Capilano River

The Capilano River flows from north to south through the Coast Mountains on Vancouver's North Shore and empties into Burrard Inlet, opposite Stanley Park. The river is one of three primary sources of drinking water for residents of Greater Vancouver. The Cleveland Dam, built in 1954, impounds a reservoir for this purpose. The entire reservoir and watershed area upstream of the dam is closed to the public to ensure the quality of the drinking water.

Prior to construction of the Cleveland Dam, the Capilano River deposited large amounts of sediment into the Burrard Inlet. A dredge was needed to remove this sediment build-up in order to keep the Burrard Inlet open for ship traffic.

The Capilano has a historic salmon run which was impacted by the dam construction. A hatchery was built 1/2 kilometre (km) downstream of the dam to ensure the survival of the run.

The river flows through coastal rainforest and, in its lower stretches, follows a striking granite canyon with walls in excess of 40 metres tall in places.

The Capilano flows during periods of snow melt and rainfall mainly and slows to a trickle at other times.