Lynn Canyon, Vancouver

Lynn Canyon is absolutely gorgeous for hikes and walks. It contains a beautiful waterfall and a suspensions and the best thing is that is free!! It's easy to access by public transportation. Many go to Capilano and pay $50 for the same experience.

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Lynn Canyon Park is a natural park surrounding a deep gorge cut into the mountains by Lynn Creek. The park officially opened in 1912 and was only 12 acres (4.9 ha) in size, but it now encompasses 617 acres (250 ha). The park has many hiking trails of varying length and difficulty. The Baden-Powell Trail passes through the park crossing over the Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge. The park is a second growth forest, with the most of the oldest trees being 80-100 years old.

But probably the most attractive thing about this park is the suspension bridge which is about 68m long and hovers a thrilling 75m above Lynn Creek. It's still a bit of a hidden gem in Vancouver and for those who know about before coming to Vancouver will enjoy going here instead of pushing through the crowds at Capilano Suspension Bridge. Lynn Canyon Park is free to visit and not as crowded as Capilano Suspension Bridge. There are a couple of shorter trails which are perfect for tourists. Those who are looking for longer trails are at the right place as well. Once you cross the Suspension Bridge you can turn left and follow the trail upstream towards the "30 foot Pool" (a 20 minute walk), a pool of stagnant water from the creek which is popular in the summer to cool down and for cliff jumping. You can continue to Rice Lake and beyond.

When you turn right after crossing the suspension bridge you can follow the trail downstream to Twin Falls (a 20 minute walk). Here you can enjoy these beautiful falls and return to the suspension bridge or you can keep following the trail all the way to Keith Road where you can catch a public bus. When you do that it's best that you go by public transit or you'll have to hike your way up again.

There is also the Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre which you can visit by donation (if you wish). Here you can lear about British Columbia's natural history through our interactive exhibits. The Ecology Centre features four galleries full of displays about the connections between plants, animals, and people. Nearby the suspension bridge is the Lynn Canyon Cafe where you can have some lunch, a drink and just relax after your walks in the park.

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This is a very pleasant park which offers a way to see the huge evergreen trees and access some beautiful swimming holes by bus, or it's a very easy drive from North Vancouver. It also has a suspension bridge, a great alternative to that overcrowded other suspension bridge. There are a few nice trails to choose form, some only taking 30 minutes to complete.

Okay, we paid $26.00 for Grouse Mountain, but I put my foot down at $21.00 for the Capilano Suspension Bridge. Instead, we decided to visit the less-crowded Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre and Suspension Bridge instead, and it was a great experience -- also, the price is right: there is no entry fee.

The suspension bridge hangs 20 stories over Lynn Canyon, and offers great views. The park is so relaxing, as we were going full speed while in Vancouver, it offered us some downtime. It is beautiful example of the temperate rain forest, and the educational centre was very informative.

Instead of paying the extortionate price at Capilano, I would suggest Lynn Canyon instead. It too has a suspension bridge, not as high as capilano but just as scary to walk along! There is also no admission charge.

To get to:

By Car:
From Highway 1 (Trans-Canada) take the
Lynn Valley Rd. or Mountain Hwy. exit.
From Lynn Valley Rd. turn right onto Peters Rd.
This will take you to the Park Drive.

By Public Transit:
From Vancouver, take the Sea Bus to Lonsdale Quay.
Take the #228 or #229 bus from there.
(#229 does not run Sundays or Holidays).
Ask the bus driver for the stop closest to the park.
From Phibbs Exchange in North Vancouver,
take the #229 bus.

Most tourist guides and as a consequence most tourists visit the Capilano Suspension Bridge when visiting Vancouver. Do yourself a favour and allow a day for a trip to Lynn Canyon.
Out along Mountain Highway or Lynn Valley road you arrive at the Eco centre where you can pick up a map. There are trails going down one side of the canyon, past the 30 foot pool. This is a pool of crystal clear water. Some very game (or dumb) people take a dip without realising the water flowing in then flows out over the rim of the pool and continues its cascade down the valley.
Its an easy walk down but then of course you have to work a bit harder up the other side.

The trail is well marked and not overly taxing. Once back up on the rim you cross the suspension bridge.

Best of all and rather different from Capilano is that Lynn canyon is totally FREEEEEEE!!!!

Its a must visit

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We decided to visit Lynn Canyon to walk the suspension bridge on a sunny Saturday afternoon but soon found there was much more to see and do.

We caught the Seabus to North Vancouver, a 10 minute trip offering great photo opportunities of the harbour and Vancouver. Upon arrival at North Vancouver we crossed the road and caught the bus to Lynn Canyon for a 20 minute ride which wound its way through the suburban hills. Our bus driver told us where to alight and a 5 minute walk brought us to the entrance.

The canyon is surrounded by massive pine trees and the path down to the suspension bridge wove its way through the pines. The bridge is a few hundred metres long and only wide enough for 2 people, being crowded as it was the weekend and some people found it very scary in the middle. Passage over the bridge was slow due to a few people becoming"frozen" and others stopping to enjoy the spectacular view and take a photo.

On making it to the other side we walked along the track and found our way to the river, a very nice place to spend an hour or two.

There is a snack food shop near the entrance , but if you are thinking of staying for a while it may be better to bring your own. Free entry is a bonus and using public transport it is cheaper to purchase a day ticket which is valid on both the Seabus and local bus service. On our return we visited the North Vancouver market which is located a few hundred metres from the bus terminal.

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I had read about the suspension bridge at Lynn Canyon in my guidebook as an alternative to the overvisited and extremely expensive Capilano Suspension Bridge which currently costs $25.95 to traverse.

I didn't go to Capilano so I can't really compare it to the suspension bridge at Lynn Canyon but Lynn Canyon is free and I thought it was a lovely area to explore. We didn't have oodles of time but we walked down to the rocks where people were wading in the water and jumping off the rocks into a deep pool of water.

Compared to Capilano this place is great. It is free, quite and has excellent marked walks for everyone to enjoy. We did this early on in our holiday and apart from seeing the whales was the best thing we did. The bridge is smaller than Capilano but unlike there it is very quite and you can get a photo without being bounced along the bridge. We went for a few walks after along side the river, got lost (the best bit) and saw lots of squirels playing in the trees.

It was the best money we didn't have to spend (apart from the bus fare).

This is one of my favorite spots in north vancouver. The bridge is actually really high, and I know a few people who won't get near the thing. But its pretty awsome looking so far down into to river/creek, its also right beside a waterfall. It's fairly common to see people cliff jumping beside the waterfall here, I haven't done it but it does look like fun. The hikes around here are really beautiful, and range from pretty hard to real easy. There is also an ecology center here that has some interesting information about the flora and fauna in the park.