A byootaful Life

Last Friday was a really nice warm, sunny day so we decided to make the most of the weather and head up to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. We haven’t been before and although we’d been told that Lynn Canyon is pretty much the same thing (but free) and that Capilano is nothing but an expensive tourist trap, Mum was keen to go and we hadn’t been yet, so we figured why not?

We caught the free shuttle from an extremely busy Canada Place and sat back for the (bumpy) 30 minute drive up to the park. There was no queue to buy tickets and we were inside within minutes, greeted by girls in heritage dress and a sound system pumping out some classic fiddle music.

Here’s an insider tip: After buying your tickets, head to the little shack on the left. Present a valid government-issue BC I.D and they’ll give you a free annual pass card, it’s as easy as that! I don’t have my BC driver’s licence yet so I took a copy of our lease and they accepted that. Did I mention it’s free? For the price of one adult admission, you can return as many times as you like for a whole year! We’re definitely going to be coming back once the newest attraction cliff walk is operational – that thing looked crazy!

Pretty much the first thing you have to do when you arrive at Capilano is walk over the suspension bridge, since the bridge is the only thing connecting you with the rest of the park. The bridge was very wobbly and it swayed a lot. If you’ve been to Lynn Canyon and crossed the suspension bridge there, don’t even think about comparing them – they are so different! Lynn Canyon’s bridge is like crossing concrete compared to the movement of the Capilano bridge, which can get a little… disconcerting… when you’re halfway across and feel like you’re stumbling drunk.

The bridge is 70 metres above the water and 136 metres long and did I mention it sways?

Once you make it across, there’s a few different paths to follow and some lovely scenery. There’s also a canopy walk, which was good (but I wanted to be higher!) There’s a lot of platforms to stop on during the canopy walk, which gives you the opportunity to take photos and pose with some of the biggest trees you’ve ever seen, like this one:

The walking paths are all pretty easy – there’s a few steep parts but nothing a little huffing and effort won’t get you up. For the daredevils, the cliff walk will be opening soon and we managed to catch a glimpse of part of it from the viewing platform and it looks awesome(ly scary).

Looks like fun, hey?

We had a really good day, but after a few hours we had pretty much exhausted all the walks and were ready to catch the free shuttle back to downtown at 2:30pm. It worked out well because we had planned to visit Granville Island that afternoon too, so we walked over Granville bridge and had a late lunch (Chinese for Phill and me, a burger for Mum) and walked around the market. Needless to say, we weren’t there long as our legs were about to drop off, but we still had enough time for a walk around the market and try some candied salmon (ew, just ew!) before heading home.

I know it’s expensive, but coupled with the free shuttle there and back, and the free annual passes, I think it was definitely worth it, and we will absolutely be back to check out the cliff walk!