Stanley Park

Nature

Stanley Park Ecology Society

The Stanley Park Ecology Society (SPES) is located in the heart of Vancouver's world-famous Stanley Park and, in partnership with the Park Board, offers programming and volunteering opportunities year-round. With offices in the Park's oldest heritage building at the Stanley Park Dining Pavilion and the Nature House on Lost Lagoon, SPES is ideally located to carry out its mandate: encourage stewardship of our natural world through environmental education and action, and build awareness of the fragile balance that exists between urban populations and nature.

Members, volunteers, and the public can enjoy free and low cost programs, including Sunday Discovery Walks, educational workshops and seasonal events through SPES.

Stanley Park Nature House at Lost Lagoon

Those entranced by the Park's flora and fauna plus natural and social history, will want to stop by the Stanley Park Nature House at Lost Lagoon and bone up on the feature highlights of the week. From special history walks to native plant identification, you'll find the answers here ably provided by the Stanley Park Ecology Society who operate from this former boat house. www.stanleyparkecology.ca

Beaches

Stanley Park forms a peninsula at the northwestern edge of Vancouver's downtown core. Its position makes it the natural starting point for a necklace of beaches bounding English Bay. Though water views are plentiful from the 8.8 km (5.5 mi) seawall there are only two accessible beaches perfect for swimming.

 

· Second Beach
· Third Beach

Other more naturally rocky beach areas, that reveal themselves at low tide, can be accessed from a smattering of points along the seawall. Beachcombers are reminded that these areas should be left undisturbed, especially the waterfowl, tidal pools, shellfish, starfish and other marine life.

Beaver Lake

Beaver Lake, often described as a jewel in the centre of the park, is a much visited riparian and wetland feature unique to Stanley Park and in Vancouver. The kilometre-long pathway surrounding the lake allows visitors views of both native and fragrant water lilies which cover most of the lake's surface as well as innumerable waterfowl and, of course, evidence of beavers at work. Beaver Lake is undergoing rapid infilling, though, and could completely disappear within a couple of decades. The Park Board intends to develop a strategy to restore Beaver Lake in order to continue its valuable contribution to biodiversity in the Stanley Park forest and to ensure it is maintained in perpetuity for the enjoyment of all. Find your way using the Beaver Lake Nature Trail brochure .

Forest - Monument Trees

Before being designated a reserve, the peninsula that comprises Stanley Park was logged by six companies between the 1860s and 1880s. Countless remnants of these former woody sentinels can still be seen as stumps. These hatch marks served as springboard footholds, allowing loggers a perch further up the truck for easier sawing. But even thus there were giant trees whose massive size or location within the forest, precluded their felling to the axe and blade. These oldest of park dwellers are known as 'monument trees' and can be discovered by park trail blazers in three distinct areas: off Siwash Rock Trail, Third Beach Trail and north of Beaver Lake on Lake Trail. Check the Stanley Park map  and go on a giant tree hunt!

Hollow Tree

Located along the west side of Stanley Park Drive, the Hollow Tree has attracted visitors and dignitaries since the earliest days of Stanley Park. As one of Vancouver’s oldest and most famous landmarks, the Hollow Tree has been an important part of Vancouver’s tourism industry since the city was founded. Each generation has its iconic photos demonstrating the immensity of the Hollow Tree. Everything from an elephant, to horse-drawn carriages and the earliest automobiles have been photographed next to the tree. The Hollow Tree is a cultural heritage resource listed on the Vancouver Heritage Register and the Vancouver Heritage Tree Inventory.

The Stanley Park Hollow Tree has a special place in the memories of many Vancouverites. Today, the remaining 700 to 800 year-old stump of this Western Red Cedar tree is still one of the most well-known and photographed landmarks in the park. Damaged by a severe windstorm in December 2006 and leaning forward at a dangerous angle, the tree was slated for removal due to safety concerns. However, in 2009 the Hollow Tree Conservation Society stepped forward with a plan to stabilize the tree in a project funded entirely by private donations. Following a public ceremony in October 2011, the restored Hollow Tree began a new chapter in its long history in Stanley Park.

Salmon Demonstration Stream

The removal of the zoo in the 1990s led to a reformation of the walkway system giving new balance within this central area's historical context. The landscape once again flows with restored purpose in the guise of the Salmon Demonstration Stream coursing beside a path where one of the world's natural wonders is explained through a series of interpretive signs. Salmon fry are released in spring by Vancouver Aquarium staff who are partners with the Park Board in this educational project. Some of the fry initially released in June 1998 have already made their autumn journey home to Stanley Park completing this most intriguing of life cycles.

Trails

The park's most famous feature, the 8.8 km (5.5 mi) Seawall, is just one walking choice among a wide variety available to visitors and residents alike. Too often overlooked are the forest trails offering over 27 km of quiet refuge, far from the maddening crowd, on the park's more developed periphery. These wide, bark-mulched interior paths give a taste of what this peninsula must have been like centuries ago when, before logging, its towering cedar, fir and hemlock forest reined supreme. In fact, many pathways were previously used as 'skid rows' where lumberjacks pulled felled trees to the water's edge for 'log booming' to the nearest sawmill.

Trail names recall, not only a city once transported by 'horse power' (Bridle Path), but many early pioneer names as well, especially those who were important in Park Board history (Rawlings Trail - the park's longest trail named after its longest serving Superintendent). Trudging the park's trails will bring walkers and joggers closer yet to nature while keeping them cooler on even the hottest day. Map  of the park's wide choice of trails.

Ravine Trail provides a wheelchair accessible route from the Seawall, where Beaver Creek flows into Burrard Inlet, along the creek up to and around Beaver Lake on Beaver Lake Trail.

Trail Names

Many trails bear the names of individuals who were instrumental in the city's or Stanley Park's early history.

Avison Trail	Henry Avison - Stanley Park Superintendent 1888-1895
Eldon Trail	G. Eldon - Park Board Superintendent 1896-1909
Lees Trail	A.E. Lees - Park Commissioner 1902-1917
Merilees Trail	Harold Merilees - General Manager of Tourism Vancouver in the 1960s
Rawlings Trail	W.S. Rawlings - longest trail for the Park Board's longest serving Superintendent
Tatlow Trail	R.G. Tatlow - Park Commissioner 1888-1905
Thompson Trail	C.W. Thompson - Park Commissioner 1937-1938; 1940-1942
Tisdall Trail	C.E. Tisdall - Park Commissioner 1904-1909; 1926-1934

Wildlife

Stanley Park is home to a wide range of resident wildlife including squirrels, raccoons, skunks, rabbits and a whole host of small mammals along with numerous species of resident and migratory birds. The Stanley Park Ecology Society offers numerous programs and activities that explore and explain the many wonders of nature. www.stanleyparkecology.ca

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