Stanley Park

One of North America's largest urban parks, with 405 hectares of temperate rainforest surrounded by sea on three sides. Its 9 km seawall path, totem poles, and views of the Lions Gate Bridge make it a Vancouver icon.

Stanley Park sits at the northwest tip of the peninsula in downtown Vancouver. It opened in 1888 and covers 405 hectares, larger than New York's Central Park. Inside is old-growth temperate rainforest of native western red cedar and Douglas fir, and the park is surrounded by Burrard Inlet and English Bay on three sides. The classic way to visit is to bike or walk the full 9 km Seawall loop (about 1 hour by bike, 2–3 hours on foot; counterclockwise and one-way). Along the way you pass Coal Harbour marina and the downtown skyline; the nine Indigenous totem poles at Brockton Point (the most popular attraction in BC) and the lighthouse there; the Girl in a Wetsuit sculpture, commemorating a 1888 shipwreck; the area under the Lions Gate Bridge (built in 1938 in the same style as San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge) and the Prospect Point lookout; Siwash Rock, a sea stack; Third Beach and Second Beach, the best places for sunset in summer; and English Bay. Inside the park you'll also find the Vancouver Aquarium (Canada's largest, about CAD 45, with belugas and sea otters), a rose garden, Lost Lagoon (swans and raccoons), a miniature train with Halloween and Christmas themes, and the Prospect Point café. Bikes can be rented near the Denman Street park entrance for about CAD 10–15 per hour, with a deposit required. You can also take a horse-drawn carriage tour (about CAD 60 for one hour) or ride the free park shuttle bus in summer. Entry is free, but paid parking for cars costs about CAD 4 per hour. Getting there: it is a 15-minute walk from downtown to the entrance, and the No. 19 bus goes into the park. Nearby, you can combine a visit with the Coal Harbour waterfront path and Canada Place, or take a seaplane sightseeing flight from the park. Keep in mind that the seawall is one-way counterclockwise, with pedestrians and cyclists on separate lanes. It is rainy and slippery in autumn and winter. Do not feed the raccoons or coyotes. There have been recent coyote attacks on people.

Stanley Park

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Places to eat nearby