Stanley Park

Stanley Park

Stanley Park is probably my most favourite location here in Vancouver. Being over 10% larger than New York City's Central Park, Stanley Park has many different attractions. The park attracts an average of 8 million people per year. What i absolutely love about the park is the 8.8km long sea wall. I personally enjoy biking along the path but many joggers and roller-bladers share the path as well. Besides the 8.8km sea wall, the park also has over 200km of paths that run through the forest which consists of over half a million trees that have lived over 100 years old. The history of this park dates back to 1888 when it was first opened by David Oppenheimer. The park also has a water park, streams, a lake, a beach, and monuments. Because of all the attractions and natural park feel due to the large amount of trees, Stanley Park was ranked as the 16th best park in the world by the Project for Public Spaces and 6th best in North America.

Although logging isn't a major issue for Stanley Park, many trees have still fallen victims to many different storms that have torn down many trees since the park first opened. Since 1992, many of the parks tallest trees were required to be cut down due to safety reasons.

One tree that has gained a good amount of fame is the "National Geographic Tree". The tree was given the name because it appeared in the magazine’s October 1978 issue. With a circumference of 13.5 m, it was once one of the more impressive big Western Red cedars of the park. Although surviving many years of storms and a lightning strike, the National Geographic tree was uprooted in 2007.

Arnold Schwarzenegger running the Olympic Flame in Stanley Park.

During the 2010 Winter Olympics, the governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, paid a visit to Vancouver to run the torch in Stanley Park. I am glad to say I had the privilege of seeing the passing of the torch myself. But eh, I think it's pretty random that we got a governor of an American State who isn't even American to run the torch in Vancouver, Canada.

Stanley Park is definitely 10x more enjoyable during winter. A large section of the park is decorated to suit the holidays. With bright Christmas lighting and many different decor, the park gets transformed into a winter wonder land. There are many food vendors that come to set up shops here during this time as well. A huge attraction to many tourists that come during the winter time is the Stanley Park miniature train that travels along the entire park. The train is also open during Halloween. With the aroma of hot chocolate and marshmallows, fresh pop corn and roasted nuts, and the many bright lights, it still wouldn't be complete with out Santa Clause! As this is the time of year for giving, all the proceeds from the train tickets sold go to the BC Professional Fire Fighters' Burn Fund which helps all burn victims and survivors.



This is an excellent park to come visit during any season. I come here during the summer to bike along the sea wall, and during the winter for the train. If you decide coming to visit, i suggest you come during the winter time. Thanks for reading, hopefully now you will want to come and visit!