Vancouver’s Best Parks and Nature

by Blog Updates | May 09, 2019

Best Public City Parks

Some of the best city parks in the Lower Mainland are the following:

Ambleside – a picturesque park in West Vancouver with beaches, a walking path along the water and views of English Bay and Lions Gate Bridge.
Bear Creek Park – a popular park in Surrey with a miniature train for kids, an outdoor pool and attractive gardens with a duck pond.
Burnaby Mountain – a mountain with parkland overlooking the region.
Cates Park – a waterfront park with open grassy spaces, a large children’s play area, beaches and walking trails through the forest in North Vancouver.

Cates Park Waterfront in Snow — View of Burnaby Mountain from Cates Park

Central Park – a forested park in Burnaby that’s home to Swangard Stadium.
Deep Cove – a pretty oceanside village that’s home to Panorama Park and the Baden Powell Trail path to nearby Quarry Rock.
Deer Lake Park – a popular city park in Burnaby with walking trails around the lake. The park is also home to the Burnaby Village Museum, Burnaby Art Gallery and Shadbolt Centre for the Performing Arts.
Jericho Beach – a beautiful beach but also a park with fields and walking trails too.
John Hendry Park – a great Vancouver park in the summer that’s home to the weekly Trout Lake Farmers Market on Saturdays.
Kitsilano – a popular park with a sandy beach, massive outdoor swimming pool, basketball and tennis courts, a children’s play area and grassy fields.
Minoru Park – a pleasant city park in the heart of Richmond.
Mundy Park – a 178-hectare forested park with extensive trails in Coquitlam.
Queen Elizabeth Park – a beautiful park perched on the hill and home to the Bloedel Conservatory.
Queen’s Park – a large city park in New Westminster with forested walking trails, sports facilities and a large children’s play area.

Shoreline Trail in Port Moody — Shoreline Trail at Rocky Point Park

Rocky Point Park – an exceptional park on the waterfront in Port Moody with walking and cycling trails, a pier, outdoor pool and large children’s play area and water park.
Stanley Park – this is the absolute best and most famous city park in the region, and one of the finest in the world. It has beaches, nature trails, a massive outdoor pool, world-class views and a seawall for walking and cycling around.
Town Centre Park – an impressive park in Coquitlam with an outdoor stadium, skateboard park, children’s water park and Lafarge Lake.

Alice Lake Canoeing — Canoeing at Alice Lake

Best Regional and Provincial Parks

If you are looking for nature, you’ll find lots of it in the following regional and provincial parks:

Alice Lake – for camping, canoeing or just walking around (located near Squamish, 45 minutes north of Vancouver).
Baden Powell Trail – a fabulous hiking trail that passes through a number of North Shore parks and includes fabulous views from Quarry Rock near Deep Cove.
Belcarra Regional Park – near Port Moody and home to beautiful Sasamat Lake.
Boundary Bay Regional Park – a great park near Tsawwassen that’s also a famous bird sanctuary.
Brackendale Eagles Provincial Park – a world-famous park for bald eagles in the winter near Squamish.
Buntzen Lake – a beautiful reservoir managed by BC Hydro that’s popular for hiking and swimming.
Chilliwack Lake Provincial Park – a popular provincial park with of hiking trails in the Fraser Valley.
Capilano River Regional Park – home to the Cleveland Dam, nature trailsand source of much of the region’s fresh drinking water in North Vancouver.
Cultus Lake – a popular park and campground in the Fraser Valley.

Entrance Bay Dock at Cultus Lake — Entrance Bay at Cultus Lake

Cypress Provincial Park – home of Cypress Mountain (the ski resort), but also amazing hiking trails in the summer.
Golden Ears Provincial Park – location of beautiful Alouette Lake and a great place for summer camping in Maple Ridge.
Lighthouse Park – a park in West Vancouver with a rugged coastline and views of Vancouver in the distance.
Lynn Canyon Park – a world-class park in North Vancouver with hiking trails to Lynn Canyon suspension bridge and Rice Lake.
Lynn Headwaters Regional Park – home to some of the North Shore’s best hiking trails.
Mount Seymour – it’s a ski hill (and that part’s not free), but also a provincial park with free trails for snowshoeing in the winter and hiking in the summer.
Pacific Spirit Regional Park – located in the UBC Endowment Lands, it has over 70 km of walking and hiking trails, not to mention clothing-optional Wreck Beach.
Pitt Lake – the lake and region just north of Pitt Meadows offers great places for walking and cycling along the dykes.
Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary – the best place to see birds in the Lower Mainland.
Rice Lake – a beautiful lake to walk around and fish at in North Vancouver.
Rolley Lake Provincial Park – a great place for summer camping in Mission.
Sasquatch Provincial Park – a picturesque beach, hiking trails and campground near Harrison Hot Springs.
Shannon Falls – a park with a beautiful waterfall 45 minutes north of Vancouver.
Stanley Park – yes, this is a great city park (where you can stroll and feed the ducks and squirrels), but also a place where you can hike through the forest.
Stawamus Chief – for hiking and mountain climbing (located in Squamish, 45 minutes from Vancouver).
Whytecliff Park – a stunning place not far from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver.