Thursday, April 18, 2002

If you're thinking of visiting Vancouver, and need an excuse that has nothing to do with four-wheeling due to family obligations (ie. spouse and children), consider some of the many other recreational activities the area has to offer. One of my pastimes is roller-blading, and one of the nicest routes is a relatively flat course that stretches out along False Creek, English Bay, and the Stanley Park Seawall.

We parked the Toyota on Pacific Boulevard near the Vancouver Molson Indy Start/Finish line (just north of Science World and the Main Street Skytrain station). We laced up our skates and zoomed across the parking lot, crossed the Indy track, went through the Plaza of Nations, and out onto the path; a multi-use through-way designed for walking, cycling, and roller-blading. There are specific lanes for the different activities, so make sure you're on the correct side of the path. The path follows False Creek, where you can watch the Dragon Boat teams practice, passes under the Granville Bridge and the Burrard Bridge, and pops out at Sunset Beach, where you can look out into the bay and see sailboats leisurely plying the water, and large cargo ships anchored further out. The path continues along past English Bay Beach, and finally enters Stanley Park. The area beaches are extremely popular in the warmer months, but once you enter the park, much of the crowd disappears, and you are left to your own devices.

Wheeled travel through Stanley Park is restricted to a counter-clockwise direction only, and there's a 15km/h speed limit on the Seawall (periodically enforced by the Vancouver Police Department with radar units). The path heads right as it passes an adventure playground, and passes through a tunnel beneath a road. The path emerges at a bus station on the east side of Lost Lagoon, so named by the native Indian poet E. Pauline Johnson. While paddling her canoe during an extremely low tide, she found that her favourite paddling area had become a big mud flat, inspiring her to name it Lost Lagoon. Now permanently landlocked, the lagoon sports a large fountain that's enjoyed by the local waterfowl in the Summer months, but on this date in early Spring the Parks Board had not turned it on yet. Many waterfowl can be found in and around the lagoon, and if you are there at the right time of the year you can encounter a mother duck and her ducklings as they cross the path in front of you. Actually, there are many different types of wildlife in the park; I've seen squirrels, racoons, and rabbits, as well as ducks, geese, and other birds.

You will then pass beneath flowering cherry trees as you enter another tunnel beneath the main highway through the park, and as you emerge from the other side you will see the brown and white tudor-style building of the Vancouver Rowing Club framed between two large trees. You will pass a Royal Vancouver Yacht Club marina, then the guard shack for Deadman's Island; currently a Canadian naval base, but, according to legend, once the site of a fierce battle between rival Indian tribes.

Across Coal Harbour are the apartment buildings of the West End, the office towers of the downtown core, and the five sails on the roof of the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre. You can frequently see massive cruise ships docked at the terminal, and you can watch float planes taking off from, and landing in, the harbour.

Next up is the Nine O'Clock Gun at Hallelujah Point, which sounds every evening at exactly 21:00h. If you're in the area, you'd best cover your ears; the report of the gun is audible throughout Vancouver, Burnaby, and North Vancouver. As you approach Brockton Point and the lighthouse, you will have a view of the snow-capped North Shore mountains as they overlook the buildings of North Vancouver. An observation deck here provides some information about what you're looking at. Just past the lighthouse, but before the totem poles, the observant will spot the Chehalis monument in a quiet glade beneath the trees on the opposite side of the road. The ship "Chehalis" was sunk in 1906 by the "Princess Victoria" in Burrard Inlet, resulting in the loss of eight lives.

Further along the path you will see a statue perched on a rock in the middle of the water; it's called "Girl in a Wet Suit" and was donated by the Vancouver Harbour Improvement Society in 1974. Then it's through the pavement in front of the Variety Kids Water Park by Lumberman's Arch, then back onto the path. The water park is closed at this time of the season, but once the weather warms up it will be in full swing.

From here it's a long stretch towards Lions Gate Bridge. You'll pass a stone bridge over the creek from Beaver Lake; you can pass under the bridge through a narrow walkway to access the "Ravine Trail" that follows the creek. This trail is marked as environmentally sensitive, so please stay on the path. Once you're beneath the Lions Gate Bridge, you can hear the crashing sounds of metal as vehicles travel over the bridge expansion joints. If you time it right, once you are past the Prospect Point lighthouse you will be treated to a beautiful sunset as the sun drops beneath the horizon. The water was quite calm today, but I've been there when the wind was up and the waves were crashing over the seawall. Sculpted cliffs tower high above you, and signs are posted that warn of falling rocks.

There's another long stretch before you arrive at Siwash Rock, a forty-foot tall volcanic formation with a solitary tree perched near the top. From this stretch you'll be able to see Point Grey Beach and Pacific Spirit Park in the University of BC Endowment Lands, approximately 7km's across the bay. I found a couple of seagulls that had caught a pair of purple-and-white starfish; one seagull had the starfish hanging out of it's beak, and the other seagull hopped around nearby while I photographed the remaining starfish. You'll then pass Third Beach and Ferguson Point, at which time you'll be able to look across the water and see the the south shore of English Bay: Spanish Banks, Locarno, Jericho, and Kitsilano. As you pass Second Beach and English Bay Beach, you'll be able to see Vanier Park, home of the Pacific Space Centre, the Vancouver Museum, and the Vancouver Maritime Museum. And by the way, all of these places I've mentioned are great places for visiting and taking the kids.

The Seawall route is just under 9km's long, and the path from our parking spot to the park is approximately 5km's each way, for an approximate total of 19km for the round trip. It actually took us two hours to complete the trip, which included plenty of stops for photographs and for resting on the numerous benches that dot the route. If that's a bit long for the young ones, the stretch from the Indy track to Stanley Park or to one of the beaches before it is quite reasonable, or you can park near Stanley Park and just skate the Seawall route. If you're on foot, there's a ton of walking trails that meander throughout the park; the Parks website listed below has a map that you can print out and take with you. Don't forget the mosquitoe repellent.

I highly recommend this extremely scenic route to anyone visiting the Vancouver area. Bring the whole family, kick back, and enjoy your stay!

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