Vancouver: A ride through Stanley Park

Posted by Riles on July 16, 2012 in British Columbia, Destination, Popular Events | 2 comments

Vancouver was the first destination on my trip around Canada this Summer, and it did not disappoint. A little known tidbit about Vancouver is that it rains. A lot. Apparently this was one of their rainiest Summers yet but I wasn’t too phased. Out of the 5 days I was in Vancouver, it rained 3 of them. I had to make the most out of my 2 full days of sunshine and I think I did pretty well.

Before I left for Vancouver, I checked out a website I’m pretty dedicated to called reddit 

 I sought out the sub reddit for Vancouver and made a post about how I would be there in a few weeks and if anyone was willing to tour me around the City. I had a few responses and exchanged information! I only ended up meeting with one of the Redditors, named Jon. He toured me around the city the first day I was there and we decided I had to check out Stanley Park before I left for Victoria.

It rained rained rained

The first Sunny Day arrived, hooray! Jon messaged me asking if I wanted to bike around the Seawall and Stanley Park and I of course said yes. He was nice enough to lend me a spare bike he had, although I could have also rented one from the many bike rental shops around the city. We met up around noon and got started! Keep in mind, I haven’t ridden a bike, in…I’m going to have to go with about 10 years or so. Luckily, riding a bike is exactly like…Riding a bike, something you just cannot forget!

At 1,001 acres, Stanley Park was tremendous and slightly intimidating. We wandered around, pausing to take pictures here and there. Jon was a great guide, and has a vast knowledge of Vancouver History, almost constantly pointing out neat facts about the park as we walked through the seemingly endless forest.

 

We walked through a spot called Beaver Lake. Rumor has it, to live up to their name, they brought in a Beaver from somewhere else to live in this lake and apparently he’s being quite the annoyance. I don’t know how true this is, as I didn’t see a beaver anywhere, and believe me, I looked!

We continued around Stanley Park for a few more hours, in this time I saw nature at it’s finest! Beautiful day, awesome company and a sudden new found love of Vancouver and all it has to offer. If you’re ever in Vancouver, make sure you put Stanley Park on your top priorities list!