Vancouver is surrounded by one of the most dramatic landscapes in North America — and hidden in the Coast Range forest, the Fraser Valley, and the Pacific coastline are some of Canada's most extraordinary abandoned places. A 1913 psychiatric hospital campus used to film Deadpool, X-Files, and Riverdale. A 1900s Imperial Oil company town still standing in the Port Moody forest. A series of 1956 derailed boxcars deep in the Whistler wilderness, now covered in murals. Here are 5 of the best abandoned places near Vancouver, selected from our Abandoned Places Map Canada — 2,500+ GPS locations across Canada.
Why Vancouver Is a Hidden Gem for Urban Exploration
Vancouver's urbex landscape is shaped by three forces unique to the BC coast — the 19th-century resource extraction economy that created company towns and abandoned mines across the Coast Range, the extraordinary concentration of psychiatric and institutional heritage on the lower mainland, and the temperate rainforest climate that preserves abandoned structures in a state of green, mossy decay unlike anywhere else in Canada.
1. Riverview Hospital – Coquitlam, BC — 1913 Psychiatric Campus, BC's Most Famous Filming Location, X-Files / Deadpool 2 / Riverdale / Supernatural, Accessible Daily 6am-9pm (Known Location)
Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam was one of the largest psychiatric hospitals in British Columbia — a massive institutional campus opened in 1913 that held thousands of patients across dozens of buildings on the slopes above the Fraser River. Closed in 2012, Riverview has become Canada's most-used television and film location: X-Files, Supernatural, Riverdale, Deadpool 2, Watchmen, and dozens of other productions have used the atmospheric ward buildings, the tunnels, and the overgrown grounds. Accessible to the public daily between 6am and 9pm with security patrol and CCTV — exterior exploration of the grounds and buildings from outside is permitted; interior access requires authorization. One of the most extraordinary abandoned places near Vancouver.
🔗 Learn more: Wikipedia – Riverview Hospital BC
2. Ioco Townsite – Port Moody, BC — 1920s Imperial Oil Company Town, Original Houses and Streets Still Standing in the Forest, 30 Minutes from Vancouver (Known Location)
The Ioco Townsite in Port Moody was built in the early 1900s by Imperial Oil to house workers at the nearby Ioco oil refinery — a complete company town of worker houses, a community hall, and a school laid out in the Coast Range forest above Burrard Inlet. When the refinery operations shifted and the housing was no longer needed, the town was progressively abandoned. Many of the original houses and community structures still stand in the Port Moody forest, the empty streets and dilapidated homes creating one of the most accessible and most atmospheric company town ghost sites near Vancouver. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map Canada.
🔗 Also read: Top 5 Best Abandoned Places in Canada →
3. Whistler Train Wreck – Near Whistler, BC — 1956 Railway Derailment, Abandoned Boxcars in the Rainforest, Covered in Murals, Accessible via Forest Trail (Known Location)
In 1956 a Canadian National Railway freight train derailed in the Coast Range forest near Whistler, leaving a series of boxcars in the trees that proved too difficult to remove. A local family was contracted to get the cars off the track but ultimately left them in place. Over the following decades, the boxcars became a canvas for artists and a destination for Whistler visitors — now covered in elaborate murals and surrounded by old-growth rainforest, accessible via a 20-minute hike from the Cheakamus River trail. The juxtaposition of decaying 1950s steel freight cars and living BC rainforest is one of the most visually extraordinary abandoned places near Vancouver. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map Canada.
4. Abandoned BC Coast Range Copper Mine – 1900s-1930s Coastal Mine, Headframe and Concentrator Buildings Still Standing Above a Fjord, Sea Access Required (Exclusively on Our Map)
A 1900s-1930s copper mining complex on the BC coast — the original headframe still standing above the fjord shoreline, the concentrator building, and the aerial tramway infrastructure that carried ore down from the mine face to the waterfront loading dock. BC's coastal copper mines were accessible only by sea; when ore grades fell, the mines were simply abandoned in place with all equipment still present. The combination of the dramatic coastal mountain setting, the sea access, and the completeness of the abandonment makes this one of the most extraordinarily atmospheric abandoned places near Vancouver. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map Canada.
5. Abandoned Fraser Valley Salmon Cannery – 1900s-1930s Pacific Salmon Processing Plant, Processing Building on Pilings Above the Fraser, Lower Mainland (Exclusively on Our Map)
A 1900s-1930s salmon cannery on the Fraser River delta — the original processing building perched on pilings above the tidal water, the cannery worker bunkhouses in advanced decay, and the wharf infrastructure half-submerged in the Fraser estuary. BC's salmon canning industry was one of the most productive in the world through the early 20th century; over-fishing and processing consolidation emptied dozens of small Fraser River canneries by the 1950s. The combination of the Pacific salmon heritage, the Fraser delta landscape, and the atmospheric coastal decay makes this one of the most distinctively West Coast abandoned places near Vancouver. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map Canada.
Safety Tips
- Riverview rules: access is 6am-9pm only with 24-hour security and CCTV — never visit outside permitted hours; interior access requires authorization from BC Housing
- BC coastal conditions: tidal fluctuations and Pacific weather change rapidly on coastal sites — always check marine forecasts and tide tables before visiting any waterfront location
- Never explore alone — always bring at least one other person
The urbex code applies everywhere: "Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints."
❓ FAQ
What is the most famous abandoned place near Vancouver?
Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam — a 1913 psychiatric campus closed in 2012 that has become Canada's most-used film and television location. X-Files, Supernatural, Riverdale, Deadpool 2, and Watchmen have all filmed here. Accessible to the public daily 6am-9pm; exterior exploration permitted, interior requires authorization.
What is the Whistler Train Wreck?
A series of CN Railway freight boxcars derailed in the Coast Range forest near Whistler in 1956 and left in place when recovery proved too difficult. Now covered in elaborate murals and surrounded by BC rainforest, accessible via a 20-minute hike from the Cheakamus River trail. One of the most photographed urban art and abandoned places destinations near Vancouver.
What was Ioco Townsite?
A 1920s Imperial Oil company town built in Port Moody to house workers at the Ioco oil refinery. When refinery operations shifted and the housing was no longer needed, the town was progressively abandoned; many original houses and community structures still stand in the Port Moody forest, accessible from public roads.
🎯 Summary
The abandoned places near Vancouver range from Canada's most-filmed psychiatric campus where Deadpool and the X-Files were shot, to a 1956 train wreck whose boxcars are now covered in murals in the Whistler rainforest and a 1920s Imperial Oil company town still standing in the Port Moody forest. Each of these 5 abandoned places near Vancouver captures a different layer of BC's extraordinary resource extraction and institutional heritage.
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