Stanley Park
1000 acres of urban forest
It is easy to be enchanted by the history and natural beauty of Stanley Park, whose forests have been largely untouched since the 1800's. Named for Lord Frederick Stanley, Governor General, the city of Vancouver opened the park on September 27, 1888. Since then it has been a major attraction, bursting with activities especially during the summer months.
We started off walking the massively long sea wall that wraps around the park. In fact, it is the world's longest uninterrupted waterfront path and it extends from the Vancouver Convention Centre to Spanish Banks Park. The views of the harbor, bays and bridges were exquisite! Little ones will get excited by all the activity in the bays. You might just see a sea lion or dolphin in the water.
After our brisk walk, we headed into the forest for a little to enjoy the splendor of the trees. There is a Douglas fir in Stanley Park that's at least 600 years old and is just one of more than 180,000 trees in the forest.
Heading deeper into the park leads us to the Vancouver Aquarium, located in the middle of the forest. A little oasis featuring more than just marine wildlife. Through its Animal Encounters program, visitors can touch, train, feed and even play with dolphins, sea turtles, sea lions and sea otters.