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Visitor Information
There is a Stanley Park Visitor Information Booth
located just east of the Georgia Street entrance to the park. It is just below Malkin Bowl and the
Aquarium.. They have friendly staff
members and park maps for your convenience.
Stanley Park
Drive
Stanley Park is probably best known for Stanley
Park Drive, the road around the perimeter of the park. All along the Drive you have both a
walking trail and a bike trail between the road and the beach.
Stanley Park Drive along Coal Harbor
From its beginning at the Georgia Street entrance
to the Park you have a view of the park to the left and to the right views
of Coal Harbor and the skyline of Vancouver. In about a block you will come to a
parking area and restrooms on the left and if you look closely at the far
end of the parking area you will find Avison Way. This parking lot is the lower lot for the
Aquarium and if you drive up Avison Way you will come to the Aquarium at
the top of the hill with parking on the right side of the road.
Drive a little further along the shore and you
will see a small island in Coal Harbor with a gated causeway leading out to
it. This is HMCS Discovery, a
military installation. A little
further you will find a parking lot on the left. There is a coffee shop, Legends of the
Moon Gift Shop, the Totem Poles and a restroom
Brockton Point and Brockton Point
Lighthouse
If you continue on Stanley Park Drive, at the end
of the drive across the southeast shore of the park you come to Brockton
Point and Lighthouse. This is the
first time you get a real view of Burrard Inlet and all of the ships in the
harbor. To the right up the south
shore are the 5-sails roof of the Convention Center and the cruise ship
terminal. Across Burrard Inlet is
the Coastal Mountain Range and North Vancouver.
Stanley Park Drive up Burrard Inlet
From Brockton Point the road heads northwest along
the shore of Burrard Inlet. First
you pass the Totem Poles again and in a couple blocks you will come to
Aquarium Way on the left. This is
the back exit to the parking lot for the Vancouver Aquarium. In 0.6 mi. (1 Km) from the point you will
come to Avison Way and a parking lot.
If you want to go to the Waterpark this is the parking lot to park
in. The Waterpark is a couple
hundred feet further up Stanley Park Drive on the beach side of the road.
About 0.8 mi (1.3 Km) further the road will take a
hard left away from the beach. The
roadway climbs a hill and goes over an overpass over the approach to Lion’s
Gate Bridge. There is also an onramp
onto the highway here. It is a short
jaunt from the overpass to Prospect Point.
Prospect Point
At Prospect Point you will find great views of
Lion’s Gate, the ship traffic in and out of Vancouver Harbor, views of the
island and the north shore. To make
your stop more pleasant you will find a good restaurant and gift shop
(listed below under recommended restaurants). The Prospect Point Lighthouse is also
located here. There are also public
restrooms at the point.
Stanley Park Drive – Down the west
shore.
Down the west shore of Stanley Park from Prospect
Point south the drive is set back and runs through forest with views
looking west out the mouth of Burrard Inlet toward the Strait of
Georgia. At sunset the views are
spectacular. The road comes to the
beach at Ferguson Point where you can go to Third Beach and the Pool at
Third Beach. You will also find a
restaurant at Ferguson and drive a little further you will find Second
Beach. Both of these beaches have
bright afternoon sun for sunbathers.
Just north of Second Beach you will find North
Lagoon Drive to the left. It will
take you past Lost Lagoon and back to Georgia Street, the Georgia Street
Entrance to the Park, and the Train, Farmyard, and Aquarium. If you continue straight you will find
yourself in the West End of Downtown Vancouver.
The Totem Poles
At Brocton Point you will find the most visited
tourist attraction in British Columbia, a grouping of totem poles. Four of the poles are from Alert Bay on
Vancouver Island. Other poles come
from the Queen Charlotte Islands and Rivers Inlet on the central
coast. Some of the original poles
were from the 1880’s. All of the
poles have now been replaced with replicas and the originals have been sent
to various museums for preservation.
Lost Lagoon
As you enter the park from Georgia Street you will
see the Vancouver Rowing Club and marina on your right and on your left you
will see Lost Lagoon. Lost Lagoon was
originally a tidal basin, but is now a fresh water marsh and bird
sanctuary. The fountain in the
Lagoon was created to mark the City’s Golden Jubilee in 1936. The fountain was refurbished in 1986.
Before the causeway was built to the Lion’s Gate
Bridge in the 1920’s the waters from Burrard Inlet would spill over into
the area at extreme high tides, nearly connecting with English Bay. The causeway blocked the tidal waters and
the lagoon became a fresh water lagoon.
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