Lynn Canyon Park

Lynn Canyon is the alternative to Capilano: a suspension bridge about fifty metres above Lynn Creek, completed in 1911 and opened in 1912, in a park of second-growth rainforest with trails through it, and admission is free. The creek runs through a narrow rock gorge with pools, of which Thirty Foot Pool is the well-known one. The water is the danger here: the creek looks calm at the surface but has undercut rock, cold temperature and sudden level changes after rain, and there have been many drownings and cliff-jumping deaths over the years, with signs and rescue callouts to match. An ecology centre by the bridge explains the forest.

History

Settlers logged the old-growth forest here for Vancouver's timber trade, and in 1871 the creek took its name from the sapper John Linn of the Royal Engineers, the spelling becoming Lynn by the turn of the century. In 1910 the McTavish brothers gave 5 hectares of canyon land to the District of North Vancouver, hoping a park would draw buyers to their real estate, the district added 4 more, and the suspension bridge designed by C. H. Vogel, completed in 1911, opened with the park at the first Lynn Valley Days on 14 September 1912; it cost 10 cents to cross until the district repaired it and made it free (Wikipedia, Lynn Canyon Park).

Highlights

• The suspension bridge - a free crossing fifty metres above the creek, opened in 1912.
• The gorge pools - rock basins including Thirty Foot Pool downstream.
• The rainforest trails - loops through second-growth forest and to Rice Lake.
• The ecology centre - displays on the temperate rainforest system.

When to go

May to September; the trails are open year-round but slippery and dark in winter rain. Weekends fill the small car park by mid-morning. Take the bus if possible.

Before you go

The creek has killed a significant number of people through jumping and slips; the calm surface hides undercut rock and cold. Parking is very limited. Trails are steep and rooted with steps.

Nearby

Capilano Suspension Bridge lies west; Deep Cove is east.

Key facts