Trail users raise concerns over ongoing closure of popular Vancouver Island route

The Juan de Fuca Marine Trail remained closed as a result of storm damage in 2025, and the regulars who use the trail were concerned. About a year earlier the province announced the trail would be closed throughout summer 2025, after several storms damaged the area. The B.C. Parks website said the trail was "unsafe and impassable, with damaged bridges, unstable slopes, washouts, fallen trees, and blocked sections"; a large portion of the 47-kilometre trail remained closed with no open date set. The park saw 596,030 visits in 2024 and 2025 combined despite the closure. Rosemary Jorna, director of the Juan de Fuca Community Trails Society, told CBC's On The Island: "The marine trail brought in a lot of tourism. It was always used to a much higher capacity than anybody had designed it for. It shows how little recreational opportunities are available between Sooke and Port Renfrew and how desperately we need them." Jorna said most people had respected the closure: "We know how vulnerable the trail is and how potentially easy it is to get into trouble on it." She wanted a more "robust" trail; many sections of the park are only about 200 metres wide, so there is no ability to reroute the trail. B.C. Parks said a further update would be posted in the spring.