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

Incredible stories of Vancouver's past - I took this tour in August of 2021, but that date was not available in the Date selector on Trip Advisor. This is a "must do" for visitors and locals. The information is remarkably interesting. I learned so much about the formation of Vancouver and Stanley Park that I would never have sourced on my own. The guide was fantastic and had a wonderful sense of humour. He made many maps and images to show us visually about the stories from the past. It was a wonderful day, which added immensely to the enjoyment of the walk.

One of the best tours I've ever had - 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... - 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 with "two n's" 5 Stars! - 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 CAN TELL A STORY - 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 !

See Stanley Park like Never Before - 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.

The Origin Story of Vancouver! - Glenn gave us an excellent tour! Highly informative and engaging, he varied his sources, themes, and stories as the tour progressed -- but the story was clearly brought together at the conclusion, definitely proving the importance of Stanley Park and how its history relates to the history of Vancouver itself. Very persuasive, very detailed, and great storytelling!

Recommend highly the Forbidden Vancouver Tour of Stanley Park - Our tour guide, Glenn, was very knowledgeable about the history of Stanley Park, Vancouver and the original First Nation residents. Of equal importance were his story telling skills. Glenn was very engaging and welcomed questions, while encouraging participants to share their knowledge as well. This tour was very informative and fun!

Fantastic tour of Stanley Park with unique insights - Fascinating and informative tour of Stanley Park with insights into the founding of Vancouver, uncomfortable truths of the appropriation of Stanley Park from the indigenous tribes, and insights into the ecology of the park. Glenn was the best of guides!