Vancouver Secrets of Stanley Park Walking Tour

We LOVED The Really Gay History tour so brought our family along for our second outing with Forbidden Vancouver Walking Tours. When we saw that it would be led by Glenn again, we were Thrilled. He is a personable, erudite and prodigious story teller, and expertly guided us through the dark secrets of Stanley Park. Cannot recommend this tour highly enough, for Vancouver visitors and locals alike.

Fantastic tour! We were welcomed by our guide Cole who was brilliant. The history of the park is so interesting and thought provoking. Cole spoke so well and kept everyone engaged and entertained. I highly recommend the tour.

Rob was an amazing tour guide, very informative and a great storyteller! We came away with so much interesting information about the history, grief and struggles of the birth of Vancouver and Stanley Park. He kept us enthralled for the entire time. (something I cannot say for the Gastown Lost Souls tour which was overacted and boring -- we left early). I highly recommended this tour!

Me and my partner had the pleasure to take this tour with Glenn (Saturday Aug 10th 2024) As a high school teacher I understand the importance of story telling and considering different perspectives. Glenn not only achieved this, but he enriched our experience at Stanley Park. The tour is not only lets you explore the beautiful park, but also its seedy past. I recommend this tour if you are visiting this natural wonder. I will certainly add some of these tragic stories to my social science lessons!

Yesterday, Saturday 13th July my husband and I were able to go on a Dark Secrets of Stanley Park tour with Cole, our guide. It was EXCELLENT!

Even though we have lived in Port Moody for over 40 years and have visited Stanley Park many times,
We learned lots of pieces of information, history, cultural etc. that we had not previously known. Cole arrived early, and politely went around people who were waiting near the aquarium statue finding out and checking off people in his group,. The pace of the tour was right for the range of people who attended and throughout the tour Cole was professional polite and used a slight touch of humour. It was obvious he knew a lot of relevant information which he provided in appropriate amounts while at the same time answering questions and taking comments. The time seemed to fly by with Cole. He made sure he was respectful of other park users and carefully guided his group around often making sure that there was shade for people to stand under while listening to his comments. It was a great afternoon for us, and we would highly recommend Cole and this walking tour.

Great information! Definitely fun way to see Stanley park and learn about some of its dark history. Maybe not that great for kids though 😅

The guide was and excellent very engaging story teller. There wasn't a dull moment.
Many unusual facts about the history of the park.

I would give this more stars if I could. I have done a few tours in my week in Vancouver but this was the best. It was led by Aislynn (pron Ashlynn) who learnt she was of indigenous heritage in her 20s as her great grandmother covered this up to save her children being taken or forced into residential schools (like internment camps). This lived experience resonated with the dark secrets of Stanley park. Aislynn showed the dark secrets of polar bear enclosures and gravestones being used to build the sea wall and incorporated the indigenous history of the area, including the battles and sacrifice of 200 warriors at dead man’s island and the dark history of how 90% of local indigenous people were wiped out by the spread of small pox following first contact with white people, followed by the displacement of the local indigenous tribes from Stanley park, and then gov assimilation programs designed to erase culture and language of indigenous peoples. Unnervingly similar to Australian history with decimation by small pox, displacement, stolen generations, cultural genocide and racism. This was an enlightening history sensitively and dramatically told. Aislynn also made everyone feel included. She chatted to people between stops and happily answered questions. It was a lovely walk through the park too. I would recommend doing this if you can.

Glenn is an exceptional storyteller who enjoys sharing stories about Stanley Park and Vancouver in this tour. He is friendly and professional, and is eager to interact with his group. I was enraptured by his stories of the park, the native people who originally lived there, and updates about the park since the 1800s.

The guide was excellent. Stanley Park is beautiful. I enjoyed the history of indigenous people in the park.

Fantastic tour! Rob Teska, our guide and storyteller was fantastic. Tall, he walked a little fast for us in the first stretch, but then adjusted the pace for the oldies. He told us all sorts of incredible documented stories. Two hours walk, you must have good mobility.

Amazing way to get to know the history of Stanley Park. Tour guide Glenn was very passionate and knowledgeable about the subject

Will is a great guide, he does his job with lots of passion and gave us an exciting tour. I would definitly book him again.

I just moved into Vancouver. It is necessary to know the history of the city, the park, the island. From 20,00 years ago, the Indigenous coming, then 1791, 1792 the boats carried the Europeans arriving, inevitably, gold rush and CPR in 1860s to 1880s, prosperities the city.

Huge cedar tree, totem poles to me are sacred. They carried stories of nature, the telling of history, about us and our ancestors. They represent everything and all.

Our guide Grann tells us all about these very clear.

Glenn was an excellent guide. Knowledgeable, very entertaining, and a gifted story teller, he had our attention right from the start. He was easy to spot outside the aquarium with his safari-style hat, and took time to find out about each guest. He was mindful of group needs, ensuring everyone was comfortable and accounted for at all times. In terms of content, this tour greatly exceeded our expectations (and we went in with high expectations). Glenn covered history, flora and fauna, human interest stories connected to the park, and poets and carvers. There was no shortage of incredible views of the ocean and beautiful silences in the forest. We loved every aspect of this tour and are looking forward to booking another walking tour with this company.

Glenn is a FABULOUS story teller! Loved seeing the isaiah scripture portion on one of the old grave markers (maybe).... loved to learn about nursery trees and ghost stumps...and the stories of the native people / tribes that occupied the Vancouver area....and how Vancouver got it's name....and all about Gassy Town !

About a month after enjoying the “Lost Souls of Gastown” tour, my partner and I booked an excursion with Forbidden Vancouver’s “Secrets of Stanley Park” walking tour. Even though we’ve both patronized “Vancouver’s greatest treasure” numerous times, we felt – given our experience with the Gastown tour – that we’d likely learn something new. We weren’t disappointed!

The “Secrets of Stanley Park” clocks in at just over 2 hours and focuses primarily upon the eastern section of the park, near Deadman’s Island and Brockton Point. As you walk this area of the park, a difficult history is told about forced evictions, crime and tantalizing buried treasure! This all sounds like something out of a movie, but it happened – and right in this world renowned park – thanks to a backroom deal with the CPR. That, I admit, was surprising to learn!

Our tour, headed by Aislynn, started outside the Vancouver Aquarium, near Bill Reid’s “Chief of the Undersea World.” From here, we made our way to a fragment of Stanley Park’s recent past – the polar bear compound (see my earlier review on this site). For those born later than the early 1990s, the idea of a zoo in Stanley Park would seem foreign but, being a child of the 1980s, I do recall seeing the polar bears with my family. At the time, I probably thought it was really cool but, seeing the concrete “habitat” in the current day, it sticks out like a sore thumb and its inhabitants likely weren’t happy (dark secret #1).

We then wandered along one of the trails, coming upon a pile of stones, which were apparently from the Seawall restoration project. Of interest here? One of the stones had an inscription . . . you see, as the Seawall was being built, old tombstones were used in part of its construction (dark secret #2). But that’s not all. The general area in which we were standing constituted part of Vancouver’s original Pioneer Cemetery (see my earlier review on this site). It’s kind of eerie to know that, as we enjoy the Seawall, there just might be some bodies underneath our footsteps . . .

As we made our way towards Deadman’s Island (well, within the vicinity), we talked about the alleged $28,000 of treasure buried in Stanley Park, near the cricket pitch (dark secret #3). We then talked about the dark history of Deadman’s Island before moving on to the impressive Shore to Shore sculpture and the Brockton Point totems. It is here where, in my view, the “dark secrets” of Stanley Park really come into focus: Forced evictions of minorities and First Nations, all done in an underhanded way. Some of the evictees used loopholes to stay at their traditional homes a bit longer, but the state ultimately won. Indeed, there are a lot of memorials and plaques in and around Stanley Park, but there isn’t much to commemorate this story . . . and that’s sad.

While some of the material was fairly heavy, our tour guide, Aislynn, told the narrative well and used humour where appropriate to “lighten” this darker side of Stanley Park. In something of an ironic twist, while Stanley Park is beautiful and lauded by many, it is indeed surrounded by the tombstones of the dead!

If you get the chance to take this tour with Forbidden Vancouver, do it! It opens a whole new window upon Stanley Park.