Stanley Park

Family Fun

Miniature Train

Winding along a mile and a quarter of 20" gauge track, the train travels over trestles and through tunnels in a picturesque journey through the forest. There are three sets of cars and four engines, one of which is a replica of Canadian Pacific Railway #374, famous for pulling Canada's first transcontinental passenger train into Vancouver in the late 1880s. The real Engine #374 is on display in a special pavilion located adjacent to the Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre.

Admission Fees

In 1964, following the havoc created by Typhoon Frieda, which packed winds up to 129 km per hour, a clearing created by fallen trees in the forest was transformed into a horseshoe-shaped circuit by Deputy Superintendent Bill Livingstone, just right for the creation of the Stanley Park Miniature Railway. The Miniature Train has become one of Vancouver's most popular attractions and carries over 200,000 passengers per year.

Miniature Train Hours of Operation 2012
February	Closed for the month of February.
March 10 to March 25	Open daily from 11am-4pm for Spring Break 2012.

* For more information on the Miniature Railway, please call our information line at 604 257-8531.

Picnics

Family reunions, getting the neighbours on the block together or a child's birthday party all add up to a special picnic destination for that perfect occasion. Stanley Park offers several picnic locations with a variety of services to meet your every dining desire. Book online and find out about permits on our Picnics Sites page.

Playgrounds

Vancouver's first children's playground was developed at Ceperley Meadow near Second Beach when Grace Ceperley willed an endowment for that purpose in the late 1920s. Today a seafaring-themed facility is located there, along with the emblematic, antique red fire engine, with other such facilities located at Lumbermen's Arch and near the Stanley Park Pavilion.

Second Beach Pool

Open from late May through Labour Day, this large outdoor pool located on the park's west side combines the best of two worlds - beach front swimming in a heated tank. The graduated depth makes this a perfect spot for young dabblers with a slide and other special features for the more adventurous. A special lengths area has been cordoned off for lap swimmers. The pool boasts one of Vancouver's best views.

The park's first bathhouse was built in 1912 and the next year 5,274 bathing suit rentals were noted in the annual report. Bathing had become very fashionable, so much so that the Park Board received several letters from the Vancouver Moral Association protesting the wearing of one piece wool bathers (much disapproved of by the VMA) opposed to traditional two-piece suits. Later Stanley Park was home to two "draw & fill" oceanside pools built in the early 1930s. These tanks were filled with salt water at high tide at the beginning of a summer week. The water warmed over the ensuing days and was released by week's end, all ready for a fresh refill at the next high tide.

In 1995, new health standards prompted the replacement of these pools with a heated, fresh water facility at Second Beach on the park's west side. This beautiful, heated pool opens from Victoria Day (third Monday in May) through Labour Day and is supervised. An admission is charged. As well, Stanley Park offers two bathing beaches, at Second Beach and Third Beach which are lifeguarded from 11:30am until dusk through the official swimming season.

Stanley Park Horse-Drawn Tours

Horse-drawn carriage rides are a fun, relaxing and educational way to learn about Stanley Park and its surroundings. The one-hour tour departs every 20-30 minutes, daily, rain or shine, March 14 to October 31, from the Horse-Drawn Tour kiosk beside the Information Booth on Park Drive, just off the Georgia Street entrance to Stanley Park.

More information is available at www.stanleyparktours.com

Theatre Under The Stars

Picture this. A beautiful summer evening, soft breeze, and you are seated under the stars as the peacocks make their haunting calls nearby. The curtain rises and another performance of Theatre Under The Stars is about to get under way.

Known by its more familiar and shorter moniker, TUTS, this theatre company, in one guise or another, has called Malkin Bowl home since 1934. That was the year former Vancouver Mayor W.H. Malkin dedicated the band shell to the memory of his late wife Marion. It should be noted that the Bowl sits on the former site of one of the park's first entertainment gazebos. Through its long history the Bowl has seen additions, fires and reconstructions while spotlighting some of Canada's best home-grown thespians.

Vancouver Aquarium

Long a resident of the park, the Vancouver Aquarium is as educational as it is entertaining. Open daily, it is one of the most visited sites in Stanley Park with an excellent gift shop and café.

Hours: Summer: 9:30am-7:00pm; Winter: 9:30am-5:00pm.
More information is available on their web site at www.vanaqua.org

Water Park

The Variety Kids Water Park is Vancouver's largest outdoor spray facility and offers hours worth of summer fun especially for young children and families. Not a swimming pool but rather a series of water geysers and canons that surprise users at every turn, the ankle depth water and other specially designed features make this an accessible facility for all children.

• Open Jun 1 - Sep 1, 10:00am - 6:00pm
• Free
• Not supervised
• Located at Lumberman's Arch
  

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