Gondola Over Golf
By Jerry Rousseau
Closed since fall of 2022 for pipeline construction, the Bridal Falls Golf Course has yet to re-open long after the flow of oil began on May 1, 2024.
Several other golf courses were impacted by the Trans Mountain expansion but for some reason, the 9-hole mom-and-pop golf course located on Highway #1 just east of Chilliwack, still looks like a ghost town.
I remember when the Bridal Falls Golf Course was built. Rumour had it that rather than spending money on an irrigation designer, the original owner (who knew very little about such things) installed a sprinkler head every few sections of pipe.
It was definitely quirky but not a bad little track all things considered, plus it had the only covered driving range deck for miles around (next closest at the time would have been Fraserglen in Abbotsford). At some point, a putting course and practice area were added and over time, the course became very popular with the local crowd.
So what's going on at Bridal Falls now? It looks like nothing but big things are happening behind the scenes - they just don't involve golf.
In February 2024, the Cheam First Nation bought the property in a 'strategic expansion' of the nation's land base. Quoted in a Chilliwack Progress article, Cheam Chief Darwin Douglas said they've been working on a strategic expansion to fuel the economic development plans of the nation.
One major initiative involves the Cascade Skyline Gondola Project, a $70 million undertaking that has been going through the approval process for more than 6 years.
The company's website states, "The proposed project is a new world-class British Columbia eco and cultural tourism attraction and local adventure recreation playground, located in the heart of the majestic Fraser Valley and Canadian Cascades mountain range, adjacent to stunning Bridal Veil Falls and the Trans-Canada Highway."
Plans are to build a state-of-the-art, electric 8 passenger gondola rising nearly 1000 metres to a point about 6 kms west of Mt. Cheam. The top station is to include a day lodge, restaurant, theatre and extensive viewing decks showcasing the beautiful Fraser Valley scenery below and the panoramic scenescapes of the surrounding Cascade and Coast mountains.
Set within park-like grounds and green spaces, the base area will feature the proposed Sto'lo Cultural and Interpretive Centre. A bistro cafe, gift shop, walking trails, local arts and crafts, events plaza, wedding chapel are all part of the development plan.
According to the BC government, the project is currently in separate application stages for land and water use. Meanwhile, the company website says that master planning, economic impact, environmental, geo-tech and traffic flow studies are all completed and that a core feature of site planning for the project is the protection and regeneration of currently "brownfield" and clear-cut watershed lands to a much more sustainable and functional natural state and habitat.
An official construction start date has yet to be announced, nor has there been any mention of the golf course's fate but all indications point to a gondola over golf.
