Day Trips

Best Parks and Gardens

By Vancouver Magazine /

BLOEDEL FLORAL CONSERVATORY

Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver
604-257-8584

The conservatory’s triodetic dome looks like a prop from a 1960s sci-fi flick but is really habitat for hundreds of tropical, subtropical, and desert plant and bird species.

 

CAPILANO SUSPENSION BRIDGE

3735 Capilano Rd., North Vancouver
604-985-7474

They call it bungee walking and swear it’s strong enough to support a loaded 747, but you’ll still be scared.

 

GEORGE C. REIFEL MIGRATORY BIRD SANCTUARY

5191 Robertson Rd., Westham Island, Delta
604-946-6980

The 850-acre wetland provides habitat for more than 280 bird species and now attracts 60,000 annual visitors as one of Canada’s top bird-watching sites.

 

JERICHO BEACH

1300 Discovery St., Vancouver
604-222-1331

Jericho is a family-oriented beach that begins just west of Alma Street and stretches more than four kilometres down to Spanish Banks. Enjoy the sunset on the Galley patio at the Jericho Sailing Centre, possibly the best public (and licensed) patio in town.

 

LOWER SEYMOUR CONSERVATION RESERVE / RICE LAKE LOOP

North end of Lillooet Rd., North Vancouver
604-990-0483

This is the birthplace of North Shore-style mountain biking (steep, fast, and tricked-out with jumps). There’s also a paved, 10-kilometre wilderness path around Rice Lake that’s ideal for strollers and in-line skaters.

 

LYNN CANYON

3663 Park Rd., North Vancouver
604-990-3755

This North Vancouver park is 250 hectares of temperate rainforest surrounding Lynn Creek. A local favourite for easy hikes, summer river dips, and a lesser known but still no less nerve-racking suspension bridge.

 

NITOBE MEMORIAL GARDEN

6804 S.W. Marine Dr., UBC, Vancouver
604-822-9666

An authentic Japanese tea and stroll garden, the Nitobe Memorial Garden offers a place for quiet reflection.

 

UBC BOTANICAL GARDEN

6804 S.W. Marine Dr., UBC, Vancouver
604-822-9666

Vancouver’s mild climate means that visitors will find something of interest in this 70-acre garden year-round.

 

VANDUSEN BOTANICAL GARDEN

5251 Oak St., Vancouver
604-878-9274

Seventy-five hundred plant varieties equal garden paradise—and an Elizabethan hedge maze, too!

 

WRECK BEACH

Off Trail 6 along N.W. Marine Dr.

One of Canada’s two officially sanctioned nude beaches, Wreck Beach is located below UBC’s hallowed halls of academia. It’s named for several sunken barges in the offshore waters.