Capilano Rip-Off Bridge

So, as you may or may not know, Remi and I are cheap. We prefer the term "frugal" (prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful - Dictionary.com), but cheap will do. So it may surprise some of you that we would actually PAY to do a "hike". Well, stroll really. So here goes...

Capilano Suspension Bridge (AKA Capilano Rip-Off Bridge) is just what the name sounds like - a suspension bridge. BUT, it's HUGE. It's 450 feet (137m) across and 230 feet (70m) above Capilano River. The park claims that you can fly two Boeing 747 side-by-side under the bridge, but I'm skeptical... Maybe after some of that clear-cutting BC is famous for. It's also Vancouver's oldest park, opening in 1889. So what makes this great attraction worth $26.95 + tax per tourist? (BC residents get a whopping $2 discount!!) We're not quite sure. Let's analyse it a little.

They had some nice totem poles.

These guys with an extra stump for you to pose on. (Racist? We're not sure. Stereotypical? Definitely.) And they had a few Native Americans who came out and sang a traditional song with drums! This was neat to hear. And though the park touted having a "Native Art Gallery", all they had was a little lean-to with five or six carvings under it. The carvings were very cool though.

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OH! And they had the bridge, of course! It was actually pretty cool. Worth $26 when there's a not quite as cool suspension bridge only a short drive away? Probably not. And yes, those are our shadows on the left in the first picture :)

The park also had a "Tree Tops Adventure". In theory, this is a walkway built up off the ground in the tree canopy. In REALITY, it was a walkway built about 30 feet off the ground far below the actual canopy. It was "mediocre-ly" cool, as I put it. AND apparently this is a rainforest!! I couldn't tell what with all the ground cover having been cleared out!! I saw one fern per 100 sq. feet! RIDICULOUS! In REAL rainforests, such as those you can visit for free in and around Vancouver, and all over the coast and on the island for that matter, you can't step two feet off a path without being enveloped in understory (which is, for those of you who don't know: the shrubs and plants growing beneath the main canopy of a forest - Dictionary.com). This "forest" had absolutely NO understory!!

The park also had two extremely skanky looking "trout" ponds. I quotation-marked the trout because while there were trout in there, I doubt anything could live there naturally (in Remi's lingo, the ponds are "stocked with fish"). But you can feed the trouts if you go on their tours!! I might pay $3.50 to do that and only if there was nothing else to do in town.

Oh! And we were there. But how many of you would pay to see us?? (I'd love to know so I can hit you up the next time I see you.)

So after careful thought, Remi and I have decided that the reason it costs $26.95 + tax for non-BC residents is because of the extreme over-staffing with people dressed in 19th century garb. I saw about 5 women wandering around randomly "looking busy", not to mention the HORRIBLE barber-shop quintet playing in front of the outrageously over-priced Gift Shop.

Oh, I almost forgot! They had ring toss!! Probably worth about 50 cents a round :)

Have I made my point? We will only be going back because the $24.95 + tax that we paid includes a season's pass and we figure we'd better get the most out of it! Bottomline, we don't recommend it and if any of you deadbeats ever get around to visiting us (Remi's parents aside - they have actually been out here on two separate occasions!), we'll be taking you elsewhere to enjoy BC's beauty for free and away from the throngs of those who would rather part with their money.

Hope you enjoyed my review :)