Cycling Vancouver's Stanley Park
Take Your Bike or Rollerblades Along the Seawall in BC
Sep 30, 2008
Vancouver, BC is famous for its quality of living, gorgeous waterfront views, mountainous backdrops and Stanley Park. The best way to enjoy all of this scenery is to get outdoors, rent a bike or rollerblades and get active.
People with beginner to advanced fitness levels can enjoy the natural beauty of the Stanley Park Seawall like the locals. What better way to get a sense of a city than to take in its most impressive landscape?
Cycling Around Stanley Park
Do images of step aerobics classes and buns of steel videos make you snicker? Don’t quit your fitness routine just yet. Instead, rent a bike, eat a hearty meal and head to the natural beauty that is Stanley Park.
Called the Stanley Park Seawall, the 10 km path skirts around Stanley Park’s lush forest and offers spectacular views of the mountains, beaches and calm waters. It’s almost guaranteed that you’ll forget the need to workout and just enjoy the exceptional scenery (and you’re certain to work up an appetite to savour the wide variety of cuisine available in the city).
You’ll need up to two hours to get all the way around, depending on if you want to make stops along the way. The ride itself is fairly flat, so you don’t have to be a fitness buff to finish the route.
- Begin at Canada Place on the north west side of downtown
- Follow the route west along the water, running parallel to West Georgia Street
- When you get to the first pathway intersection, keep to the right and continue counter clockwise around the park
- You’ll pass the totem poles at Brockton Point, ride under the Lions Gate Bridge to North Vancouver and pass two gorgeous beaches
- Make any stops along the way by pulling over to one of the benches, lawns or where the path widens. This is a great time to take photos and hydrate with water
- Get back on the path and finish off the route, ending along Beach Avenue just past English Bay Beach
- At this point you’re on the south side of downtown and can access public transportation from here
Roundtrip, you’ll pound 10 kms of pavement while experiencing Vancouver at its most scenic. Rollerbladers, joggers and strollers will accompany you on the ride, so make sure to keep your eyes on the path. During the summer months, this advice is especially important, when the beaches and paths fill with sun worshippers taking their leisurely time.
Renting a Bike in Vancouver
Check out these retailers for rentals ranging in price from $5.70 to $10.00 CDN an hour, depending on type of bike:
- Spokes Bicycle Rentals: 1798 West Georgia Street, 604-688-5141
- Bayshore Bicycles: 745 Denman Street, 604-688-2453
- Bikes ‘N Blades Rentals: 718 Denman Street, 604-602-9899
- Stanley Park Cycle: 768 Denman Street, 604-688-0087
- Bazooka Bike Rentals: 1531 Robson Street, 604-288-7141
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