There are plenty of moderately challenging Vancouver hiking trails to choose from. These are five trails that stand out from the rest. Not too difficult, yet all have sensational views. Hollyburn, Dog Mountain and Mt Seymour are at the end of beautiful drives to reach the trailheads.
Pacific Spirit Park surrounds the University of British Columbia on the shores of Georgia Straight. The park has a beautiful array of trails, 73 kilometres in total, that run along beaches, some old growth forest and even a bog. The network of trails interconnects so often that you can do small 15 minute sections if that is all you are after. Pacific Spirit Park is one of Vancouver's most popular parks and located in the wonderful and expensive neighbourhood, Point Grey.
You can wander the park for hours if you want as there are an endless number of trails heading in all directions. The park is open during daylight hours and there are plenty of washrooms and food stands. Most trails are hard packed gravel and only the occasional elevation change. More than 50 of the 73 kilometres of trails are designated as multi-use, allowing for biking and horseback riding as well as hiking/walking. Much of the park is in deep forest, however, stairs lead to various beaches along the ocean. Steep stairs descend through thick forest to finally open up at these unexpectedly beautiful beaches. Nice sand, clean shoreline and enormous logs from decades of logging, strewn along the beach make them characteristically "west coast" in look. One of the more popular beaches is the locally famous Wreck Beach. This clothing optional beach is a world of its own. This surreal corner of Vancouver can be quite a shock to the uninitiated. Though after a few minutes the unmistakable charm and beauty of the place makes you forget about the unusual surroundings and you melt into this wonderful beach in this beautiful Vancouver park. Just a short walk from Wreck Beach is the Museum of Anthropology. This stunning museum showcases works by the peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast First Nations. Only a handful of other places in the world have such a beautiful collection of totem poles and wood carvings.
If you enjoy art, history or anthropology, you will be in heaven. If you don't you will still likely be impressed by the beauty of these majestic and in some cases, enormous carvings depicting a culture of the past and present. Be careful when you go, however, as they don't open on Mondays, but otherwise 10-5pm(Tuesday until 9pm). Pacific Spirit Park is a must see on any visit to Vancouver. The forest and beaches are beautiful and UBC and its surrounding roads are unmistakably Vancouver. You quickly see that you are in British Columbia's coastal rainforest when you see the sheer volume of trees. Giant trees and gnarled trees spill over the road making it seem like you are driving through a green tunnel.
Directions to Pacific Spirit Regional Park
There are various places to enter the park so your best bet is to aim for 16th Avenue which will take you to the centre of the park. From downtown Vancouver, drive across the Granville Street Bridge, turn right on 16th Avenue and drive for 5k and you will be in the middle of the park.
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