Vancouver Life: Early morning walk across the Lions Gate Bridge

On Saturday morning we both awoke early as is usual for our body clocks with Davids work schedule. It was forecast to be another beautiful day so we headed out early to catch the morning sun and do a walk I hadn’t completed before across the Lions Gate Bridge.

Walking at around 6.45am we were a little later than perhaps would have been ideal for the most perfect sunrise colours, nonetheless the views and warmth in the light from the morning sun were lovely.

The sun rising over the mountains, the railyards in the foreground still in shade.

Downtown and the bridge.

Mojo and I while David takes a photo. The early morning walk made much easier with the fresh hot coffee !

A little trivia about the Lions Gate Bridge. It was built in the late 1930’s, opening to traffic in 1938 and officially opened by King Georges VI in 1939. It was paid for by the Guinness Family who owned great swathes of land in West Vancouver and wanted easier access to Downtown. One of the stipulations by the city to allow the bridge was that local trades people and materials must be used as they were in the middle of the Great Depression and the bridge building was seen as a significant stimulus.

Originally built as a two lane (one each direction) highway the bridge was re-configured to accommodate 3 lanes, initially with a central passing lane before the signal system was introduced. In 1986 the Guinness Family paid to have lights installed over the bridge to make it illuminated and an attractive landmark at night. In 2009 these lights were replace by LED versions, reducing energy consumption by 90% and saving the Province approximately $30,000 per year in power and maintenance. Approximately 60,000 to 70,000 cars cross the Lions Gate Bridge each day.

More city and bridge views. It was great to walk across the bridge and see views that you frequently get as a snapshot when driving across, but today to really appreciate them.

Mojo and I in the centre of the bridge. Mojo wasn’t absolutely convinced that this on-leash walk across the bridge was better than an off-leash charge around in a nearby forest but he was happy to take whatever we threw at him !

More views of the bridge.

Views from the bridge of the city, a tug in the inlet and Stanley Park to the right.

As we cross the bridge to the other side we look down on Stanley Park as if from the treetops.

The Lions at the South end of the bridge. Today in their natural state the Lions frequently adorn outerware, such as Canucks jerseys when the hockey playoffs taking place etc.

After crossing the bridge we then switched to the West side of the road and walked up to Prospect Point. We thought we might be the first of the day to visit the outlook but discovered a bird has beaten us to it, sat on the railings taking in the view.

Lions Gate Bridge from Prospect Point.

West Vancouver, Park Royal and the east end of the dog beach.

The rest of West Vancouver.

A yacht passes under the bridge, it looks just likes Jeffs although the BBQ is on the wrong side of the outer deck at the back.

We pass a tree that has originally seeded itself on an old stump. Now, the new new tree has grown it’s own roots and support system while the old stump has rotted away.

We walk back across the bridge and then down the steps towards Park Royal where we have parked the car. As we cross Capilano River there are several residents of the nearby reserve fishing, and these views to the South.