About Vancouver: STANLEY PARK

THINGS TO DO IN VANCOUVER-
STANLEY PARK
Stanley Park Vancouver is one of North American's largest urban park's covering 1,000 acres (404 hectares), which is twenty per cent larger than New York's Central Park. Stanley Park sits at the edge of downtown and was originally home to the Squamish. Stanley Park History states this was Vancouver's first park thanks to the City Council who petitioned the Federal Government in 1886 requesting the land for recreational use. Stanley Park was officially opened in 1888 by the Governor General of Canada, who's name was Lord Stanley and the park was thus named after him.

We go to Stanley Park quite often, it does not matter if it is summer or winter, Stanley Park is a beautiful place to visit and it offers some great views of the ocean and the mountains beyond. We always enjoy taking a walk around the harbour wall stopping of at the beaches along the way. We have also enjoyed hiring a bike and cycling around and through Stanley Park. We always seem to manage to end up at our favourite beach at English Bay, which offers great views and is near some good restaurants and cafes.

Stanley Park is a beautiful oasis away from all the hustle and bustle of the city. It is host to an array of flora and fauna. The most impressive Fir, Cedar and Hemlock trees run though out the park. It is the home for squirrels, raccoons, coyotes and over 200 species of resident and migrating seabirds, waterfowl and songbirds. The center of the park is a nearly impenetrable forest and scrub, with just a few trails and fewer visitors. The rest of the park is home to beautiful lawns and flower beds, three of Vancouver's eleven beautiful beaches, English Bay Beach, Second Beach and Third Beach, the latter having some amazing views of the West of Vancouver. There is also an outdoor swimming pool at the edge of the ocean at Second Beach. There are also tennis courts, children's playground's and miniature railway for the Stanley park train, which becomes Stanley Park Christmas train in the month of December.

Vancouver Stanley Park is also home to Canada's largest aquarium, the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre. The aquarium Vancouver houses west coast marine life, special exhibits and displays. Some of the animals you can visit are Sea Otters, Seals, Sea Lions, Dolphins, Sharks and Beluga Whales. They also have shows throughout the day featuring the Beluga Whales, the Sea Lions, the Sea Otters and Birds of Prey. The Vancouver aquarium in itself is worth a whole days visit and is exciting and interesting for the young and old alike.

Stanley Park seawall is a must if you want to take a stroll, cycle or skate. Stanley Park is cradled by the Pacific Ocean and has some superb views which makes for a lovely walk or there is a separate path for cycling and skating with lots of places to stop off and admire the view. You can of course also take a break and relax on one of the beautiful beaches whilst looking out at the ocean and the magnificent mountains beyond. There are several places on the edge of Stanley Park for you to hire a cycle and are all reasonably priced. There are also other ways to get around the park, you can either get a free shuttle bus which takes you to different parts of the park or you can have a horse drawn carriage and view the park in style.

Stanley Park in Vancouver Canada is truly an idyllic oasis, as the eight million visitors a year seem to agree. So if you are coming to Vancouver Stanley Park should be on the top of your list for places to visit.