Stanley Park’s Forgotten Stories: Hidden Mysteries and Untold Histories

Behind the postcard views of Stanley Park lies a web of forgotten crimes, lost communities, and cultural erasure that shaped the park’s history.

Forgotten Crimes and Vanished Villages

Most visitors to Stanley Park come for the Seawall, totem poles, and towering cedars. But the park’s history includes chilling tragedies and erased communities.

One of the most haunting is the Babes in the Wood murders—two young brothers found dead in 1953. Their case remained unsolved for nearly 70 years. It wasn’t until 2022 that forensic genealogy identified them as Derek and David D’Alton.

Equally forgotten is the Squamish village of Chaythoos, which stood near the park’s entrance until residents were displaced to make way for “green space.” Oral histories and research by historian Jean Barman reveal that families at Brockton Point and Kanaka Ranch were also pushed out (BC Studies).

The Park Before the Park

Long before 1888, when Stanley Park was officially opened, the peninsula was home to Coast Salish people for thousands of years. The transformation into a park followed a colonial pattern. This meant clearing land of its original residents to create a public amenity.

The erasure was not just physical but cultural—place names, burial grounds, and gathering sites were left unmarked. Their histories were nearly lost. Today, Indigenous-led walking tours like Talaysay Tours are working to bring those stories back into the public eye.

For a broader look at Vancouver’s Indigenous heritage, see our guide on Backpacking vs. Luxury: Which Adventure Suits Your Soul?.

Why These Stories Matter

According to crime historians and archivists, remembering these histories does more than satisfy curiosity. It challenges the idea of Stanley Park as a “purely recreational” space. Moreover, it becomes a living archive of displacement, resilience, and mystery.

The public response is often one of shock. Many lifelong Vancouverites admit they’ve walked these paths for years without knowing about the park’s darker chapters. That surprise is now fueling a push for greater visibility of hidden stories.

Possible Steps Forward

• Install interpretive signs and QR codes linking to archival material and oral histories.
• Fund Indigenous-led storytelling projects in the park.
• Expand tours like Secrets of Stanley Park Walking Tour to cover lesser-known events.

For more local stories, visit our feature on 5 Surprising Secrets About Surrey That Will Change the Way You See It.

Closing Thoughts

Stanley Park is more than a scenic escape—it’s a layered landscape of beauty, loss, and endurance. By acknowledging the tragedies, vanished villages, and untold stories, we don’t diminish its magic. We give it depth, turning a walk in the park into a journey through time.