Stanley Park - North Shore Day Trip

I've always enjoyed going outside, but for more than one reason I haven't been able to do as many trips as I'd like this summer. It wasn't until August 31 that I was finally able to leave my house and just go somewhere on my own, maybe even take some pictures with my fancy Nikon D500.

Where I live (the lower mainland of BC), it's relatively easy to get around on public transit. I wasn't going to go anywhere crazy far, but in the end I had travelled a fair bit around the region.

⊕ Waiting for the bus in downtown Vancouver.

I ended up going to Stanley Park, which is a little forested region not too far from downtown Vancouver. I think it's amazing that this park is so close to one of the most densely populated areas in Canada (if not North America).

⊕ The route once I got to Stanley Park.

Stanley Park is full of a lot of trails but I used to actually bike the seawall quite often. But since that's a 15 km route, I was just going to cut straight through the park to get to a lookout area.

⊕ What I was greeted with when the bus dropped me off.

⊕ Some trees in the park are quite tall.

⊕ More trails...

After the rose garden, I went straight into the trails

Eventually, the trail led me to beaver lake.

⊕ A small flock of wood ducks.

I've only heard of it and seen it in maps, but I never really visited it. It's not very impressive, but it's certainly quite a difference from downtown scenery. It reminds me a little bit of Strathcona provincial park. There are some trails there which are very enjoyable to walk through with similar sceneries.

After beaver lake, I travelled down ravine trail, which is apparently a sensitive area with no bikes allowed.

⊕ Ravine trail then turns into tunnel trail - you can just about see the end where it emerges.

As the name would suggest, tunnel trail ends at a pair of unimpressive tunnels that are really just the underside of Stanley Park Drive, a road that goes along the seawall of the park.

⊕ Looking eastwards once emerged from the tunnel. You can see the seawall on the right as it snakes around the water.

⊕ First sight of the Lion's Gate Bridge, looking westwards.

⊕ Sulphur stacks on the North Shore.

Walking over the seawall, I made it to the entrance of another trail to get to prospect point. If you follow the seawall, it's just mainly flat. To get to prospect point, on the other hand, requires going up a steep section of road/trail. I still remember the feeling of dread and anxiety when my parents decided we were going to go there. But we always ended up getting ice cream, so it evened out in the end :) .

⊕ There are multiple trails up to prospect point. This is Avison trail once it flattened out a bit.

⊕ Smol lion greets you on the overpass of the bridge.

⊕ A classic shot for any photographer in Vancouver.

⊕ Time for lunch!

⊕ I haven't taken very many photos of myself over the last few months, so this was a good one for the later half of 2021.

⊕ I quite like this picture.

After a little more walking, I finally arrived at prospect point. I took a short little timelapse as I ate lunch. It's been a while since I've done one. I like how it came out, and it's really interesting how you can see the deck of the bridge flex up and down rather noticeably. When walking on the bridge, you can definitely feel it, but I didn't think you could actually see it on video.

After all, the bridge was built in the 1930s when trucks and lorries weren't so heavy. The original two lane deck was also replaced with a wider 3 lane deck around the start of the millennium.

After lunch, I started making my way down towards the bridge.

⊕ Fun fact: I once fell off my bike while riding down this trail and injured my knee pretty badly.

At the Vancouver side of the Lion's Gate Bridge, there are a pair of lion sculptures greeting you. Crossing the bridge, I'll just let the pictures do the talking.

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The bridge connects the city of Vancouver to West Vancouver (a "district municipality"). After I got off the bridge, I started walking towards North Vancouver, another "district municipality". From my understanding, they are basically just cities that aren't as densely populated. They still contain everything you might expect from a small city.

⊕ Just after I had crossed into North Vancouver.

After this, I waited at the bus stop, intending to get to the ferry terminal to take me across the water again.

⊕ Waiting at the seabus terminal.

⊕ On the seabus, headed back towards downtown Vancouver!

I think I should have stayed a bit in North Vancouver. I would've gone to Lonsdale Quay market and just enjoyed the views of downtown Vancouver across the water for a bit. After all, I had skipped coal harbour while in Stanely Park, which is one of the best places to view the Vancouver skyline.

After I had disembarked from the seabus, I headed over a bridge that crossed some railway tracks back into Waterfront station. Waterfront used to serve passenger rail service all across Canada, but now I'm not entirely sure what it's used for. I wouldn't imagine it being used for freight much, as that's handled by the port of Vancouver further east near the second narrows.

However, one thing that Waterfront is still used for is a limited service commuter rail that goes out east about 80 kilometres called the "West Coast Express". You can see one of the trains in the background.

It is the only commuter train in Western Canada, so I'd love to have a go on it. Unfortunately it only goes away from Vancouver in the evening, and towards Vancouver in the morning which wouldn't work for me. I could take the Millennium SkyTrain line out east, and come back on the West Coast Express, but that only goes as far as Coquitlam, which is not quite as interesting to me. I'd rather go all the way to mission!

Speaking of the SkyTrain, it was time for me to go home.

After about 10 kilometres of walking, I was quite happy to get on a train back home (I am also a little out of shape). I'd absolutely love to do this trip again in the evening to catch sunset as well as light trails of cars on the Lion's Gate Bridge. Or I could also possibly go in the morning. I wouldn't ever have thought of going here by foot, but after this trip, I am just so excited for more of these small little adventures.