At twenty-two kilometers in length Vancouver can boast the longest uninterrupted walkway in the world. It begins downtown at Canada Place, goes west and around the entire Stanley Park peninsula, along past English Bay, up one side of False Creek and down the other, around Vanier Park, and finally ends at Kitsilano Beach. Water views all the way around. Any part of it is worth exploring.
All along the path from Cambie Bridge to Granville Island are parks and gardens. In one of the parks there are three enormous shiny jellybeans. One is red, one yellow, one black. Modern sculpture. From a distance I find them ugly: big, uncompromising, jarring in the natural environment. But up close they’re pretty cool, and kids love playing with them.
Burnaby Lake Regional Park includes a rowing course, an equestrian centre, picnic areas, and a sports field. There are over 10 kilometers of hiking trails and the biggest lake in the Lower Mainland, which attracts large numbers of birds.
Vancouver’s Beaches: At Spanish Banks during the time of the full moon the tide goes way way out and you can walk for miles. Kitsilano Beach is for the party crowd. Jericho is for family barbeque time. There’s also English Bay, plus First, Second and Third Beaches in the West End, and more beaches across the water in North Vancouver and West Vancouver.
Queen Elizabeth Park contains two beautiful flower gardens painstakingly and lovingly created from quarries, a duck pond, forested areas, sweeping green lawns for picnicking, cascading fountains, a restaurant, tennis courts, and the Bloedel Conservatory, home to numerous species of colourful exotic birds and plants.
The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia houses one of the finest collections in the world of cultural artifacts from indigenous communities, with an emphasis on west coast First Nations societies.
Finally no visit to Vancouver would be complete without a ride on the gondola up Grouse Mountain for spectacular views of the whole west coast area. You can also take the elevator to the top of the Eye of The Wind, a wind turbine tower that rises 57 meters above the peak of the mountain, for even better views.
I haven’t yet mentioned the Vancouver Art Gallery, the forested Pacific Spirit Regional Park, the charming fishing village of Steveston or the pedestrian friendly waterfront at New Westminster. On the north shore is Lonsdale Quay, Ambleside, Lighthouse Park, Capilano Canyon, Lynn Canyon, and Deep Cove. All are worth visiting, especially if you love the outdoors. Greater Vancouver presents a cornucopia of natural outdoor settings coupled with a cosmopolitan urban sensibility.
Page: 1 2
I recently learned there is such a thing as “Anti-Skills”; you know personality traits you…
I have always believed that if you’re sad you must allow yourself to express those…
My head was spinning with information—and misinformation—about Covid-19 vaccinations coming by way of emails, media…
Cancer care today is markedly different than what it was before the COVID pandemic. Some…
Thousands of us boomers were fortunate enough to grow up in the Pacific Northwest. We…
You know, life is a funny thing. The younger version of myself would never have…
This website uses cookies.