< Vancouver & Victoria's Top 10
Stanley Park
A local favorite since the Victorian era, spectacular Stanley Park is a mere 10-minute bus ride from downtown. Forest walks, beachside strolls, and a vibrant rose garden are among its natural attractions. Amusing activities include a popular children’s waterpark and farmyard, tennis courts, and a pitch-and-putt course. Located in the park, the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre is world-renowned for its realistic walk-through exhibits based on scientific research projects.
Top 10 Features
English Bay
Inukshuk, English Bay
The sandy beaches draw crowds to enjoy strolls and the view. The heated saltwater pool at Second Beach offers a warmer alternative to the bay. Kids delight in the play area nearby. Sunbathers relax against driftwood logs at Third Beach.
Siwash Rock
According to Squamish legend, this ancient lava rock deposit jutting up from the water was once an Indian warrior, turned to stone.
Beaver Lake
Hiking trails to Beaver Lake through a raincoast forest follow old logging roads. Frogs, raccoons, rabbits, and even coyote may be spotted at the natural-state lake fringed by cattails and water lilies.
Seawall
Pedestrians, cyclists, and in-line skaters happily share the 6-miles (10-km) paved path ringing the park, with its unimpeded views of English Bay and Burrard Inlet. Look for unusual features, such as the sculpture Girl in a Wetsuit on an offshore rock.
Lost Lagoon
This willow-fringed lagoon is an inner city wildlife sanctuary, protecting a bevy of wood ducks, blue herons, and white swans. At night, the central fountain is colorfully lit up.
Brockton Point
The point offers a terrific view of Burrard Inlet. In 1915, a lighthouse was built to guide vessels into the harbor. Sailors set their chronometers by the Nine-O’Clock Gun at nearby Hallelujah Point. Its boom has been heard nightly since 1894.
Brockton Point Visitor Centre
Three carved gateways and a cedar-wood interpretive pavilion welcome visitors to the park. One of the poles on display is by Haida artist Bill Reid, who carved a replica of a pre-1878 Skedans mortuary pole.
Vancouver Aquarium
Marine displays capture the drama of the West Coast. Five Beluga whales share the space with 70,000 other inhabitants (For further details see Vancouver Aquarium).
Prospect Point
The view from here, the park’s highest point, across the dark blue water of Burrard Inlet to the Coast Mountains is one of the best in the city.
Rose Garden
A formal rose garden blossoms year-round. From April to September, a variety of perennial plantings ensure vibrant color.
Tip: Traffic in the park is one way, counterclockwise. Pay parking is strictly enforced.
Tip: Bicycle & in-line skate rentals 604 688 2453.
Tip: Four fine-dining restaurants and many refreshment kiosks offer plenty of food options. The Fish House in Stanley Park serves afternoon tea. Upstream Café in the aquarium has coffees and sandwiches.
Chief Joe Capilano
Visitor Information
- 311
- www.vancouverparks.ca
- Open 24 hrs daily (not all sights)
- Adm to some activities
- Vancouver Aquarium
- 845 Avison Way
- 604 659 3474
- www.vanaqua.org
- Open late Jun–Aug: 9:30am–7pm; Sep–mid-Jun: 10am–5pm
- Adm: Adult $21; Seniors, youths & students $16; Children $13 (under 3s free)
< Vancouver & Victoria's Top 10
Vancouver Aquarium
Wild Coast
Sea lion, Wild Coast exhibit
Walkways lead past marine creatures from the wild BC West Coast. The animals include frolicking sea otters, playful dolphins, harbor seals, and porpoises as well as African penguins and the often vocal Steller sea lions that are members of a shrinking worldwide population. There are touch-pools with shoreline animals, demonstrations by intepretive staff, and training sessions with marine mammals.
Canada’s Arctic Habitat
Beluga whales are the main draw here. Visitors admire them from both inside and outside locations. Indoors, on the lower level, two floor-to-ceiling windows allow underwater viewing. Interactive exhibits provide information about the beluga’s native arctic environment. For an extra fee, try a Beluga Encounter.
Pacific Canada Exhibit
This two-storey gallery highlights marine life from the Strait of Georgia and brings visitors face to face with an underwater habitat filled with a vast web of plant and animal life. Divers mingle with thousands of schooling herring, salmon, crabs, kelp, sea stars, and other Pacific marine life. Sturgeon, wolf-eels, and anemones also inhabit this exciting exhibit.
Amazon Rainforest
Caimans, members of the crocodilian group, co-exist in a hot, humid jungle setting with well-camouflaged sloths and colorful butterflies that flutter around. Visitors can experience a tropical rainstorm every hour in this exotic space.
Clownfish Cove
Clownfish Cove
This interactive play zone, designed to appeal to children eight years of age and younger, features animals such as sea-horses, horseshoe crabs, toads, and, of course, clownfish. A make-believe marine mammal rescue hospital allows kids to nurse a toy sick or injured seal pup. Puzzles, puppets, dress-up costumes, and crafts are on hand to amuse the little ones.
Tropic Zone Gallery
This gallery highlights the animals found in the tropical reefs of the Indo-Pacific. Learn about the blacktip reef sharks, seahorses, clown anemonefish, and the freshwater species that also call the tropics home.
Treasures of the British Columbia Coast
Local waters are the focus of this colorful gallery. Wolf eels, rockfishes, and a giant Pacific octopus can be spied lurking in the depths.
Beluga Encounters
Join a trainer or animal-care specialist behind the scenes and learn about the amazing aquarium animals during a hands-on, interactive training session. Or book a sleepover with belugas.
Our World Gallery
Prepare to be amazed and inspired by this introduction into the fascinating world of the Vancouver Aquarium and its exhibits. This gallery features an in-depth look at the ongoing research and conservation initiatives, which take place both onsite and in the field.
4-D Experience
Filled with thrilling sensory effects, this attraction combines the drama of a 3-D wildlife film with special effects, such as wind, water, scents, and more. Film schedules change daily.
History of Stanley Park
Coal Harbour peninsula was inhabited for thousands of years by Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, and Squamish Coast Salish nations in a village known as Khwaykhway (pronounced Whoi-whoi). In 1862, the peninsula became a military reserve to protect the harbor from American invasion, but the village and its dwellers were left undisturbed. Stanley Park was established on the former military reserve after the Great Fire of June 13, 1886, destroyed the entire city. The park opened in 1888, and was dedicated by Lord Stanley the following year. By 1892, there was no sign of life left in Khwaykhway – most of the Natives had died in a smallpox epidemic between 1888 and 1892.