Vancouver wears its wilderness close — a rainforest at the end of a bus line, a beach at the foot of downtown. Here are five of the best.
There aren't many cities where you can stand among second-growth cedars an hour after leaving your desk. Vancouver is one. The mountains start where the streets end, the ocean wraps three sides of downtown, and the parks in between are big enough to get pleasantly lost in.
These five run from the famous to the half-hidden: the seawall everyone knows, the rainforest paths of Pacific Spirit, a stretch of the North Shore's great long-distance trail, and a couple of valley walks under the mountains. Tap any one to open it in Foray if you've got the app, or just read it as a map.
The most-walked path in the city, and still worth it. A flat paved ribbon between the forest and the sea that wraps the whole peninsula — this stretch takes in the open water of English Bay with the big trees standing behind it. Busy near the entrances, quieter the further you go.
Pacific Spirit wraps the university lands in a forest most visitors never find. The Salish Trail runs through the heart of it — wide, soft, and shaded by second-growth hemlock and fir. Flat enough for anyone, deep enough that you'll forget how close the city is.
A taste of the North Shore's great traverse — the Baden Powell runs 48 km across the mountains from Deep Cove to Horseshoe Bay, and this is a piece of its middle. Roots, rock, and stairs through coastal rainforest. Rougher than the city trails; wear real shoes.
An easy loop in Lynn Headwaters, under some of the biggest trees this close to town. Gravel and boardwalk along the creek, with the option to keep going deeper if the legs are willing. A North Shore classic for good reason.
A wide paved path up the Seymour valley, closed to cars and open to bikes, strollers, and anyone on foot. Smooth, gentle, and lined with rainforest the whole way — the easiest way to get deep into the North Shore mountains without a climb.
Trail data sketched from public OpenStreetMap traces. The polylines on this page approximate the actual routes — your Foray app will resolve precise geometry when you tap into a trail. Got a correction? sundaylabs.app@gmail.com.