Seymour River Canyon

Vitals

Locale: North Vancouver, British Columbia
What It's Like: Boating in the city - classic kayaking in a short, deep canyon.
Class: Highly level dependent - ranges from fun class IV to raging class V.
Scouting/Portaging: Some spots are difficult to scout - portaging in places is impossible or too much work.
Level: Visual gauges at Mt Seymour Parkway and the put in.
Time: 2 hours including the hike for a first run.
When To Go: Rain-fed all year, snowmelt in the spring and summer.
Info From: Many visits.
Other Beta: None.
Map: Click here for a map of the river zone.

Description

The Seymour Canyon is a classic local run. And local it is - this river literally runs through the middle of North Vancouver. It's also short - so much so that you can drive to the trailhead (it's a hike to the top), get geared up, hike up, paddle and drive home in less than an hour and a half - kind of like going to the gym, but better. The whitewater on the Seymour is great stuff - not too steep, pool-drop and in an impressive canyon that is as beautiful and intimidating as any other in the area.

Seymour access is easy. While there is a road to the put in, it is much faster to just walk up the well maintained trail from the take out to put in. Go to Riverside Drive in North Vancouver and drive to the north end of the road - it is a dead end. About 100 meters from the end of the road is a gate and a big set of stairs down to the river - park near here as this is where you'll come up from the water. From May through October you'll need a permit to park anywhere around here, and also during that time the gate at the top of the stairs is locked. There is an alternative take out about 500 meters back down Riverside at the end of Swinburne Avenue. The hike to the top takes around 1/2 an hour - follow the obvious river left trail at the end of the road. The put in is just south of the bridge over the river where a set of stairs goes down to the water.

One of the great things about the Seymour is that it is accessible at a wide range of water levels. There is a convenient painted rock gauge upstream of the Mt. Seymour Parkway bridge that is most commonly used for a visual level. Precise levels on the rock are open to interpretation. There is a defunct online gauge at the put in (river right) - it gives an accurate level but you have to hike up there to see the physical staff gauge that remains.

Low water is about 1.5 on the rock, or 0.6 m at the put in. It can be run lower but it sucks. Medium water is 3.0 on the rock, or about 1.0 m at the put in. Anything over 4.5 on the rock or 1.3 m at the put in is high. At 1.5/0.6 m, the Seymour is a low stress, low volume class III-IV run. Jack to level up to 3.0/1.0 m and you're looking at mainly class IV whitewater with a walkable IV+ rapid at the end. When the gauge reads 5/1.4 m this river is a serious class V section of whitewater with few eddies and very pushy lines. You'll need to go run it yourself to find your upper comfort level.

From the put in there is a short section of wide, bouldery whitewater before you get to the entrance of the canyon. The first major rapid called Mosh Pit can be scouted from the right bank at all levels. Below here portaging is usually not possible, and scouting can be difficult. Wood is sometimes an issue on this run. The two final rapids are called Triple Drop and Final Exam. Final Exam is the crux rapid of the run at all reasonable levels and it can be semi-portaged on the left if the level is below 4. It is easily scouted from the trail at the pipeline bridge on the hike in. Once the canyon walls fall away, take out at the rock outcrop and hike the 130+ stairs back up to your car.