Capilano Suspension Bridge

Capilano Suspension Bridge is only ten minutes from downtown Vancouver (pronounced "Vancoover") and it’s one of our most popular attractions.

To get there all you have to do is take a short drive through Stanley Park (either through the park drive or along the causeway) over the Lions Gate Bridge into North Vancouver and take a left to go up Capilano Road and you will be there.

Another way to get there if you are staying at one of the downtown Vancouver hotels and don’t have a rental car is to get on the sea bus (passenger only ferry) from waterfront terminal at the edge of Gastown.

The sea bus leaves every 15 minutes and it takes about 12 minutes to cross over to the other side where you will be at the Lonsdale Quay. At the quay you take bus #236 and it will take you all the way to the Capilano Suspension Bridge.

The fast moving water 230 feet or 70 meters under the bridge is the Capilano River and from one side of the bridge to the other is 450 feet or 137 meters.

Capilano Suspension Bridge is actually Vancouver's very first tourist attraction. A Vancouver City Parks Commissioner named George Grant  MacKay who was also an engineer built the bridge and he also had a lot to do with making sure that another very popular Vancouver attraction Stanley Park was set aside as a park.

Standing on the suspension bridge you’ll find yourself smack dab in the middle of the West Coast rain forest surrounded by majestic evergreens.

The bridge itself is made of planks that squeak and sway which can be nerve wracking and quite frankly a little scary especially when and it's crowded during the peak season from June until August.

Once you survive and get to the other side there’s a walkway of planks called the tree top adventure (these ones don’t jiggle) where you walk through the rain forest tree canopy a lot like a squirrel going from tree to tree.

Plan to spend about 2 hours here. You’ll find the usual tourist stuff restaurants, gardens and a trading post that’s really a souvenir shop though it used to be a tea house.

Besides the bridge itself another fabulous attraction here is the totem pole park that’s been here for 70 years.

In the mid 1930’s local native Indians (known here as First Nations) were invited to place their totem poles and today they are still maintained in the same exact condition they were received.

During the summer months the staff dress up in 1890’s costumes and the First Nations people do storytelling and perform traditional dances.

Like in all the rain forest areas around Vancouver I always recommend you bring a light sweater because it can be cool in the forest even on a really hot day.

The only day Capilano Suspension Bridge is closed is Christmas Day. You should definitely include it on your list of must see attractions if you are visiting Vancouver.

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