Cypress Creek

Cypress Creek is the classic introductory technical canyon in Vancouver, with easy access, spectacular moderate waterfall rappels, and beautiful surroundings, all in an easy half day trip, minutes from downtown.

Access Road: From the Upper Levels Highway (Highway 1) take Exit 4 (Woodgreen, Caulfeild and Headland Drives). Turn right on Woodgreen Drive. (If coming from the west, take the exit, then turn left onto Headland to cross over the freeway, and then turn right onto Woodgreen Drive) Follow the road up the hill to the third right – Woodgreen Place. Turn into this dead end road. At the very end, there is a gravel roadway that goes up and left into a rough gravel parking lot. Park here. There are often a few vehicles here – it is a very popular park for dog walkers.

From the Trailhead: From the end of the lot, walk along the trail into the trees, and turn left. Walk for about 5 minutes on the trail, and you will come to a viewing platform for Lower Cypress Falls. This is a good place to check the flow of the creek – this will be one of your rappels in a couple of hours. You may find that the flow looks intimidating, but the geometry at the bottom of the rappel, while allowing you to get pummeled by the falling water, is surprisingly stable where it counts.

Continue across the wooden bridge over the creek, just upstream from the falls, then up the hill on the far side. Continue on the main trail for about two or three minutes until you come to a tee. Turn right, and head uphill. After a few more minutes, you will pass through a gate and reach a paved access road. Turn left on the road.

Five minutes up the road, pass a gate and continue on the unpaved road. Cross a bridge – you can look off to the left, and see a pool that is the top of the first rappel – and immediately after the bridge, turn right into the trees. Follow a faint trail carefully down the slope to the edge of the creek. In total, it’s about 20 minutes from the parking lot to the drop-in point.

Rappels: 3, up to 100'

Exposure Risk: None

Water: Be cautious of water flow - best time for this canyon is after the spring runoff, which can take until mid-August to abate, in cooler years, until the fall rains begin in earnest - usually sometime in October. The water is cold, and a 3/2 wetsuit is considered the minimum for most people, on warm summer days. There are only a couple of spots where actual swimming is required. Most pools are waist to chest deep.

Anchor Conditions: The first two raps are generally done off of webbing on boulders. Please minimize the visual impact of the anchors. The final rap is usually anchored off a fence post in a highly visible area. Ensure that after completing the canyon, you return to remove any anchor materials.

Gear Recommendations: Longest rappel is approximately 100 feet. You will require helmet, harness, rappel gear, webbing, rapides, dry bag/keg, and a waterproof camera.

Flash Flood Danger: None, but be vigilant about high flow prior to committing to the first rappel.

Follow the trail up the rim of the canyon for 5 minutes or so. You will see some plastic mesh fencing off to your left just before you reach a well-trod trail. Turn left, and almost immediately rejoin the main trail. Once there, turn right to return to the final rappel’s anchor and retrieve it, or turn left to reach the parking lot in about two minutes.

The canyon is located in a city park, within the District of West Vancouver. At this time, there are no known regulations or restrictions on canyoneering in the park. Some of the route is very obviously visible to visitors in the park; please be extremely conscientious about making a good impression!