Kelowna’s iconic waterfront boardwalk outside the Hotel Eldorado remains closed more than a year after safety concerns forced its shutdown, leaving one of the city’s most popular lakeside walking routes fenced off during the peak summer tourism season.
The wooden boardwalk along Okanagan Lake, which runs in front of the Hotel Eldorado and Manteo Resort, has been inaccessible since June 5, 2025, after an engineering inspection identified structural problems that posed a potential risk to pedestrians. Although the City of Kelowna originally expected repairs to be completed by September 2025, the project remains unfinished, with city officials and the hotel’s owner offering different explanations for the delay.
For residents, visitors and nearby businesses, the closure is more than a construction issue. The walkway is one of Kelowna’s best-known waterfront attractions and has already been the subject of years of legal disputes over public access.
Why is Kelowna’s waterfront boardwalk closed?
The closure began after Argus Properties, owner of the Hotel Eldorado property, notified the City of Kelowna about deteriorating sections of the boardwalk.
An engineering inspection carried out on June 5, 2025, found rotting wooden planks and structural instability beneath parts of the walkway. According to the inspection report, some sections could experience a “sudden failure” under pedestrian weight if they remained open.
Because the problems affected the boardwalk’s structural integrity rather than only its surface, city crews immediately installed chain-link fencing and barricades to prevent public access.
The affected section stretches along the shoreline in front of the Hotel Eldorado and Manteo Resort, an area widely used by residents, hotel guests and tourists exploring Kelowna’s lakeside.
Why haven’t repairs been completed?
When the boardwalk closed, the City of Kelowna estimated repairs would be finished by September 2025. Nearly 10 months after that target, the route remains closed with no confirmed reopening date.
The city says it hired a contractor to complete the required repairs but claims hotel ownership denied crews access to the property.
Johannes Säufferer, manager of the city’s real estate department, said the municipality understands the community’s frustration and continues working to restore public access.
Hotel Eldorado disputes the city’s account. Management says contractors arrived without prior consultation or sufficient notice, making it impossible for repairs to proceed safely and efficiently. The hotel added that discussions have taken longer than expected but said it remains committed to resolving the issue with the city.
Neither the City of Kelowna nor Argus Properties agreed to be interviewed about the dispute.
Why is this boardwalk considered public?
Although the boardwalk crosses privately owned hotel property, daytime public access is protected under a long-standing right-of-way agreement between the City of Kelowna and a previous owner of the site.
A sign near the Hotel Eldorado states that public daytime access is guaranteed under this agreement.
That legal arrangement means visitors normally have the right to use the waterfront path during permitted hours. However, safety concerns take priority while the structure remains unstable.
The legal battle that came before the closure
This is not the first dispute involving the boardwalk.
Several years ago, Argus Properties locked gates restricting public access to the walkway. The City of Kelowna challenged the decision in court, arguing that the right-of-way agreement required public access to continue.
In 2023, the British Columbia Supreme Court ruled in favour of the city and ordered the locks removed.
Argus Properties appealed the decision, but in 2024 the B.C. Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, confirming the public’s daytime access rights.
The current closure is unrelated to those legal rulings. Instead, it stems from engineering concerns and an ongoing disagreement over how repairs should be carried out.
Could the city simply carry out the repairs?
Former Kelowna city manager Ron Mattiussi said municipalities generally have authority to maintain public rights-of-way, even when they cross private property.
However, he explained that local governments often choose cooperation over confrontation, especially in long-standing relationships with property owners. Rather than forcing access immediately, municipalities typically attempt to resolve disputes through negotiation.
Mattiussi also noted that the Eldorado is one of Kelowna’s most recognizable businesses, meaning any disagreement involving the property attracts significant public attention.
Residents are becoming increasingly frustrated
Many residents say the boardwalk is one of Kelowna’s most iconic waterfront destinations and should have reopened long ago.
Shoreline access advocate Al Janusas believes public frustration is increasingly shifting away from the hotel and toward the City of Kelowna. He argues that, following the earlier court victories, many residents expected the municipality to resolve the latest dispute more quickly.
With another summer underway, the continuing closure has become a visible reminder of an unresolved disagreement between the city and the property’s owner.
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What visitors should know
The closure applies only to the affected boardwalk section outside the Hotel Eldorado and Manteo Resort. The hotels remain open, but pedestrians cannot use the fenced-off waterfront walkway until repairs are completed.
Visitors should avoid attempting to bypass the barriers, as engineers determined the structure could present a safety risk.
Anyone planning a trip around British Columbia should also check the latest BC Ferries service cancellations and route updates if travelling by ferry during the busy summer period.
Travellers following Canadian tourism and transportation developments may also be interested in the latest Qantas passenger compensation and travel update, which explains recent changes affecting airline passengers.
For official information on the boardwalk closure and future repair work, visitors can monitor updates from the City of Kelowna.
For now, no reopening date has been announced. Until repairs are completed and the structure is declared safe, one of Kelowna’s most popular waterfront walking routes will remain closed despite the public’s legal right to access it.
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