop culture with aesthetics from each artist’s motherland.

A contemporary response to hybrid cultural identities, ‘Word to Your Motherland' references historical relationships to ‘Motherland’ ultimately underlining the primary relationship between salmon and the traditional lands of the Pacific Northwest Coast. 

30. Riparian Zone Restoration / Mitigation

All of these riparian zone restoration projects not only add to the functionality of the stream ecosystems but they are beautiful and interesting to observe through the changing seasons.

31. Mosquito Creek Fish Ladder

Urban built environments can often negatively affect wildlife and existing ecosystems. In the case of this section of Mosquito Creek, salmon were not able to continue their swim upstream because of the Queens Road culvert. To solve this problem the District of North Vancouver installed the fish ladder and fish baffles in 2003, assisting salmon in their passage through the city. This work supplemented an earlier project at the Thain Creek culvert in 1999, and was later aided by the reconstruction of the culvert at Windsor Road in 2011.  

32. Coming Home (2014)

Coming Home is a work by conceptual artist Cheryl Hamilton and sculptor Michael Vandermeer depicting the life cycle of a salmon. Instead of swimming upstream as they would in a stream, the salmon in this piece are affixed upwards against a gentle waterfall. If you look closely you can spot glass-blown elements that represent the eggs salmon spawn after they complete their journey upstream.  

2. DNV Habitat Restoration Material Storage Site

A critical element in habitat restoration is the collecting of materials needed for restoring structures that benefit or improve degraded systems. Besides boulders, materials that are needed can be woody debris, logs, stumps and/or native plants. Sites collecting these materials are situated across the North Shore and are intended for use in future habitat restoration projects. For example, currently there is a major funding drive aimed at raising funds for a new, ambitious Lynn Estuary Restoration Project. Perhaps some of the boulders stored here will eventually form part of the added elements to the Lynn Estuary Project, and certainly will be used in other projects throughout the District of North Vancouver.

3. Hastings Creek

Hastings Creek is a small urban stream that is one of the six tributaries of Lynn Creek. Considered one of the most important small fish-bearing streams in North Vancouver, Hastings Creek originates on the east slope of Grouse Mountain, and flows through Princess Park, Hunter Park, the Lynn Valley commercial area, and various residential areas until it joins Lynn Creek in the Arbour Lynn area.

4. Lynn Valley Link Route Information Signage

Historical and related information about other trails and access points in this region is offered on this sign.

5. Lynn Creek Equestrian Bridge Viewpoint

This bridge offers a great opportunity to view up and down Lynn Creek to see if you can spot a returning salmon.

6. Riparian Zone Habitat / Old Growth Spruce Tree

Riparian zone restoration is the ecological restoration of riparian zone habitats of streams, rivers, springs, lakes, floodplains, and other hydrologic ecologies. A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. The habitats of plant and animal communities along the margins and river banks are called riparian vegetation, and are characterized by aquatic plants and animals that favor them. Riparian zones are significant in ecology, environmental management and civil engineering because of their role in soil conservation, their habitat biodiversity, and the influence they have on fauna and aquatic ecosystems, including grassland, woodland, wetland and/or sub-surface features such as water tables.

The perceived need for riparian zone restoration has come about because riparian zones have been altered and/or degraded throughout much of the world by the activities of mankind, which has affected natural geologic forces. Riparian ecosystems have a unique biodiversity and the potential benefits of natural, vegetated riparian zones are many. They prevent erosion, maintain a water quality that ranges from being decent to completely healthy, and provide habitat and wildlife corridors. An effort to maintain the health of aquatic organisms has led to a surge of restoration activities aimed at riparian ecosystems in the last few decades. Restoration efforts are typically guided by an ecological understanding of riparian zone processes and knowledge of the causes of degradation. They are often combined with stream restoration projects. 

7. Intake to Lynn Creek ‘Off Channel’ Habitat

This off-channel habitat provides refuge and feeding areas for young salmonids, especially during high flows. This project enhanced 150 metres of existing habitat by installing 4 boulder/log complexes. It was completed by the North Shore Streamkeepers with collaboration and support from BCIT-Rivers Institute, District of North Vancouver, Tsleil-Waututh Nation, Port of Vancouver, Pacific Salmon Foundation, North West Hydraulics Consulting Engineers, Mount Seymour Lions Club, and many volunteers. However, the inlet to the channel has had gravel accumulate, which has limited the flow into the channel and, therefore, the habitat’s effectiveness. A project to improve the flow is in progress. 

8. Outflow of Lynn Creek ‘Off Channel’ Habitat

9. Keith Creek Habitat Restoration

Keith Creek was relocated more than 50 years ago when the “Cut” on Highway 1 was built. The creek was cut off from its headwaters and relegated to a ditch alongside the highway. Nature fought back and, as the ditch eroded and filled with vegetation, fish started to use this diminished habitat. In 2019 construction for upgraded interchanges were started, and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure engaged with the North Shore Streamkeepers on finding ways to improve Keith Creek. The result was a plan to remove the barriers to fish passage which included fishways under Mountain Highway and Highway 1, adding complexity to the lower sections of the creek, and addressing water runoff and sediment from the roadways. What you now see is a “manufactured” stream with riffles and pools that provides fish access to the headwaters. Nature again needs to fight back to “soften” and vegetate the new creek bed but we are confident nature will prevail and the number of fish in Keith Creek will increase. This work was funded as part of the interchange upgrades. 

10. Keith Road Bridge (Coho Festival Banner Route)

As part of the ‘International Year of the Salmon’ in 2019, Coho Festival banners were installed along this bridge recognizing Lynn Creek as an important salmon-bearing creek that sees Coho, Chum, Steelhead and, in odd years, Pink salmon spawning here.

11. Keith Road Bridge History Signage

The Keith Road Bridge History Signage recognizes the parallel evolving histories of urban development on the North Shore. Protecting the salmon for future generations in the midst of this evolving history is a central mandate of the Coho Society of the North Shore. 

12. Covered Picnic Area

The covered picnic area served as a staging point and outdoor learning centre for The Lynn Creek ‘Off-Channel’ Community Art Fence installed in 2019 north of this location. 

13. Serpent's Tail Picnic Area

This site offers a fenced, protected picnic area. Adjacent to this site on the Lynn is an area where salmon fry are released to enhance Chum and pink salmon populations on Lynn Creek each year.

14. Off-Leash Dog Park

The new Lynnmouth Park off-leash dog area is now complete and ready for Fido to play and explore. This new, fenced area offers 3,600 square metres of space for dogs to run, and places for you to sit and relax. The area has bark mulch surfacing, new gravel pathways and improved drainage. The main path through the park is now on-leash to protect sensitive natural habitat along Lynn Creek. You'll find the new off-leash area at the south end of the park. 

15. Lower Lynn Creek Riparian Zone Habitat Restoration

This is another example of a protected riparian zone restoration project that uses native plants in a sensitive habitat around creeks and streams as a strategy to protect salmon habitat for the future.

16. MEC Rain Garden & Sculpture

In celebration of their new store, Mountain Equipment Co-op partnered with the City of North Vancouver in the commissioning of this public art work entitled Swale, created by artists Veronica and Edwin Dam de Nogales. Located at the entrance to Lynnmouth Park and connected to the Spirit Trail, this site-specific sculpture depicts a long ocean canoe floating over an extension of oars propelled forward by the efforts of a single young canoeist. Captured within the tension of the moment are our hopes for tomorrow as a new generation takes the oars. 

17. Harbourview Sign

18. Lynn Creek Estuary Viewpoint and Signage

19. Lynn Creek Estuary Restoration Project Viewpoint

The Port of Vancouver’s 2020 Land Use Update reclassified a significant section of Lynn Creek Estuary from Port Operations to Conservation. This reclassification, combined with the existing conservation area and the adjacent District of North Vancouver parkland, means that a considerable area of the Lynn Creek Estuary is now available for habitat enhancement. The North Shore Streamkeepers are leading a multi-stakeholder group to develop a comprehensive restoration plan that will guide restorative efforts in the estuary. The Lynn Creek estuary has been severely impacted by industrial activity. It has been reduced in size by at least 30% from its historical area, the main impact being the loss of important inter-tidal areas. Currently the estuary is limited in its ability to support estuarine-dependent species. The project intends to restore productive marine, inter-tidal and shoreline riparian habitats. Support from local industry, the Port of Vancouver, Tsleil-Waututh Nation and Kerr Wood Leidal Consulting Engineers is making this possible.  

This project was also part of the Burrard Inlet Estuary Restoration Project. It was executed in 2016 by the BCIT Rivers Institute and continued restoration will be completed on-site in upcoming years. Echo Ecological completed both the riparian restoration and the inter-tidal grass planting for this project. 

The estuary restoration is ongoing.

20. Lynn Creek Kelp Bed Restoration Viewpoint

Lynn Creek Estuary has been highly modified with armored streambanks extending into the estuary shoreline. The North Shore Streamkeepers have placed  clusters of large boulders between 0 and -2m chart datum to augment the existing boulders and provide additional fish habitat for juvenile salmonids departing the estuary. The boulders were colonized by a variety of invertebrates and marine plants within a year,  making this a very successful effort.  The project was completed with collaboration and support from Patagonia, Tsleil-Waututh Nation, Port of Vancouver, Vancouver Pile Driving, and Secology Environmental Consultants. 

2. Bear Island Bridge and view of Seymour River Dam

Bear Island Bridge is an old bridge salvaged from the Coquitlam watershed, refurbished and installed in 2012. The bridge provided a much desired connection between the east and west side of the river for recreationalists.

The bridge’s viewpoint to Seymour River Dam offers insight into the evolving relationship between public amenity infrastructure being constructed within the salmon-bearing watershed of the Seymour River and the strategies around mitigating that impact, bearing in mind that logging of the Seymour Valley had been going on for 100 years. The Seymour watershed is the largest catchment area in the North Shore Mountains and contains an extensive man-made reservoir lake. Over the decades people have used the resources of the Seymour watershed in different ways, leaving their imprint on this west coast forest landscape.  

More information on the history of logging and dam construction on the Seymour River can be found  here .

3. Seymour River Hatchery

The main purpose of the Seymour Hatchery is to enhance the Seymour River’s fish stocks that had been cut off from their traditional spawning grounds by the construction of the Seymour Falls Dam. We collect adult fish and take their eggs and milt. The eggs are fertilized and then incubated until the alevins hatch. The alevins use up their yolk sac and turn into fry. When the fry turn into smolts they are released to go to the ocean.

This hatchery originally started in 1978 as a BCIT Fish and Wildlife program ‘teaching project’. By 1987, the hatchery had been adopted by the Seymour Salmonid Society. By the early 1990s many improvements had been made to bring the site up to standards as a CEDP, or Community Economic Development Program, hatchery. Since then, the Society that runs the hatchery has evolved into a multi-faceted stewardship organization that enhances populations of salmonids in the Seymour River and other North Shore watersheds, educates the public through school field trips and public events, restores habitat to increase natural production of fish and other wildlife in the watershed, and advocates for the protection of the salmonids and the habitat they live in. Read more about it  here .

4. Coho Festival Education Centre

The main purpose of this centre is to provide a learning environment for elementary school students.  The Centre accommodates between 1000 and 1500 students and teachers each year covering from 50 to 70 field trips. The Society’s signature program is called “Gently Down the Seymour” and is designed to provide students with an understanding of salmonids and their requirements to survive in a safe, clean habitat with a healthy diet of naturally occurring aquatic insects. 

Gently Down the Seymour is a full day field trip at the Seymour Hatchery and Education Centre. A visit to the hatchery has students experiencing three interactive stations, each with an outdoor component. The stop at each station is approximately 55 minutes long. The Seymour River Hatchery provides all station materials for the field trip day. Students will have the opportunity to use tools of investigation, such as chest waders, microscopes and thermometers to explore the life and habitat of the Seymour River Valley. Read more about it  here .

5. Seymour River Interpretive Mural

A new mural by North Vancouver artist Ron den Daas recently installed in the Seymour Hatchery Education Centre features seven habitats critical for the salmon lifecycle; Headwaters, Wetlands, Upper Seymour River Spawning Pools, Seymour River Canyon, Lower Seymour River Spawning Pools, Seymour River Corridor and Estuary connecting to Burrard Inlet, the Salish Sea and beyond. The backdrop for the seven habitats features Upper Seymour River Salmon Spawning habitat that is worked by the Seymour Hatchery to compensate for the impact of the Seymour River Dam and reservoir. The four salmon species, Steelhead, Coho, Chum and Pink found in the Seymour River are also portrayed, along with many other creatures and native plants that are all part of the watershed ecosystem that forms the Seymour River system.   www.rondendaas.com 

6. Metro Vancouver Seymour River Conservation Area Entrance

Recently improved with new bridges and an upgraded trail system, this area features a series of interpretive signs installed by Metro Vancouver highlighting important features of this salmon-bearing, coastal rainforest habitat. Many parts of this habitat were restored, enhanced or engineered post the construction of the Seymour River Dam and the impacts of the early logging industry in the Seymour River Valley. The Seymour Hatchery is integrated into this area and uses the river and off-channel habitat to support salmon collection and release throughout the year.

Although this region has been impacted over the years due to various forms of resource extraction, some areas of old growth cedar and spruce trees can still be seen along with a vibrant variety of flora and fauna that form the biome of Pacific North West Coast Rain forests ecosystems.

7. Seymour Hatchery Seining Pond

Located approximately half a kilometre downstream of the hatchery, this large pool provides a great holding refuge for returning salmon and steelhead at certain times of the year. This site is where the Seymour Hatchery staff and volunteers will capture spawners to supply the hatchery with eggs and to conduct population assessments to monitor the changes in the number of returning salmon. 

8. Seymour River ‘Off Channel’ Habitat

In partnership with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, provincial fisheries and Metro Vancouver, the Seymour Salmonid Society works to locate and artificially enhance waterways to create spawning and rearing habitat for salmonids that is not directly in the river but connected via small tributaries. This work helps to mitigate the loss of habitat that occurred when the Seymour drinking water reservoir was constructed many decades ago. 

9. LSCR Restored Wetland Habitat

Although the wetlands in this area look natural, they were actually engineered in past decades and illustrate what can be achieved in terms of habitat restoration. Once established, protected restoration projects such as these become magnates to wildlife and native species, regaining complexity as their micro ecosystems evolve and connect to the larger river system.

10. Spur 7 Salmon Pool Habitat

This habitat is an example of productive salmon spawning pools with large protective woody debris that acts as a shelter for salmon and their offspring within the main stem of the Seymour River.

11. Mid-Valley Lookout Point

The Seymour watershed is the largest catchment area in the North Shore Mountains and contains an extensive man-made reservoir lake. Repeated glaciation has widened the Seymour Valley into a U- shaped trough with steep slopes, and has deposited a variety of surficial materials. The dense forest cover of the valley is a mosaic of different shades of green, evidence of past and present logging activities. Hiking through these woods one comes across old skid roads, stumps with springboard marks, remains of old water pipes and homesteads. Over the decades people have used the resources of the Seymour watershed in different ways and have left their imprint on this West Coast forest landscape. 

12. Restored Wetland below Mid-Valley Lookout Point

Mid-Valley Habitat Project - built in the early 2000s.  This is one of the largest engineered salmonid habitats created on the Seymour River. To compensate for habitat loss due to damming on the Seymour begun over a century ago, various off-channel habitats have been created throughout the Seymour Valley. The Mid-Valley project provides approximately 3 hectares of spawning and rearing habitat, primarily designed for Coho, which can naturally produce more than 10,000 smolts if fully seeded by spawners. 

13. Lower Seymour Conservation Area Paved Bike Path (through the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve Forest)

Ride in the Seymour Lower Conservation Reserve on a car-free, paved, multi-use trail rolling through the forest to the Seymour Hatchery. A great ride under the canopy of hundred-year-old trees. Along the way explore the points of interest featured in the Seymour River zone and visit the Seymour River Hatchery and the Coho Festival Education Centre to learn more about these important salmon conservation initiatives.

14. Fisherman’s Trail (along Seymour River) 

“In the old days” this trail was blocked by a guard house, and only fishermen were allowed to access the area for broodstock capture. The trail is now open to the public and is a popular access point to the Lower Seymour Conservation area trails and swimming holes. It is still used by fishers.

15. Rice Lake

Rice Lake is stocked with trout to enhance the natural population that uses this lake. It is part of the restoration of the Lower Seymour River Demonstration Forest and all the native species that form this area. Each year the Seymour Salmonids Society hosts a family day fishing event here and showcases numerous environmental conservation groups involved in protecting various aspects of the North Shore’s natural heritage. Although Rice Lake is not accessible to salmon it is an important waterbody for learning to fish. The lake is open for fishing, with facilities for the disabled, and families are encouraged to visit on Family Fishing Day (usually Father’s Day) when licenses are not needed, and volunteers are available with equipment and fishing tips. The lake is stocked with pan sized Rainbow Trout several times each year.  

16. Rice Lake Gate / Metro Vancouver Filtration Plant

Metro Vancouver treats your drinking water in two stages. First it is treated at the source, at one of Metro Vancouver’s two water treatment facilities. It is given additional (secondary) treatment as it travels throughout the region. This ensures that your water remains safe and clean, even if you live far away from the original source.

17. Suspension Bridge across Seymour River

The new suspension bridge across the Seymour River at the “Twin Bridges” location is the latest bridge at that location. As the name suggests, at one time there were two bridges but they were lower and were impacted by flooding. The suspension bridge is above flood levels and provides access to the west side of the Seymour and the many trails (foot, bike and horse) on that side of the river.

18. Seymour River Canyon and Rock Slide Site

On December 7, 2014, 80,000 cubic metres of rock and debris slid into the canyon, blocking the Seymour River. Water levels upstream of the slide rose by 10 meters and forced the removal of Twin Bridges. In the next year Seymour Hatchery staff and volunteers continually monitored adult and juvenile fish, when it was found that no migration was occurring either upstream or downstream of the slide area. Seymour Salmonid Society has taken the lead in managing and fundraising for the rockslide mitigation project.

19. Park and View of Seymour River Causeway Bridge

During a few months in the summer beautiful street banners are displayed along Marine Drive in North and West Vancouver celebrating salmon and the conservation work undertaken to protect them. The colourful banner artwork is created by North Shore elementary students as part of salmon conservation and education workshops put on by the North Shore Streamkeepers in collaboration with the Salmonid Enhancement Program and Artists for Kids. The Coho Society helps fund this initiative alongside Environment Canada, the City of North Vancouver, and North Vancouver Recreation and Culture. The Coho Society is a strong supporter of educating students about the importance of salmon enhancement and habitat restoration. This project is one of the many ways the society aims to help youth become environmental stewards. 

20. Maplewood Creek and lower Seymour River salmon habitat

Maplewood Creek and Lower Seymour River offer salmon an opportunity to gather in the larger pools of the Lower Seymour River to rest and wait till  river flows can facilitate their migration to the upper reaches of the river system where they spawn. Pink and Chum Salmon often prefer to spawn in the lower reaches of the river system and may enter Maplewood Creek and the habitat it accesses. Maplewood Creek connects the Hogan’s Pool Park to the Seymour River, transiting the Maplewood Farm on the way. The creek is a spawning area for Pink, Chum and Coho salmon. Where the creek enters the Seymour River, there is a pool that is often used for brood stock collection and is a traditional fishing location for the local indigenous peoples.