Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
WORTH A DETOUR
FALSE CREEK SEAWALL TRAIL
Stanley Park isn't the only stretch of seawall worth hitting. In fact, during summer
when the park is crammed with tourists, other sections of Vancouver's waterfront
trail are preferred by the locals. One such off-the-beaten-path area is
False Creek
. Running along the entire shoreline on both the north and south banks, the sea-
wall trail is an excellent way to hang out with some Vancouverites.
Keep in mind that the northern bank walk is around 2.5km and the southern
stretch around 3.5km. Rental bikes are available around the city as well if you'd
rather take a two-wheeled approach instead of walking.
Start on the north side of False Creek at Yaletown's David Lam Park (
Click here
)
and head east alongside several intriguing public artworks. Look out for Brush
With Illumination, which looks like a giant ray gun, and Lookout,which recalls the
area's gritty industrial heritage. Continuing east, you'll pass under
Cambie
Bridge
. The first version of this span was called the
Connaught Bridge
; the
second had a swing mechanism so it could open for passing boats. This third ver-
sion was opened in 1985. Continue on your weave and you'll pass into the area
that housed
Expo '86
, the giant world exposition that put Vancouver on the in-
ternational map and triggered the regeneration of this decaying industrial water-
front stretch. From here to Science World (
Click here
), you'll pass several remind-
ers of the big event: the
Plaza of Nations
, Science World itself and, in the dis-
tance, the
SkyTrain
Expo line.
From here, you can hop on the SkyTrain to downtown, take a miniferry to Gran-
ville Island or continue your walk by hitting False Creek's southern shoreline to
Granville Island.
If you decide to keep strolling, follow the seawall trail past Science World to the
Olympic Village (
Click here
)
, the high-rise housing development on the southeast
corner of False Creek. Home to around 3000 athletes during the 2010 Olympic
and Paralympic Winter Games, it's now a new city neighborhood containing hun-
dreds of condos plus shops, bars and restaurants. Depart from the seawall here
for a nose around and make sure you take some snaps of the giant bird sculp-
tures in the main pedestrian area. If you need a break for lunch, Tap & Barrel
(
Click here
)
is a good pit stop and it has a great patio overlooking the water.
From here, continue west along the seawall, passing over a steel pedestrian
bridge shaped like a canoe, and you'll soon come to an unlikely urban attraction.
Habitat Island
- an artificially constructed tree-and-shrub-lined creation - is a
new inner-city sanctuary for passing cormorants and blue herons (plus the occa-
