Image: The Canadian Press / Lynn Canyon Park in North Vancouver.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Teen dies at Metro Vancouver park

Ontario teen dies after falling off 50-metre cliff in popular Metro Vancouver park

Aug 27, 2024 | 10:04 AM

NORTH VANCOUVER — In late July, Mounties from the North Vancouver RCMP detachment teamed up with North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services to urge visitors at a popular Metro Vancouver park to think twice about cliff jumping during a mid-summer heat wave.

And while there are plenty of signs urging people not to climb fences and go out to bounds due to the steep cliffs and rushing rivers at Lynn Canyon Park, those warnings were not heeded in the latest tragedy.

The Canadian Press is reporting that a 17-year-old from Ontario is dead after climbing over a fence and falling off the edge of a cliff at Lynn Canyon Park in North Vancouver.

Dwayne Derban, assistant fire chief with North Vancouver Fire and Rescue, told The Canadian Press the boy was in an off-trail area of Lynn Canyon Park when it happened Sunday afternoon.

Derban says there are signs warning people to stay away from dangerous areas, but the boy’s friends told firefighters that he had climbed over a fence to get a better look at the river canyon and he “just got too close” to the edge.

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Derban says the boy fell onto rocks about 50 metres below the cliff’s edge and a first responder with the fire department found he had no pulse.

The teen had been meant to start at the University of British Columbia this fall.

Derban describes the area where the 17-year-old fell as “completely safe as long as you stay within the areas that are meant to be walked in,” and no one should hop over any fencing.

“People go over and you can see paths on the other side and it looks inviting, like an awesome view, but the dangers that are inherent are just not worth the risk.”

Mounties in North Vancouver say Lynn Canyon Park is a very popular spot for visitors, receiving over half a million visitors per year. While placid and picturesque, however, its steep cliffs, rushing river and forested areas pose a challenge for visitors unfamiliar with rugged terrain. Although much of the cliff access is fenced off with warning signs posted, people sometimes climb the fence and go out of bounds to cliff jump, putting themselves at significant risk.

“It is extremely dangerous to cliff jump in Lynn Canyon,” said Fire Chief Mike Danks, District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services. “Not only are there underwater rock hazards not visible from above the surface, but there are also extremely strong currents. Even in the summer the water is very cold and hypothermia can set in quickly.”

Police and firefighters say visitors to Lynn Canyon need to be cautious and use good judgement, as water levels and conditions can change very quickly, and the Canyon cliffs are steep, slippery, and in some areas unstable.

Every year, the District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services responds to countless rescues in Lynn Canyon Park.

Tragically, there have been more than 40 deaths in Lynn Canyon over the last 50 years.