McDiarmid Falls
Page 323-324
The footbridge above Moul Falls has been closed by BC Parks, so McDiarmid Falls and the Clearwater River are no longer accessible. An engineer hired by BC Parks has determined that the bridge is not safe.
When the Neave family bought the property here in 1989, maps and a survey showed the property line a few metres south of the bridge site. The first bridge was built there in 1992 because private property on both sides made for minimal paperwork and the canyon on Grouse Creek created stable rock abutments. The bridge was replaced in 2010 with steel girders providing a sturdy support. BC Parks decided to conduct a survey in 2025 to find exactly where the Wells Gray Park boundary was located and this placed the bridge entirely in the Park with the boundary a few metres north. The Neaves had planned to replace all the deck panels in summer 2025 but only one was finished when the survey handed responsibility for the bridge to BC Parks. With an estimated replacement cost of $100,000 and tight budgets at BC Parks, it seems unlikely that the bridge will be reopened soon. Since there was no dispute between the Neaves and BC Parks over the exact boundary location, it seems a colossal waste of taxpayer money to carry out the survey and engineering, only to gain responsibility for a privately-maintained bridge and immediately close it.
This bridge closure also prevents access to Birch Bluffs Rim Trail, pages 325-326, and H.R. MacMillan’s Cabin, pages 327-329.
It looks like the only way to get the bridge reopened or rebuilt is to write to your MLA or the Minister of Environment and Parks as follows:
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