Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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19
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Stanley Park Seawall
Built in stages between 1917 and 1980, the park's 8.8km
seawall trail
is Vancouver's
favorite outdoor hangout. Encircling the entire park, it offers spectacular waterfront vis-
tas on one side and dense forest on the other. You can walk the whole thing in roughly
three hours or rent a bike to cover the route far faster. Keep in mind: cyclists and
rollerbladers must travel counterclockwise on the seawall, so there's no going back
once you start. Also consider following the 24km of trails that crisscross the park's in-
terior, including Siwash Rock Trail, Rawlings Trail and the popular Beaver Lake Trail
(some routes are for foot-traffic only).
The seawall also delivers you to some of the park's top highlights. You'll pass along-
side the stately
HMCS Discovery
naval station and a twee
cricket pavilion
that looks
like an interloper from Victorian England. About 1.5km from the W Georgia St en-
trance, you'll come to the ever-popular
totem poles
. Remnants of an abandoned 1930s
plan to create a First Nations 'theme village,' the bright-painted poles were joined by
the addition of three exquisitely carved Coast Salish welcome arches in 2008. Once
you've taken your photos, continue on to the nearby
Nine O'Clock Gun
(it fires at 9pm
every night) and
Lumberman's Arch
, which is a good spot to see Alaska cruise ships
