Be Open to More This Summer:
Discover Activities and Adventure Near Vancouver

If there has been one positive thing to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s been the opportunity to discover—or rediscover—the exciting places closest to home. British Columbia is awash in wild beauty and fascinating cultural experiences, and there is no better time to experience all that we have in our own backyard.

Within a day trip or short overnight jaunt, there are countless adventures to be had right around Vancouver. Maybe this is the summer to try forest bathing or discover a heritage rose garden, follow a public art trail, or savour international cuisine. The Vancouver area is blooming with parks and gardens—not to mention all those new restaurant patios—and the warm summer months are the best time to enjoy the great outdoors. But there are also plenty of shops, galleries, spas, and other indoor activities where you can get out of the heat and see something new.

Be open to more this summer. It’s the best way to reconnect with nature, our community, and each other, while being safe and staying healthy.

And then there are the waterfalls. Find them in parks around Sechelt, Roberts Creek, and Powell River. Several waterfalls can be viewed from the easy-going day hike along the Duck Lake Trails near Powell River. Dozens more can be spotted along the rugged, 180-kilomtere-long Sunshine Coast Trail that stretches from Sarah Point in Desolation Sound to Saltery Bay. Before you head out, grab goodies for a picnic lunch at one of the stands along the BC Farmers’ Market Trail.

Desolation Sound itself is a remarkable marine playground. (Tip: Consider booking a kayak or hiking tour, or even a Zodiac boat ride, with Terracentric Coastal Adventures for an excellent vantage point of the area.) The sound’s more than 6,350 acres of water and shoreline comprise the largest marine park in the province, with plenty of marinas, campgrounds, and resorts. Among them is Klahoose Wilderness Resort, a new eco-lodge tucked away on the calm shores of Homfray Channel and surrounded by the towering peaks of the Coast Mountains. It is the only Indigenous resort in the sound, and an excellent place to relax, take a wildlife-viewing excursion, experience Indigenous culture, or just enjoy the exceptional local seafood.

From Hope, you can easily explore the Fraser Canyon and the peaks and valleys of E.C. Manning Provincial Park. There are more than 100 hikes in the area, and excellent birding in Thacker Marsh. To get even closer to nature, about 66 kms east along the breathtaking Hope-Princeton Highway, Manning Park Resort offers rustic but comfortable accommodation, camping, and hiking, biking, and boating adventures for the whole family.

Eager for glimpse into history? Visit the quaint town of Yale. Or wander through the serene Japanese Friendship Garden in Hope’s Memorial Park, where you can trace the path of the region’s Japanese Canadian Internment during World War II along the Hope-Princeton Highway #3, all the way to the Sunshine Valley Tashme Museum, a former camp butcher shop-turned museum which recounts the stories of the largest internment camp in the area.

It is just one of a number of unique neighbourhoods to explore here. City centre is a meeting of cultures, with diverse retail and restaurants serving everything from Persian to pub fare. (Tip: Head to Caffé Divano for coffee and sweet treats or opt for noodles at Legend House.) Burquitlam has one of Canada’s largest concentrations of Korean businesses. Meanwhile, Austin Heights is a walkable historic neighbourhood that includes Blue Mountain Park, with its mysterious stone sculptures.

Speaking of parks: Many of us are seeking open spaces these days, and Coquitlam delivers with more than 70 parks and 90-plus trails offering everything from art displays to hiking, biking, birding, disc golf, off-leash areas, outdoor pools, gardens, and picnic areas. Among them is the Centennial Rose Garden, with its more than 800 roses, including many Canadian heirloom varieties. A new park finder tool lets you pick your activity and the park that’s best suited for it. At day’s end, raise a cold one on one of two dog-friendly patios at Mariner Brewing, Coquitlam’s only brewery.

One of the most interesting ways to discover the city is by taking a self-guided art tour through its many cultural institutions, such as the Burnaby Art Gallery, Deer Lake Gallery, Burnaby Village Museum, Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre, Shadboldt Centre for the Arts, and Michael J. Fox Theatre. (Note that due to the pandemic, some may not be open and others open by appointment only.) However, there are no closing hours for public art, and you can follow this map to view the city’s many sculptures and murals. (Tip: Pick up a pistachio turnover and a sleeve of pretty macaroons from Mon Paris Patisserie to fuel your walk.)

Prefer nature’s own works of art? Bring your binoculars and keep an eye out for the many songbirds, shorebirds, ducks, and geese that flock to (and through) Burnaby’s Central Park, Burnaby Mountain, and Burnaby Lake Park, which offers an excellent resource for identifying its winged and other residents. Following an afternoon of viewing, be sure to discuss your favourite fowl over a sundae to go from Glenburn Soda Fountain.

Of course, one of the best reasons to visit this community has always been the outdoor adventures offered by the North Shore Mountains, which are criss-crossed with hiking and biking trails, from the relatively easy amble of the Varley Loop to the challenging Grouse Grind, Baden Powell Trail, or a guided canyoning tour. If you’d rather see the landscape from a bird’s-eye view, consider an adrenaline-boosting Mountain Zipline Tour over the peaks and canyons of Grouse and Dam mountains.

A more serene way to experience these spaces is through the holistic act of what the Japanese call “shinrin-yoku,” or forest bathing. It is a walking meditation among the trees, which releases compounds that boost the immune system while relieving stress and burnout. Sounds like something we could all use right now. Local hiking guides can lead you to the most serene sylvan spots, but you can also go on your own, and be at one with nature.

Header image: Grouse Mountain Zipline | Hubert Kang