Tuesday, August 5, 2025
Table Mountain National Park in Cape Town, South Africa, is once again allowing visitors to hike some of the routes in the Silvermine and Tokai areas of the park after the wildfire in April 2025. South African National Parks (SANParks) has implemented a phased reopening system that balances the needs of tourism with the safety and environmental restoration requirements of the park.
As per the incident reports from SANParks, the wildfire in April 2025 impacted more than 2800 hectares of fynbos within the Cape Floral Region Protected Areas World Heritage Site. This fire along with the one in May required a combined effort of more than 250 personnel which included ground and aerial firefighting units. The environmental impact of the fire forced SANParks to close a number of hiking and recreational areas for a while to conduct damage assessments and some restoration work.
Silvermine and Tokai Hiking Trails Have Opened Again
Key hiking routes around Silvermine Gate 2, located on the eastern side of Ou Kaapse Weg, have reopened as of July 1, 2025. The following trails may be accessed by hikers:
- Waterfall Trail
- Echo Valley Trail
- Spes Bona Valley Trail
- Kalk Bay Trails
- Boyes Drive Trails
- Steenberg Plateau
These trails offer vantage points and access to fynbos-covered sights overlooking False Bay and looped connections through the Table Mountain National Park trail network. Appropriate signage, up to date maps, trail monitors, and staff are available to ensure access to permitted areas only.
In the Upper Tokai area, some access is opening up, but Level 4 and Level 5 hiking zones are still closed. These sections have a higher erosion risk and are under active terrain stability monitoring. Visitors are discouraged from using unmarked trails and are to only stay within the designated reopened zones.
Silvermine Gate 1 Continues to Remain Closed
As of now, Silvermine Gate 1, located to the west of Ou Kaapse Weg, is still closed due to ongoing structural damage along with overgrown vegetation requiring restoration work, including:
- Silvermine dam
- Silvermine riverwalk
- Elephant’s eye trail
As per the latest update from SANParks in July 2025, most trails in this area are expected to open by September 2025, provided all engineering inspections are finished. The Silvermine Dam and Riverwalk are under infrastructure rehabilitation and are expected to stay closed at least 2025, depending on weather and construction progress.
Safety Instructions for Trail Use
Reopened trails are still under additional safety restrictions including:
- Rigid access through defined entry zones only
- No-go zones with visible damage or structural hazards
- Enhanced ranger presence with active visitor supervision
- New marker and safety signs along with trail’er update
Ranger services, real time messaging and closed zones are still in effect. SANParks has characterized some areas as internally dangerous due to fragile soil, broken pathways, and trees weakened by fire.
The SANParks Table Mountain website provides trail maps, trail conditions alerts, and live access updates.
Impact of Tourism and Visitor Data
Table Mountain National Park is the most frequented national park in South Africa. Based on statistics from SANParks, the park had over 4 million visitors in 2024. Controlled access gates recorded 232,420 entries in December 2024, which marks a 9.5% increase compared to the previous December.
Restoration of the trails is critical for the recovery of Cape Town’s outdoor tourism, which is essential for the local economy and jobs. The park attracts visitors from all over South Africa and the world, especially for its hiking, eco-tourism, and guided nature walks.
Alternative Routes and Ongoing Accessibility
Though parts of Silvermine and Tokai are still closed, there are other hiking routes on Table Mountain that are fully accessible. These include:
Lion’s Head Spiral Trail: Open at all times of the year and provides 360-degree views of the Cape Peninsula.
Cape Point Section Trails: This segment includes both coastal and inland trails, and remains open and unaffected by the April fire.
Platteklip Gorge Trail: Northern slope of Table Mountain has a direct upward trail to the summit.
Pipe Track: A well-moderate level scenic western flank trail of the mountain.
Coastal trails, along with inland routes, are still open and unaffected by the April wildfire. Through Cape Town tourism and other regional travel bureaus, the hiking routes are advertised and promoted.
Post-Fire Management
After the fire incident of April 2025, SANParks, together with other qualified professionals and local environmental NGOs, initiated a structured ecological restoration program. Some of the key efforts includes:
Replanting indigenous tree and shrub species.
Invasive species removal.
Encouraging regeneration of natural fynbos by the use of prescribed ecological burns.
Supervision over the recovery rates of fire resistant species and vegetation.
The given efforts are in compliance with the national strategy of South Africa and in fire prone ecosystems in Table Mountain, the actions taken help with long term resilience against fires.
Wider Policy Context And Tourism
The recovery of Table Mountain is important within the context of the sustainable travel strategy and the tourism strategy for South Africa which emphasizes the protection of natural heritage. The reopening of trails is in sync with the extending recovery framework of the tourism sector as outlined by the Department of Tourism which aims to restore balance in the sector after the pandemic and other crisis disruptions.
The phased reopening is an example of the integration of environmental conservation, public access, and tourism that is often thought to be incompatible. Other protected areas facing comparable challenges may look to Table Mountain’s reopening for crisis response and tourism resilience strategy guidance.
Conclusion:
As of mid-2025, the reopening of Table Mountain National Park hiking trails is moving forward, step by step, within systematic frameworks that ensure public safety and the healing of environmental damage. The regions are slowly regaining travel activity as the tourism sector opens in a phased manner.
Travelers, tour guides, and partner organizations in conservation are encouraged to monitor SANParks for official updates regarding trail access, rehabilitation updates, and safety protocols.
