Conference Hound's Blog

Who says business travel has to be all work and no fun? If you are heading to Vancouver for a conference, trade show, or other event, make sure you carve out some time to explore.

Vancouver consistently scores as one of the top places to live in the world, and Stanley Park is one of the reasons why.  The park is on a thumb of land that sticks out  off Vancouver’s West End into Burrard Inlet.

The park, named by the Project for Public Spaces as the 16th best park in the world and a Canadian National Historic Site, is jam-packed with all the fields, gardens, events and attractions you’d expect at a world-class park:  tennis, golf, baseball, cricket, vast lawns,  rose gardens, concerts, outdoor theater and a minature railway.

It’s bigger than New York’s famed Central Park by about 1000 acres, and like that park is easily accesible from multiple points in the city.  There are three vehicle entrances (drivers beware–there is no free parking) and multiple pedestrian pathways leading in.  But Stanley Park has several features that place it squarely in the Pacific Northwest.

The first is that most of the park is forested–it is in fact a temperate rain forest populated by second and third growth Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar, Western Hemlock and Sitka Spruce.  Over 100 miles of trails criss-cross the park.  Where else can you grab a latte at a chic little downtown cafe and walk straight into a rainforest?

Birds take flight at Lost Lagoon

A spectacular five-mile seawall rings the rain forest with dual tracks for bikers and skaters, and walkers.  The loop passes by three ocean  beaches as well as Lost Lagoon, a haven for wildlife and waterfowl.  Sweeping vistas of the city can be seen from various points on the path.

The more manicured parts of the park feature acres of tulip plantings and over 4500 rhododendrons.  A large part of the collection, including many rare hybrids, was donated by renowned local rhododendron breeders when they retired and closed their nursery.  Blooms peak in the first two weeks of May, but park horticulturalists have carefully charted the bloom cycles of each and every plant and offer maps to the best blooms every month of the spring and summer.

Rhododendrons in bloom

Two features beckon art lovers:  The Painter’s Circle, an outdoor gallery where artists from all over the world meet and greet the public and show their work, and a totem pole gallery showcasing the work of the Northwest’s indigenous peoples.

One thing you won’t find is a zoo.  In the 1990s Vancouver voters opted to close it rather than renovate. One could easily spend weeks exploring Stanley Park, but if you haven’t got that kind of time, take the hop-on-hop-off trolley or a horse drawn carriage for a quick overview, and put it on your do list to come back for more.