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“Every Story Needs an Element of Suspense – or It’s Lousy” ~ Sydney Pollack

A steady rain had been pelting down for the past 2 days in southwest British Columbia, and this morning was no different. Slogging through traffic as thick as the mud on the local trails, we finally reached the North Vancouver area. After a quick stop at Harmony Donut Shop (if you know, you know; if you don’t know, you need to know!), we jumped a few paces east through hilly neighborhoods to Lynn Canyon Park, home of the Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge.

The lesser-known of the Vancouver-area suspension bridges, Lynn Canyon does not see nearly the level of traffic as nearby Capilano Suspension Bridge. While Capilano offers unique experiences such as the Cliff Walk or the holiday light display, Lynn Canyon offers a more peaceful, laid back experience, all without having to fork over any admission money (there is a nominal parking fee at the Ecology Centre). 

No Such Thing as Bad Weather

Now you might be wondering “Why would you want to go to a suspension bridge in the rain?!” Fair question. While there’s no bad season for exploring the park and trails near the bridge, the rainy season adds an exciting element, with the creek roaring at full capacity. With the headwaters in the high reaches of the Coast Mountains, the heavy rains of the preceding days had turned the Lynn Creek into a violent torrent of water, roaring through the canyon with a vengeance. With the trails and bridges safely above the water level, this is one of the best times to marvel at the power and magnitude of the winter flows. Couple this unique experience with the sparse crowds of winter, and you have a great opportunity to explore one of the Vancouver area’s true hidden natural gems. So grab your slicker and your wellies and get to it!

Hiking Has its Ups and Downs

There are several hiking options in the park; from the parking area, you can opt to head straight to the suspension bridge, only a few steps away, or you can take the trail down to the Twin Falls Bridge, allowing for a short loop through the woods. The full loop also offers other spur trails to extend your hiking to several miles. We chose to head to Twin Falls first. Several dozen steps on a wide, railed wooden walkway take you all the way down into the canyon, with views of a waterfall and pool downstream. In summer months, the falls are a picturesque multi-tiered flow into a deep azure pool, but on this particular day, water rushed at such a high volume through the gorge that it was hard to tell where exactly the falls began and ended. Heavy spray lifted off the pool, and the lush green was overrun with whitewater along most of the creek. 

From here, we took the trail up and to the left…remember all those stairs down? The way up the other side gains just as much elevation as you lost before, but luckily it is in smaller sections of trail, rather than just one continuous staircase. The woods are a beautiful mix of second growth cedar and fir, towering over the trail with their mossy trunks and outstretched branches. The trail gets muddy in places when off the boardwalk with periodic puddles and rivulets of water, so bring proper footwear to keep your feet dry. With the rain, I opted to not wear my Salomon trail runners, but was able to navigate just fine in my Allbirds Wool Runner Mizzles with their high sole and water-repellent wool upper. 

When you reach the landing above the suspension bridge, you’ll find 2 trail junctions. The first continues up the slope toward the east parking lot, while the second heads down to river level before accessing the 30 Foot Pool, a popular summer swimming spot when flows are lower and slower. With the full park encompassing 617 acres, there are many options for forest wandering.

The Suspense is Killing Me

After a large field trip group from a local school cleared the bridge, we headed across. The ends of the bridge are surprisingly steep, as the structure sags over the deep canyon, with the creek 50 meters (164 feet) below. The bridge is narrow, and bounces and rocks with every step, and provides stunning views in both directions from the center (though this makes for an incredible photo op, please keep in mind others trying to cross the bridge, and make your selfies quick!) The creek below was carving through the canyon at full force, and the rain kept pounding down from above. Fog and mist lingered in the evergreens, providing a truly quintessential pacific coastal forest experience. 

Despite our raincoats, at this point we were starting to feel the chill and the dampness seemed as though it was trying to permeate our bones, so we completed our journey across the bridge and headed down to the North Vancouver Shipyards Brewery District to dry out with a couple pints. 

For more information, visit the Lynn Canyon website. I will say the site is not terribly visitor-friendly, with a significant amount of ads and pop-ups, but if you can overlook this, you can find all the basic info you’ll need. 

Wild & Clean

As always when recreating on public lands, please be mindful of nature and others and Leave No Trace. Be sure to properly dispose of all waste. We saw numerous pieces of garbage discarded both along the trail and over the various railings and fences, despite the presence of waste receptacles in several locations in the park. In one area, two Starbucks cups had been wedged in a pocket of roots in the bank about 15 feet from the trail. We filled a small produce bag with everything we could grab; please consider bringing your own small bag to help make the park a cleaner place! If you already do this on a consistent basis, take a look into being a Wild Keeper through Keep Nature Wild; applications for the Spring term are open now!

_{Wild Keeper graphics courtesy of Keep Nature Wild}

All photos and content © Eric S. Allan 2024

For media and publication inquiries: eric@corneroffirstandadventure.com