Capilano Bridge, Grouse Mountain and Cleveland Dam Tour Vancouver

Capilano Suspension Bridge Park

The Capilano Suspension Bridge is one of Vancouver's most famous sights: a swaying footbridge 137 metres long, hanging 70 metres above the Capilano River in a deep rainforest canyon. The first bridge here, made of hemp rope and cedar planks, was built in 1889; today's steel-cable version is far stronger but still moves gently under your feet. Admission is included, and you spend about 75 minutes in the park with your guide pointing out the highlights.

Beyond the bridge, the Cliffwalk is a series of narrow cantilevered walkways bolted to a granite cliff above the canyon, and the Treetops Adventure links seven smaller suspension bridges among Douglas firs around 250 years old. Raptors Ridge introduces birds of prey, the Kia'palano area displays carved totem poles that tell Indigenous stories, and the Story Centre explains the park's history and engineering.

Grouse Mountain and the Grouse Grind

Grouse Mountain rises directly above North Vancouver, its summit at more than 1,200 metres giving sweeping views over the city, the harbour and the Pacific coast. The tour gives you about 80 minutes here, plus time around the Grouse Grind trailhead, the steep 2.9-kilometre forest trail with some 2,830 steps that locals call nature's stairmaster.

The Skyride gondola to the summit is not included. If you choose to buy it on the day, the top of the mountain offers a wildlife refuge with two rescued grizzly bears, a seasonal lumberjack show, birds-of-prey demonstrations, a chairlift and, in winter, snowshoeing and skating; ziplines and ropes courses cost extra. Many visitors ask whether Grouse Mountain is worth visiting: on a clear day, the summit view alone makes it one of the best things to do in Vancouver.

Capilano Lake and the Cleveland Dam

A short drive up the valley brings you to the Cleveland Dam, completed in 1954 across the Capilano River. Behind it lies Capilano Lake, a long reservoir framed by forested mountains, which supplies a large share of Metro Vancouver's drinking water. From the dam you look up the lake to the twin peaks known as the Lions, the mountains that gave the Lions Gate Bridge its name.

You have about 20 minutes at the lake and another 20 at the dam for photos and a short walk in Capilano River Regional Park, where forest trails follow the river down toward the hatchery. In spring and after heavy rain, water roars down the spillway, an impressive sight. It is a peaceful contrast to the busier attractions and shows the wilder side of the North Shore mountains.

Capilano River Hatchery

The Capilano River Hatchery, opened in 1971, raises coho and chinook salmon and steelhead trout to help restore fish runs on the Capilano River after the dam blocked their natural route upstream. Free exhibits explain the salmon life cycle, from eggs and young fish in the rearing ponds to adults returning from the ocean years later.

The highlight is the fish ladder: a series of pools and windows where, from summer to late autumn, you can watch returning salmon leaping upstream on their way to spawn. The best time to see them is usually from July to November. You spend about 20 minutes here, and it is a favourite stop for families and anyone curious about the Pacific salmon that are central to life on this coast.

Stanley Park and the Lions Gate Bridge

The tour begins by passing through downtown Vancouver and Stanley Park, the city's great urban park of more than 400 hectares, opened in 1888 and wrapped by a famous seawall. The road crosses its old-growth forest before reaching the Lions Gate Bridge, which spans the First Narrows of Burrard Inlet to the North Shore.

Opened in 1938, the Lions Gate Bridge is a green-painted suspension bridge with a main span of more than 470 metres and views of the harbour, the mountains and the city skyline. On the way back you stop briefly by Burrard Inlet for a last look at the water and the city before your driver-guide drops you in downtown Vancouver, about six hours after pickup.