Secrets of Stanley Park Walking Tour
Secrets of Stanley Park
From secret cemeteries to ancient ghost trees
Public tours return April 3, 2019 | Private tours available
Highlights
- The secrets of Vancouver’s legendary Stanley Park.
- Explore the world-famous seawall, hidden corners, and wild forested trails.
- See famous crime scenes, glittering downtown vistas, historic totem poles, secret cemeteries, bizarre public art, and colossal old growth trees.
- Hear the true stories of why the park was opened, how the Lion’s Gate Bridge was built, and the what really went down on Deadman’s Island…
Quick Facts
- Duration: 3 hours.
- Suitable for ages 14+.
- Public tours return April 4, 2019.
- Price: $35 adults | $32 students and seniors.
- Private tours available — email [email protected]
- Start and finish: by the fountain outside the Aquarium entrance.
Photo Credit Kyle Pearce / Unified Stream via Flickr.
The Secrets of Stanley Park
Stanley Park. It’s almost 1,000 acres of pristine wilderness. Half a million trees including giants hundreds of years old. Eagles soar overhead while salmon, seals and even the occasional whale swim in the surrounding waters. It’s the city of Vancouver’s greatest treasure.
But there’s more to this park than incredible scenery. It’s also been home to crime, riots, persecution, political intrigue, class warfare, logging, hunting, disease, military installations, remarkable public art, ecological catastrophes, secret construction mega-projects, poetry, scandal, and murder.
So discover the Secrets of Stanley Park this fall with Forbidden Vancouver –– a whimsical 2.5 hours roaming the trails, seawall, sights and sounds of one of the world’s great urban retreats.
Your chance to explore Stanley Park
Stanley Park sits atop the Must Do List for just about every visitor to Vancouver — it’s loved by locals too. And it’s easy to see why. Bigger than New York City’s Central Park, framed by water on every side, overlooked by snow-capped mountains, and packed with wildlife.
So here at Forbidden Vancouver we’ve designed an experience for those who really want to explore Stanley Park. Your expert local guide will take you from the world-famous seawall with glittering vistas of the downtown skyline to dark forested trails home to ghost trees, former crime scenes, and secret cemeteries.
Gallery
SECRET HISTORY
Hear stories of murder, war, hidden treasure, long lost cemeteries, vigilante justice, and the shocking tale of the “Stanley Park Prowlers.”
SHIPWRECKS
Treacherous waters by the park’s Prospect Point are home to long forgotten shipwrecks and watery graves.
CRIME SCENES
Think that 1,000 acres of dense forest on the edge of downtown is a good place to hide a body? You’re not the only one…
MAN VS WILD
Everyone from the City of Vancouver to the Tourism Board wants to tell you the park is an “untouched wilderness.” The truth is darker.
WILD COASTLINES
It took a wiry Scottish stonemason nearly a lifetime to tame the park’s wild shores. Find out about the unusual friends who helped him.
LOCAL GUIDES
Our guides are storytellers who love to entertain, inform, and delight their guests! Join your guide on a stroll through Stanley Park.
LIONS GATE HISTORY
The Lions Gate Bridge was built on beer money and dreams of fortune, a feat of engineering that still draws gasps today. See it in all its glory for yourself.
THE FAMILIES
Long before the park existed the land was home to both indigenous and mixed race families. Learn their fate, and the shocking cover-up that came after.
PUBLIC ART
The park’s home to the famous “Girl in Wetsuit,” cutting edge contemporary artwork, legendary totem poles, a hundred year old Japanese dragon, and more.
A secret history
Guest testimonials
Awesome and Whimsical Tour
“My husband and I were so happy to have gotten to chance to take this delightful and well informed tour of Stanley park. We both are locals and this tour has really opened our eyes to the history of Vancouver. Our guide Glenn was magical and well humoured and we couldn’t of asked for a better guide to take us on a whimsical walk on a beautiful sunny day.”
— Jessica Calorlin, via Trip Advisor
Fun and informative tour
“Would highly recommend this fabulous walking tour, Will was an amazing guide who brought Vancouver’s history to life using both humour and compassion. His attention to detail and genuine, personable nature ensured everyone on the tour had the most enjoyable time possible, he somehow even persuaded Mother Nature to cooperate and give us a picture perfect day.”
— Vincent V., via Trip Advisor
ENTERTAINING AND EDUCATIONAL
“It was a great way to enjoy the afternoon! Glenn, a superb storyteller, took us back through time and we understood an entire different side to Stanley Park. Learning about the native people who first inhabited the area, secret burials, hidden treasure and the evolution of the very City of Vancouver. The walk was gentle and our imaginations were all engaged with the true history.”
— , via Trip Advisor
Location