Vancouver Parks in the City

Vancouver is an outdoor city, and Vancouver Parks showcase that perfectly. Full of bright flowers and open grass spaces with patches of protected wilderness, these parks are an escape to a green space in the middle of the urban city.

Dr Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Garden

The classical Chinese garden (with the public park beside) offers a glimpse of another culture in another time.

Designed as a Ming scholar’s garden, this space is an oasis of calm in the midst of the urban city.

I visit here each time I come shopping in Chinatown or Gastown and leave just enough time to quietly stroll along the winding double corridor with the Garden on one side and patterned “leak” windows to the public park on the other side.

Jade Pavilion at Dr Sun Yat Sen Garden A visit to the Chinese garden in Vancouver is a refuge of tranquility after a busy day in Chinatown. Wandering through the garden is a perfect way to unwind, one of the best Vancouver attractions.

Spend a few moments in the Jade Water Pavilion sitting like a bridge above the pond. And watch the goldfish and turtles swim.

Or on a rainy day, the raindrops splash from the tiles onto the mosaic floor, making delicate music.

I come here so often, I've developed my own Guide to the Garden so that I remember the details of history and design. (The goldfish are in Part 2)

Many More Vancouver Parks

Stanley Park - right beside downtown Vancouver, it has everything - from beaches, a swimming pool and the very popular sea wall to forested hiking trails, a rose garden and the Vancouver Aquarium.

Bloedel Conservatory - Retreat into the rainforest at the Bloedel Conservatory. Find eye-catching birds, exotic plants, Koi fish, and tropical flowers in the dome at Queen Elizabeth Park. This is one of the best Vancouver rainy-day treats (and is good on sunny days too!)

Deer Lake Park - A summer evening's picnic and paddle-boating. Walk the boardwalk beside the lake, then take a rental boat out to watch the sunset. Lily-pads, ducks and the cool, clear water combine for a perfect escape. Kids would love to play on the beach too.

Enjoying Vancouver Parks

If you can stroll in street shoes without sinking into the mud, you're still in the city. And you're probably in a spectacular park to boot. Like this one, Queen Elizabeth Park:

Vancouver parks offer a wide variety. From the very popular Stanley Park to the traditional cultural experience of Dr Sun Yat Sen Chinese Garden, from the elaborately formal Queen Elizabeth Park to the trying-to-be-wild-but-still-very-tame Deer Lake Park.

And if you're after a true wilderness adventure of hiking, skiing and getting back to nature, you need the bigger, wilder Vancouver parks on the outskirts of the city.