The free suspension bridge in Vancouver: Lynn Canyon

Why Lynn Canyon is free at all

It started as a toll bridge and became free when it passed into public hands. That is the whole story, and it is the reason two bridges a few kilometres apart can charge such different amounts for what looks, in a photograph, like the same experience.

What Capilano has that Lynn Canyon does not

This is where I stop being coy about it. Lynn Canyon has one bridge and the forest around it. Capilano has:

• Treetops Adventure — seven suspended footbridges between old-growth Douglas firs, on platforms up to 33 m above the forest floor.
• The Cliffwalk — a cantilevered walkway 213 m long, up to about 30 storeys above the canyon.
• Raptors Ridge, seasonally from late May to September, with falcons, owls and other birds of prey.
• The Story Centre and Kia’palano, plus free guided talks with the schedule posted at the entrance.
• 1.8 km of paved stone path and boardwalk, which matters if anyone in your group is unsteady on roots and mud.
• A seasonal free shuttle from downtown. Lynn Canyon has no equivalent.

What Lynn Canyon has that Capilano does not

Swimming holes, forest trails, and no queue. Nobody is timing your entry and nobody is charging you CAD $76.95 to stand on a bridge. On a hot August afternoon, when Capilano is working through its share of over 1.2 million annual visitors, that is not a small thing.

Lynn Canyon’s bridge is shorter and lower than Capilano’s 137 m and 70 m, and it has been carrying people across since 1912. Nobody stands on it wishing it were longer.

Is Capilano free for BC residents?

No. That question comes up constantly and the answer does not improve with repetition. What BC residents can do is upgrade a ticket to an Annual Pass, which gives unlimited admission for a year plus dining and retail discounts. That upgrade is the only BC-resident concession there is. Passholders still have to book a timed entry, and there are a limited number of passholder reservations each hour during peak events such as Canyon Lights — the timing page covers those dates.

How I would decide

Car, tight budget, half a day: Lynn Canyon, every time. No car, one day in Vancouver, and you want the three engineered walks and the interpretive programme on one ticket: pay for Capilano, and read the worth-it page to check the reasoning holds for your trip. Both of those are honest answers; only one of them earns this site anything, which is exactly why I keep writing the other one down.

Frequently asked questions