Capilano Suspension Bridge Park in North Vancouver

We took things relatively easy on our final day in British Columbia, back in Vancouver after a couple days in Tofino.

Off to North Vancouver

After grabbing a coffee at Caffe Artigiano, we walked over to Canada Place to catch the shuttle bus up to North Vancouver. The city of North Van is located on the north shore of Burrard Inlet, across Lions Gate Bridge from downtown Vancouver. It is the second wealthiest city in Canada, after neighbouring West Vancouver, and is known for its many hiking and skiing trails along the North Shore Mountains. It’s unaffordable to live in for most, but a great spot for outdoor activities a short distance from Vancouver.

Visiting Capilano Suspension Bridge Park

Our plan for the day was to explore Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. The park’s main feature is a simple suspension bridge crossing the Capilano River. Built in 1889, it measures 140 metres (460 feet) long and sits 70 metres (260 feet) above the river. This is actually longer and higher than the scary looking bridge in Squamish. It felt more secure to me with the railings set closer to the bridge platform, but the wobbling while walking across still made my palms sweat — especially with the crowd of people ahead who kept pausing for photos.

The park is a private facility with a somewhat steep admission fee of about $60. It also features other attractions including the Cliffwalk, Treetops Adventure, and a nature trail.

The Cliffwalk took us across a series of cantilevered and suspended walkways along the granite cliff face above Capilano River.

The Treetops Adventure was a series of small suspension bridges attached to eight 250 year old Douglas fir trees.

In total, we spent about two hours at the park. Although it was quite touristy, I think it was fun enough to see once. If we had been feeling athletic, another nearby spot to visit could have been Grouse Mountain to do the Grouse Grind hike. There’s also Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge which is part of a public park with no admission fee.

Saying goodbye to Vancouver

The remainder of our day was spent catching up with friends. We had delicious soup dumplings at Dinesty for lunch, and then dinner at our friends’ home, where we got to meet their dog Lulu.

Speaking of dogs, we missed our silly shih tzu Gizmo so much while we were away. This was the longest we’ve ever left her, but she had a fun adventure of her own at her human grandma’s house in the suburbs, where she got to enjoy a backyard and practiced using the stairs.

We did consider bringing Gizmo on this trip, as she probably would’ve loved the parks and outdoor excursions we went on. However, my research determined that it would be too logistically challenging to bring her along, as there are very few restaurants in Vancouver that allow dogs on their patios, and even some of the outdoor activities we did were not fully dog-friendly. She definitely would have hated that seaplane ride to Tofino. If you do want to travel with dogs to BC, I recommend having a car and arrangements for pet sitting while you are there.

This wraps up the recap of our trip out west. Hope you enjoyed following along!